Any tips for creating atmosphere?

So one of the things that has motivated me a great deal is looking at Dusk and its success and realizing that I’m perfectly capable of making a game on that technical level.

I’m not looking to rip it off, by any means, I definitely want to do my own thing.

Fairly certain I want to do an FPS metroidvania, although I’m not against limiting it to stage select, with a minimalist story that does not get in the way of gameplay.

The story in short is you are a prisoner mercenary who is being sent on missions to reduce your sentence. You are sent to a planet with a starter colony that has gone silent to investigate. Stuff happens. And you run into bugs, humans, and ancient alien cult that is all energy shields and blue glowy stuff.

Not really breaking new ground here.

Starcraft had zerg, protos, and terra.

Halo had flood, covenant, and humans.

Bugs, glowy aliens, humans.

So…

How would I even start to get a coherent mood and atmosphere?

I should mention that the protagonist will be mute, but will be accompanied by an AI Correctional Officer. Think of it as Claptrap, but in your head, talking to you and giving things flavor.

Obviously I would use them sparingly and not spell out what to do at all times.

Maybe have them make comments when you hit a trigger in different levels. Or make a comment when you kill a tough boss. And MAYBE have him point something out that is environment story telling thats easy to miss. Stuff like that.

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The game industry employs sketch artists and art directors for setting the mood of a game and creating interesting, believable characters. :wink:

Meaning, there’s no easy way, it requires a lot of trial and error, technical expertise, knowledge of graphic design, scouring the web for mood shots.

I thought I’ll do an image search for “prisoner mercenary who is being sent on missions” but I’m afraid that only revealed shots of Prigoshin and his comrades. :grin:
But just adding “scifi” to the keyphrase and you can get a mood shot like this, which - if you like it - you can use to set the tone and lighting effects of interior design but also characters:

Mind you, this is far from trivial but it’s a start and it requires trying to find the mood you’re after and then trying to replicate this in a game engine. Of course, with HDRP you get a lot more values to tweak but also will spend a lot more time.With URP you’ll have to settle for many compromises instead.

The choice of colours used, can help give atmosphere, to an eerie space scene or enviroment.

Also, I’ve noticed that echoing sounds, help give an eerie atmosphere to a spacey scene. A good example, is when you go through the space pirate frigate, in the starting of the first metroid prime game. Lots of things randomly falling, and pieces of metal falling and clanging, in different parts of the rooms, sending small echoes throughout the rooms you enter. When it comes to eerieness, even Dead Space can’t touch that 1st area, in metroid prime 1.

I will admit, they did some really good colour, and sound design in metroid prime 1.