FMP Blog Chapter 7 (Production - Signposting & Breadcrumb Trails) - Open-World Level Design Showcase

This week I attempted to fulfil another one of my goals within the project by utilising signposting and “breadcrumb trail” techniques to help support player navigation and highlight key areas of interest throughout the map.

I also researched other methods of directing players naturally to key parts of the level and soon discovered the effectiveness of both colour, contrast, and lighting in guiding them.

As seen below in the first image in the gallery, the roads which help the player traverse through the map are not only a contrasting colour to the normal terrain, but also lead to landmarks and points of interest to the player. This is further accentuated by trails of collectable coins (literally bread-crumbing the player to where I want them to go as the Level Designer), as well the use of symmetry with rows of trees running parallel along the path.

In the second image, the paths up the mountain are a darker colour and help to inform the player that it is meant to be climbed, with eye-catching meteorite particle effects helping to gain the player's attention as well.

The third image yet again reinforces the idea of the roads being a contrasting colour to their surroundings, as well as the use of flaming urns near the Katana shrine to intrigue the player and encourage them to investigate.