Tag: level art

Creating Game Environments: Layout, Composition, Colour and Foreground–Midground–Background Layers

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

A game environment is the world or space in which a game takes place. Designing an environment relevant to the game concept means the setting must support the story, the mood and – above all – the gameplay. Three important skills are layout and composition (arranging elements for play and for the eye), colour (setting mood and making important things readable), and designing separate foreground, midground and background layers to create depth.

Unit 1 covered perspective and layers in Environment Layers and Perspective Drawing, colour and composition in Colour Theory, Texture, Composition and Layout, and concept work in Conceptualising Environments: Layers and Depth of Field. Here we apply those skills to playable spaces.

Start from the game concept

Before drawing, answer: What does the player do here (jump, sneak, explore, race)? What mood should they feel? Where does it sit in the story? What camera view will show it? An environment for a calm farming game and one for a tense escape sequence can use the same forest, but their layout, lighting and colour will be completely different.

1. Layout and composition

Layout for play

  • Paths and flow: plan the route through the space – main path, optional areas, shortcuts.
  • Readability: the player must instantly tell what is solid ground, what is dangerous and what is decoration.
  • Landmarks: a tall tower, a big tree or a lighthouse helps players orient themselves.
  • Pacing: alternate open, calm areas with tight, challenging ones.

Composition for the eye

  • Focal point: each view should have one main point of interest, often the goal or next area.
  • Leading lines: paths, rivers, fences and rooftops can point towards the focal point.
  • Rule of thirds: placing key features on the thirds of the screen feels balanced and natural.
  • Framing: trees, arches or cliffs at the edges of the view frame the scene and guide attention inward.
Painted forest scene with glowing pink and orange mushrooms in the foreground
Figure 1 – Concept art from the Blender Studio film Sprite Fright. Mushrooms in the foreground, a forest floor in the midground and soft trees behind create depth and a magical mood. Image: Andy Goralczyk / Blender Foundation, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

2. Colour

Colour sets mood and guides play:

  • Choose a palette for each area that matches its mood (warm sunset for a peaceful village, cold blue-greys for a mountain pass).
  • Use atmospheric perspective: distant objects become lighter, less saturated and bluer, which pushes them back in space.
  • Keep playable surfaces clearly separated in value and colour from the background, so players never jump at scenery by mistake.
  • Reserve the brightest, most saturated colours for important things: collectables, hazards and goals.
Painting of a wooden house on a snowy mountain slope with pale mountains behind
Figure 2 – Concept art from the Blender Studio film Spring. The warm, detailed house stands out against cooler, paler mountains that fade into the distance. Image: Blender Foundation (Spring open movie; uploaded by David Revoy), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

3. Foreground, midground and background

LayerContentsDesign tips
ForegroundObjects closest to the camera: leaves, rocks, posts; sometimes in front of the player.Darker and more detailed; use sparingly so it never hides the action.
MidgroundThe playable layer: ground, platforms, characters, items and enemies.Highest clarity and contrast; this is where gameplay happens.
BackgroundDistant scenery: sky, hills, city skyline.Lighter, softer and less saturated; simpler shapes; can use parallax scrolling.
Animated cartoon jungle path with sky, clouds, tall orange plant shapes and ground drawn as separate layers
Figure 3 – A scene built from separate layers. When the layers move at different speeds (parallax scrolling), a flat 2D game gains a strong sense of depth. Image: OhSqueezy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This Pixel Overload tutorial shows how to design and paint background layers for parallax scrolling:

Test the environment in play

An environment is only finished when it works in the game. Drop your character into the scene and check it at real screen size and real speed. Can you see the character clearly against every part of the background? Do players notice the landmark and head towards the goal? Does any foreground object hide an enemy or a gap? Take a screenshot and blur it or convert it to greyscale: the playable midground should still stand out. Adjust values, colours and layer detail until the answer to every question is yes.

Example

Game concept: Mangrove Rescue, a side-scrolling game where a young ranger frees trapped birds. Layout: a boardwalk as the main path, with roots and branches as platforms, a tall lookout tower as a landmark and an optional hidden lagoon. Colour: warm greens and golden late-afternoon light for hope; hazards (tangled fishing line) are bright orange so they read clearly. Layers: dark mangrove leaves in the foreground at the screen edges, the boardwalk and roots in the midground at full contrast, and a pale blue-green coastline and sky in the background, scrolling slowly for depth.

Exercise

  1. Write a short game concept and list what the player does, the mood and the camera view for one environment.
  2. Sketch a top-down layout of the environment showing the main path, a landmark, an optional area and hazards.
  3. Paint or draw one side-view scene with separate foreground, midground and background layers. Explain your colour choices.
  4. Turn your layers into a parallax scene in Scratch or another tool and test whether the playable layer remains easy to read.

Next: 3D Modelling for Beginners: Create Game Props and Assets With the Extrude Tool

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 2: Interactive Design and Game Development, Module 3: Animation for Games – Specific Objective 4 (“employ design skills to create environments relevant to the game concept”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Sprite Fright-concept art-nature 02.png – Andy Goralczyk / Blender Foundation – CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Spring-concept art-house.jpg – Blender Foundation (Spring open movie; uploaded by David Revoy) – CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Parallax scrolling example scene.gif – OhSqueezy – CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

Characters and Environments in Games: Archetypes, Scale, Time of Day and Camera

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Game characters are the imaginary people, creatures or objects that players control, meet, help or fight. They are shaped by character design (how they look, move and behave) and by character archetypes – familiar story roles such as the hero, shadow, mentor, ally, guardian, trickster and herald. The game environment is the world those characters exist in, described by its scale, time of day, physical characteristics and camera view.

Visual character design was covered in Character Design: Genre, Shape Language and Silhouette and Character Turnarounds and Model Sheets; environment art in Environment Design, Genres and Digital Artwork and Conceptualising Environments: Layers and Depth of Field. Here we look at the role characters and environments play in a game’s design.

Character design for games

Game characters must work in ways film characters do not:

  • Readability: they must be recognisable at small sizes and in fast motion, so silhouettes and colours must be clear.
  • Gameplay fit: a heavy character should move heavily; a speedy character should look light. Appearance should hint at abilities.
  • Animation needs: every character needs a set of animations (idle, walk, run, jump, react), so designs should be practical to animate.
  • Player connection: a player character may be a blank slate the player projects onto, or a strong personality the player accompanies.

The seven character archetypes

Archetypes come from Joseph Campbell’s study of myths and Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. They are roles, not fixed personalities – one character can play different roles at different times.

ArchetypeRole in the storyGame example of the role
Hero / protagonistThe main character who grows and drives the story; usually the player.The player character setting out to save the kingdom.
Shadow / villain / antagonistOpposes the hero and represents the main conflict.The final boss or a rival.
MentorGuides, teaches and gives gifts or advice to the hero.The tutorial character who explains the controls and gives the first tool.
AllyHelps the hero on the journey, offering friendship and support.A companion who fights alongside the player or gives hints.
Guardian (threshold guardian)Blocks the way and tests the hero before a new stage.A gatekeeper or mini-boss who must be beaten or convinced.
TricksterBrings humour, mischief and change; questions the rules.A cheeky sidekick or a folklore figure like Anansi.
HeraldAnnounces change and calls the hero to adventure.A messenger, letter or radio call that starts the quest.

Screenwriting teacher Christopher Vogler explains these character types in this interview:

Cartoon rabbit standing in a sunny forest clearing
Figure 1 – Big Buck Bunny in his forest. Scale (a big, round rabbit dwarfed by even bigger trees), time of day (soft daylight filtering through the leaves) and physical characteristics (grass, rocks, roots and tree trunks) all shape how the scene feels. Image: Blender Foundation / Project Peach, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Describing the game environment

Scale

Scale is the size of the world and objects compared to the player. Huge spaces make players feel small and adventurous; tight spaces feel tense or cosy. Scale also affects gameplay: a large open map needs fast travel or vehicles, while a small room suits a puzzle.

Time of day

Time of day changes light, colour and mood. Morning feels hopeful, midday is clear and easy to read, sunset is dramatic and night is mysterious. Some games have a day–night cycle that changes gameplay: certain characters appear only at night, or shops close in the evening.

Physical characteristics

Physical characteristics are the features of the place: terrain (hills, water, sand), weather, vegetation, buildings, materials and hazards. They should support both story and play – ice is slippery, deep water blocks the path, tall grass hides the player.

Camera view

The camera view decides how the environment is shown. A top-down view shows layout and routes; a side view emphasises jumping and height; a first-person view makes the world feel immediate. Environment artists design differently for each view – for example, the roofs matter a lot in top-down games but hardly at all in side-scrollers.

Painted concept art of a wooden hut surrounded by plants and props
Figure 2 – Concept art of a shaman’s hut. The physical characteristics – building materials, props and plants – tell players about the culture of the people who live there. Image: David Revoy / Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Example

Here is a character and environment description for an adventure game called River of Lights:

  • Hero: Kai, a 12-year-old boat builder; small, quick and curious, with a bright red scarf for readability.
  • Mentor: Grandma Mira, who teaches Kai to read the stars.
  • Herald: a glowing firefly that appears on the first night and leads Kai away from the village.
  • Guardian: a giant river turtle who will only let Kai pass after solving her riddle.
  • Trickster: a mischievous monkey who steals items but sometimes reveals shortcuts.
  • Shadow: the Mist, a silent force that dims all light along the river.
  • Environment: a wide river valley (large scale), explored mostly at dusk and night (time of day), with mangroves, rapids and stilt houses (physical characteristics), shown from a third-person camera behind the boat (camera view).

Exercise

  1. Identify the seven archetypes in a game, film or folk tale you know. Is any character playing more than one role?
  2. Design a game character. Draw it and explain how its appearance tells players about its abilities and its archetype.
  3. Describe the environment of a game level using the four headings: scale, time of day, physical characteristics and camera view.
  4. Change one of those four features for the same level (for example, day to night). Explain how the gameplay and mood would change.

Next: The Game UI Design Process and How to Tell Good UI From Bad UI

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 2: Interactive Design and Game Development, Module 2: Game Design and Development – Specific Objective 12 (“describe the characters in a game”); Specific Objective 13 (“describe the environment in a game”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Big Buck Bunny – forest.jpg – Blender Foundation / Project Peach – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Environments-02-shaman-hut.png – David Revoy / Blender Foundation – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.