Week 2 - Planning and Blocking Out

To begin week 2, I refined my idea for the rest of the project. During week one I had compiled a mixture of ideas in a mood board using PureRef and I wanted to begin week 2 by properly creating a plan for my project using these references.

I wanted to be ambitious with this project, therefore I wanted to create more than one modular kit; one for an interior environment and a separate one for an exterior environment. My idea was that I would combine these and create an outdoor area which would lead into an indoor dungeon through a set of large doors, creating a change in environment through the layout.

I searched through the references I had compiled in week 1 for an outdoor environment that would suit my idea. Due to my change in plan, I expected my focus on references to differ from the previous week.

The references that I was drawn to the most were the desert environments which consisted of sandy rock formations and village-like urban areas. These references, from my mood board, were in-game renders by the artists (Wade, 2023). I visually enjoyed how these in game shots where laid out with many intricate details and complex looking assets. It not only had a good impact as an outdoor environment, but also as an urban environment which could mix well with my interior ideas.

References

To continue my research on this environment, I watched a gameplay video of Diablo IV on YouTube of how this environment fits into the game (GameRiot, 2023) and screenshotted a few of my favourite features from the game.

References

I also took references from another YouTube video on the game (ThatxDiabeticxGuy, 2023) which helped me gain more ideas for the types of walls and pillars I would be creating for my modular kit. I was particularly interested in the wood and stone combination, as well as the structures of the buildings within the environment. I will use these as inspiration for the walls in my exterior area.

References

Next, I needed to gain references for my interior - the dungeon area. These were again taken from my previous mood board and are of in-game renders (Wade, 2023).

References

I was particularly interested in the idea of an abandoned dungeon with church-like features on the walls and old ornaments. This would give me an opportunity to showcase my ZBrush sculpting within a predominately hard surface environment. I want my environment to also suggest that it used to be an elegant area but does not have the same purpose anymore, playing into an abandoned and gothic structural idea.

My plan is to make the transition from the exterior landscape to the interior landscape seamless, with features of each interchanging to give the impression that the two environments have existed next to each other for a long time.

The next step of my project was to create a block out plan for my environment. This will help my visualize what I need to make and where each wall and pillar will go. This will also help with dimensions as I will need to know how big each piece of the modular kit will need to be to fit.

To gain a greater understanding towards how to compose an environment, I used my drawing for games session to create concept art pieces, copied from current game and film scenes.

This enhanced my knowledge on compositions and lighting which will be needed when creating my own environment.

I first blocked out the exterior in Maya with guidance from an article I had read (Perry, 2026) on the pipeline they had taken to start their project. I wanted to use varying levels of height that the player would be able to access open more opportunities to create interesting structures. Height is often used in the same way in Diablo which keeps my environment within my chosen theme.

I also wanted to include a bridge which the player would be able to use to enter the environment and a large wall with a door in it which would separate the exterior from the interior.

I then exported the model to Unreal Engine 5 to do my first tests on importing models and collisions using Unreal Engine 5's online guide (Epic Games Developer, 2018).

Unreal Engine screenshot

I then blocked out my interior using Maya. This block out was very basic and was so I could work out the scale of the rooms and corridors and I am first planning to create. I modelled a simple set of stairs which would lead to a corridor and the final room which will eventually contain my chosen shrine which I need to include according to my brief.

Maya Screenshot

My next steps were to create very simple assets for a simple modular kit which I could use to block out where I will place walls and pillars to make up the scene I had designed.

I researched castle interiors when creating this kit (www.castlesandmanorhouses.com, 2014) to gain an idea of the architecture which I could use in this project.

Maya Screenshot

Finally, I laid these pieces around my original block out.

Maya Screenshot

Maya Screenshot

Bibliography:

Epic Games Developer. (2018). Artist Quick Start in Unreal Engine | Unreal Engine 5.4 Documentation | Epic Developer Community. [online] Available at: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/artist-quick-start-in-unreal-engine?application_version=5.4 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2026].

GameRiot (2023). DIABLO 4 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 5 - ACT 3 (Full Game). [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asQE19oHVII [Accessed 31 Jan. 2026].

ThatxDiabeticxGuy (2023). All 3 Kehjistan Strongholds (Omath’s Redoubt, Altaro of Ruin & Alcarnus) | Complete Walkthrough. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY4CyUqcZRg [Accessed 31 Jan. 2026].

Wade, D. (2023). Blizzard Entertainment Diablo IV — Environment Art Blast. [online] ArtStation Magazine. Available at: https://magazine.artstation.com/2023/07/blizzard-entertainment-diablo-iv-environment-art-blast/.

www.castlesandmanorhouses.com. (2014). Castle Life - Rooms in a Medieval Castle. [online] Available at: https://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/life_01_rooms.htm.

Perry, K. (2026). Creating Hand-Painted 3D Harbor Scene Designed Around Gameplay. [online] 80.lv. Available at: https://80.lv/articles/creating-hand-painted-3d-harbor-scene-designed-around-gameplay [Accessed 5 May 2026].