zero
Overview
Horror/Mystery environment based upon liminal spaces in architecture, and the idea of "The Backrooms".
Role
Level Designer
Tools
Unreal Engine 4
Skills
Level Design, Lighting, Set Dressing, Asset Placement
I have started working on a new horror style mystery environment titled "ZERO", and created in Unreal Engine 4. The space are inspired by what is known as "The Backrooms", an offshoot of the idea of liminal spaces in architecture. Liminal spaces are definitionally transitional spaces in architecture such as hallways or other connecting passages. Images of these eerie and empty spaces often bring about unsettling feelings of a familiar abnormality or not belonging. The first level of The Backrooms is known as "Level 0", inspiring the name of this level environment.
When beginning to plan and create these spaces I took a lot of inspiration from games such as Control as well as various spaces within Valve games, such as Half Life 1 and 2. Many of the spaces within these games which inspired me were marked by a minimalist corporate aesthetic as well as a blend of mid-century modern architecture and decor.
Secondly, I have been working on a blueprint system for the spaces which allows for modular rooms. Essentially, while building out different rooms within the space, I am using UE4's blueprint system to create the bones for various rooms, which allows me to create rooms which feel similar in structure, but look different in prop placement, lighting, VFX, etc.
This feeds into the core theme behind the level where the player consistently has a sense of revisiting places they have already been, yet things feel out of place or slightly altered. It is my hope to have these spaces give a sort of unsettling sense of the dichotomy between familiarity and being lost.
