Blocktober 2023

[Accessing]

What is a Blockout?

Blockout is one of the most important beginning phases of your level design and environment art creation.

Other terms used for blockout are blockin, whitebox, blockmesh, greybox but they all mean the same thing.

Blockout is a process where you use primitive geometric shapes (cube, sphere, cylinder, planes etc.) to block-in your level designs, game environments and game art assets.

Your goal must be entirely focused on blocking-in the layout, shape, establishing size, scale, proportions and composition of your environment and if creating a playable level you also must focus on playable space, flow, pacing, gameplay implementation, scripting so you can begin playtesting.

Blockout's purpose is NOT to finish a level or game environment, NOT to make it pretty, NOT to texture, NOT to light and NOT to detail. Nothing is final in your blockouts and your blockouts will change.

The blockout phase often starts very rough and messy. You have to be flexible and being able to change things around working the whole map, determining the scale and size of your creation.

Remember, use simple geometric shapes and placeholder geometry. You want quick iteration and updates.

As you work, iterate, update and refine, blockouts will eventually become the frame or the skeleton of the level, game environment or asset that you will use to build upon and ultimately finish.

Blockouts become your foundation.

Remember:

• Keep your blockouts simple
• Use primitive geometric shapes (BSP geometry)
• Focus on size, scale, proportion, dimensions, layout and composition
• If it is a playable level, focus on gameplay, scripting, flow, pacing to playtest as soon as possible
• Work the entire environment, don't focus on any one area (you can focus more on each section/area if needed later, after you have the entire level/environment blocked in)
• Refine, update and iterate often
• Use developer textures
• Use simple lighting

How to Start Blocktober

Anyone can start, participate and share their blockouts with Blocktober. Before you do, decide what you are going to work on.

• Stand-alone game environment (one scene, one location, not playable but could be explorable)
• Level Design (playable level)
• Game environment assets (modular asset, hero asset, props)
• Diorama (self-contained) object, set, prop (no background)