Planning a (open-world Game) City

Hello everyone,

I'm currently planning my First-Person-Shooter I want to make with Unity and reached the point where I have to plan the game environment(s).
My game is somehow a mix of Mirror's Edge and the Matrix Movie Series and some other futuristic stuff and plays in a dark futuristic city.
After thinking about it a while I have decided that I would like to have a "open-world city" (not sure if that is the correct term, sorry for that) since it is more suitable to the storyline I wrote.

My question is, how do you proper plan such a city?
Do you go after the "normal steps of level design" (getting references, make blueprints, etc.) or is there any special technique to plan a city?
Is anyone here with experience in planning such environments?

I'm happy for answers.

Greetings,
ITGeist.

 

I haven't done it, but it's an interesting question. (I am working an another city game, but that's quite different because it grows largely under the control of the player.)

Can you model your environment after a real city (or section of a city)? Manhattan is a popular choice, but pick your favorite city... and maybe "upgrade" a few of the older buildings to more futuristic ones?

 

I could use a real city, yes. I also have some buildings to use ready (if that helps).
Maybe I take a look at Map-ity.

 

Everything in the city is rectangular. Try creating some prefabs representing city blocks and then procedurally place them together. You could easily create an editor script to do that. No sense in taking a long time to do something that the computer can do in moments.

Anyway, that's a realistic way of doing it.

If you're just talking about theoretically, you'll have to study architecture, civil engineering, commerce, etc. If you want to design a fictional city you're going to really need some serious intellectual power and a lot of free time.

 

Not only is it easier to base your design on a real city, but players enjoy exploring reinterpretations of cities they've visited or heard about. The Grand Theft Auto games are always based in "real" cities. I live in the Washington, D.C., area, and I had a lot of fun running around the post-apocalyptic version of my home turf in Fallout 3.

 

Note that those games are not hobbyist projects.

 

You're absolutely correct. But there are small indie projects like The Shivah set in New York, web games like Fallen London, and RPG Maker hobbyist games like Mythos: The Beginning set in London. I think real cities are within the reach of hobbyists, especially with all the great assets on the Asset Store based on places like London, San Francisco, and Hong Kong.

 

Within reach, as opposed to practical.

 

A couple blocks should be fine.

 

I'm pretty sure he wants a whole open world city

 

If you can make a block you can make a city. Making an interesting city however is a tad bit more difficult, but lets face it, open world cities are always uninteresting. Maybe you'll find some neighborhood that's quaint and charming, but it inevitably become just another labyrinth to navigate to get from point A to point B.

 

Just accept how generic it will be, now OP.

 

I'll try to get myself a copy of some map overviews of parts of cities which look interesting for me, make connections and a script as suggested by Misterselmo to place my prefabs.

Thanks for your answers, if anyone else has ideas, feel free to post.

 

I was doing some research about this topic a few days ago. I understand what TonyLi says, about people enjoy exploring knew cities, but all depends of what kind of "world" are you creating.
Is your world based in the "real world" ? Or are you creating your own world, with your own rules and ideas ?

I've really liked the approach used in the title "Sir your being hunted"
http://www.big-robot.com/2012/07/02/procedural-british-countryside-generation/

They are creating one city using a procedural algorithm, which at end looks something very "real", but not like any other thing already created.
Maybe, you could use something like this, at least to design the structure of your city, like blocks and streets. And after that, simple lay down your building in the way you want.

Just my 50 cents... =)

 

Great article! Thanks for linking it.

 

I suggest you play GTA games, Assassin's Creed games, etc., and study what about them makes the game's worlds feel so real. Also, while not open-world, the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games have very believable worlds, considering their age.