Restitched: Dev Diary | Level Backgrounds #2

Welcome back to another Developer Diary! We previously looked over the creation process for the Rolling Acres, default Build Mode, and Retro Synthwave backgrounds in Level Backgrounds #1. Well, we've created a few new backgrounds since then: Haddock Harbour, The Attic, and The Moon - and we'll be going over them here!

Attic Atelier

The Attic is the first world players explore in their journey through Restitched. As a result, it's an extremely important one to get right, as first impressions are everything. This world could be the most recognizable and memorable for players, as this is the first time you take control of our little plush friend.

Conversations proposing an Attic world were made on June 25th, 2020 by Carter, and quickly backed up by the rest of the team.

Halston got right onto creating concepts for the attic, which he shared on July 21st, 2020, and it stuck with us throughout creating the background. You can view one of these below:

Additionally, several early attic concepts were drawn up by our 2D Artist, Ari.

Below is an extremely early block out of the world, featuring some of this concept art. Eventually, we scrapped this blockout and a different 3D artist took the helm, creating a scene nearly identical to the concept!

As with any good level background, several 3D models must be made. The Attic background features perhaps the most of any other, including clocks, shelving, tables, chairs, a piano, boxes, paint buckets, lamps, and more. Below you can see some of the models as they were created and an early non-textured composition of the scene.

One thing we always make sure of is that any viable props from the level background are reused in the UGC aspect of the game, meaning that a grandfather clock you see in the scene can also be placed in Build Mode!

As The Attic moved into its final art pass stages, team critiques for missing props and placement were drawn over a photo of the scene.

And here is what the finished Attic looks like today - as it was featured in the Restitched Reveal Trailer!

What do you think of this cozy little place? We can't wait for you to explore how this world helps establish the story of Restitched!

Haddock Harbour

Haddock Harbour was another one of the very early worlds conceptualized for the game. For this theme, we were inspired by the seaside towns of the British Isles and utilized several real-life images to help us visualize what this area would look like. Eventually, like everything else in Restitched, concept art (by Michael Wright) was created, which you can view below:

...and here are images from when the pier began construction:

With the pier constructed, props were made and terrain was sculpted. Below you can see the boat model and cliffs:

Buildings were soon blocked out, creating the appearance of a small pier-side town, complete with pubs, a church, and more.

Beginning to look just a bit more recognizable now...

Boats! Water shader! Skybox! These things were all added to help visualize the mood early on, though at this point the shaders, lighting, and skybox were all added in the modeling program for experimental purposes and were not in-engine.

We strayed from the concept art a bit as we decided that colorful houses created nice focal points and distinction in the scene. We feel they more accurately represent the vibe you imagine when thinking of Celtic-inspired locations.

Below is a screenshot taken from the modeling program, and not in-game. As shown, Matt added fog and proper lighting as a visual pitch for how the background should be configured within the engine when our Lead Modeler begins to import it.

Matt's portfolio showcases the lovely Celtic Harbour background in a wireframe view. It's incredible how much detail and love went into creating this gorgeous scene. We can't wait to use it for our own levels, and we certainly can't wait to see what you all do with it yourselves!

...and that leads us to the Harbour which we all know and love today, as displayed in several of our public screenshots! We've updated the lighting, skybox, water shaders, colour grading, and provided several little tweaks here and there - all resulting in the final product (featuring some early scenes created for the Reveal Trailer):

To Build Mode, and Beyond!

"One small step for Stuffy, one giant leap for Restitched." 

One of the most extraordinary and unique level backgrounds for Restitched is The Moon. We wanted a proper out-of-this-world experience (pun intended), as we'd mostly provided real-world locations so far. The Moon background is part of our plans to include assets not intended for story purposes, as we've done with the Synthwave theme. We want our community to go wild with their creations!

We didn't have conceptual art for the moon, so we instead searched up photos online and created a sort of mood board for what we imagined. This background was very spur-of-the-moment! Below is an incredibly early block out of The Moon by Matt:

The next step was to add the black void of space, several stars, a textured Earth model, and proper terrain.

We began to create the platform for the play area, where levels take place. This was inspired by a futuristic sci-fi aesthetic... Perhaps Stuffy's at a base on the moon?

...can't forget the rocks and craters, and it's no scene at all without textures! We considered this phase our 'art pass', and you can see things really taking shape:

As outlined earlier, backgrounds often feature extra details by way of 3D props. This background is no exception and contains hovering satellites and rovers. An in-progress photo of the satellite model can be seen below! We kept this model rather simple for performance reasons. After all, it's so far in the distance that any extra detail would be wasted.

...and here's the final product with a little material platform made in-game. Our Lead Modeler, Ozy, does an incredible job at porting the backgrounds in-game and setting up the lighting!

The 3D Artist (Matt) responsible for this background has since decided to give it a nice polish. If you've seen our Restitched: Recapped! posts past September you'll have caught a glimpse of the Moon's new terrain!

Does this background inspire any levels for you? It certainly does for us. Let us know in the comments below!

Wrapping Up

There we are! We hope you enjoyed this little insight into the creation of more Restitched level backgrounds. We still have several in development that haven't been revealed, and we can't wait to share these with you in the future!

Are there any other backgrounds you'd like to see in-game? Why not share those thoughts with us too?