Okay, so, I set out to recreate the “Mountain Temple” level from Tomb Raider. You know, the one with the crazy rope bridges and all that cool scenery? Let me tell you, it was a journey.
First, I spent hours just playing that level over and over again. I took tons of screenshots, made some rough sketches, and basically tried to get the feel of the place. It’s more complex than you’d think!
Then, I fired up my trusty game engine. I won’t bore you with the techy details, but let’s just say it involves a lot of dragging and dropping. I started with a basic terrain, just a big, ugly, flat plane. Gotta start somewhere, right?
Sculpting the Terrain
This was the fun part, but also super tedious. I used the engine’s sculpting tools to push and pull the terrain, trying to match the mountains and valleys from the game. I kept flipping back and forth between my screenshots and my work, making tiny adjustments. My eyes definitely got a workout!
- Sculpted the basic mountain shapes.
- Added in the ravine where the temple sits.
- Refined the slopes and cliffs until they looked somewhat natural.
Adding Assest
Next, I started populating the scene with assets. Think rocks, trees, those little bushes that Lara always seems to be hiding behind. The engine has a bunch of built-in stuff, which is handy, but I also found some free models online to spice things up.
Placing all those assets was like doing a giant 3D puzzle. I tried to make it look natural, you know, like nature had actually put those trees there, not some dude with a mouse.
The Temple
The temple itself was a whole other beast. I decided to build a simplified version. So, I laid out the basic structure, added some pillars and walls, and threw on a roof.
- Blocked out the main temple building.
- Added some decorative elements.
- Textured everything to look old and weathered.
Lighting and Effects
Lighting is everything, man. It can make a scene look amazing or totally flat. I spent a good chunk of time playing with the sun angle and adding some fog to give it that misty mountain vibe. I also added some particle effects for falling leaves and stuff.
It’s not perfect, not by a long *, I’m pretty stoked with how it turned out. It’s definitely given me a new appreciation for level designers.
