Role: Lead Level Designer
Saints Row - Ambient Life
Engine: In-house CTG Engine
Highlights:
Oversaw Ambient Life team
curated composition or ambient populations
In addition to world/level design one of the main responsibilities was placing ambient life throughout the world. Populating the world with sidewalks, and vehicles splines. Placing pedestrians and combatants in animated action nodes, or in more interactive open world Vignettes, and parked vehicles. Level designer had to have a holistic view on their districts and gameplay spaces. Not only did we have to make them fun but we had to think about how do these spaces function, who lives here, day and night differences. What kind of stories can be told with the environment and ambient life?
I also lead the Ambient Life team for most of production. I’d collaborate with Animation, and Missions team to generate requests, curate ambient pedestrian and vehicle populations per district. I wrote training materials and ambient placement guidelines. Tracked and assigned tasks. Did a fair share of ambient life placement for the main game and DLC projects.
Police investigation vignette - A is vignette markup that can contain multiple Action nodes or scripted objects. This is my favorite instances which placed in an alley downtown
Throughout the game the Road Runner and Coyote mascot appear through out the city doing various things
Chicken Ned hangout out at an outdoor bar in Sunshine Springs. Some action nodes are placed as Open nodes which spawn characters can freely walk up and enter into
During some world states the presences of the Marshall Faction is boosted. Here they are guarding their training grounds.
Example of Ambient life planning for a Mission space using static posed 'Oscars' show the intent or function of space. If this was a real-life space then Rival gang members should have a purpose that is contextual to their environment or story.
Example of Color-coded staging ambient life in context of location and enemies. Green are attention grabbers, orange is hostile, grey are the background actors.
Show don't tell. Even in a blockout you can show how a place functions as a living space. People waiting in line for a nightclub, bouncers at the door.
Yep
Faction vignettes were used to fill out faction territory. When the player take over a district these vignette would spawn Saints versions instead.
This is an interior for the Biker Bar that I originally blocked out. This location was a mission/cinematic location as well as being open for the open world. This is the ambient open world state
another view of the biker bare interior
At nearly every Animal House location there are mascots placed in intimidating poses. Suggesting that maybe more is going on.
Discovery and finding unique things in the open world is fun. I requested a number of unique "Ultra Rare" vehicles and hide them throughout the world. In thematic locations
A map of where I hid all the ultra rares
The Oil Baron's car, complete with burning oil derricks hidden in the Oil fields
Possibly haunted clown park out behind and abandoned water park
Off-road stock car hidden behind a roadside burger stand
The fast and Furi? Hidden deep in the Panteros territory. Panteros are the gearheads street racer themed gang.
Some of the most important cars that most people never think about. Commercial Service and utility vehicles. You'd miss them if they weren't there and having them in appropriate locations help sell the reality of the world
Some of the most important cars that most people never think about. Commercial Service and utility vehicles. You'd miss them if they weren't there and having them in appropriate locations help sell the reality of the world
The placement of certain kinds of vehicles is not haphazard. For a limo it's placement needs to make sense. It can imply a story. Here we have a limo parked outside a downtown hotel with a well dress pedestrian, presumably the driver, standing next to it.