Kore VR - Level and Environment Design
Kore VR is shipped and available on Steam!
The following reflections are excerpts from our team’s documentation of the design benchmarks we’ve developed for the Kore series. Any excepts I share on this blog will be from my own sections relevant to the environment design, but I look forward to sharing the entirety of the book and the amazing work of my colleagues with you all soon!
Environment and Level Design: Overview and Approach
The visual world of KORE reflects the vibrant, rich history and legacy of Korean design with a focus on the traditional architecture of a Hanok home. Within the walls of KORE’s Hanok, modern accents and technologies meld with the past. In this level design, we explore how history has a place in the expansive and boundless world of virtual reality. How can we highlight the beauty of our Earth and humanity within digital worlds? Our main goal is to create an environment that invites the player to get comfortable and relax as they spend time exploring and learning.
The KORE series of interactive language games is created and produced by our incredible leader, CEO, and wonderful human, Miji Lee.
Research:
REFERENCE COLLECTION
While the game does take place in an almost surreal, dreamlike version of a Hanok home, a cultural and historically accurate point of reference is essential. A majority of the visual reference collection time was spent sourcing as many angles and variations of a Hanok that we could find. It is important to note that while there are benchmarks that define the traditional architecture of the Hanok, each home is unique; each home has its own story.
The photos and videos shared on the internet have been invaluable to our research. Thank you to those who have shared their photography and tours of Korean homes. We know that design is not purely technical; it often is infused with history, culture, and deeply personal connections to those who are close to it. The voices to whom this history belongs are the foundation of this research.
This representation in VR highlights a few of the most common elements of Hanok carpentry. The modernity added seeks to meld with the antiquity and create something new together; that can only exist in VR.
In addition to photography, draftings, and videos - I wanted to understand how the homes were built as well as I possibly could. Knowing how carpenters approach building the houses would inform 3D modeling, as well as how I could plan the modularity of the building assets. Secondary research provided context for the traditional materials used in construction as well.
An Overview of Korean Wooden Architecture - PDF
Daemokjang, traditional Wooden Carpentry - Video
Korean Architecture, One with Nature - Video
The Architect Linking Korea's Past and Future - Video
Artistic Direction
STYLE:
The visual style for this second iteration of the language learning game carries forward many elements from the first KORE game.
Paper Layout
From Kore1: Level design layout for Kore Village next to its rendered design in Unity.
High level colors are warm. This is a home we want the player to feel comfortable in and at ease. The lights are gentle, the space is well illuminated. We get the feeling this place is a central hub for learning and community. This home is on the horizon of something new. The KORE Hanok is open and inviting.
This visual style also lends itself to modularity, which I wanted to utilize to assist in optimization later on in development.
LIGHT/ MOOD
It only takes a few photos of Korean architecture to see there is often intentional collaboration with nature to create spaces utilizing light and shadow.
The warmth of the materials used in the construction of Hanok seem to glow when bathed in warm sunlight.
Early light experimentation with various sourced HDRIs and sunlight objects - trying to find the overall mood here
Continuing early light experimentation - getting there, but light and shadow want to ease into each other a bit more
I wanted to capture a specific kind of natural light seen across the visual resources collected: a warm winter sun, low on the horizon. The light during this time of the year, coupled with the clear crisp air, feels almost ethereal. It has a timelessness to it that can be soothing. Time slows for a moment during this golden hour. Our Kore home is floating in the vastness of the digital world, and it is a place where the player can rest for a while and relax as they gain new skills in this world of the future.
Creating a custom HDRI to capture this warm light:
Testing the HDRI within Blender with the base architecture model
The result seemed to illuminate the natural wood tones we had been working with in the architecture itself. While the light is strong, the lines of shadow within the home should not be harsh. Before adding any additional lights to the scene, adjusting elevation, angle, and intensity of the sun can help us achieve these soft and clean edges.
Testing the space with the custom HDRI - the spaces created by light and shadow are distinct but soft. Subtly present.
Set Dressings
In addition to the base architecture, the environment will need to be populated with details from flora in the garden, to the human touch inside the home. All of these set dressings are what come together to create the lived-in world. Each piece unique, but not drawing so much attention that it breaks immersion. A fun balance to maintain.
Sometimes, though, you DO what an asset to stand out. Next time we’ll take a look at creating the centerpiece of our home: the Ginkgo Tree.
KORE 2 is a continuing project. Next steps are the refinement and polishing of set dressings, the Ginkgo, and the architecture itself.
