As a way to brainstorm the different environments that will appear in Vacuous, I have been sketching up some rough concept pieces. There is actually more going on with this process than just thinking up a cool idea for a place in the game; with the concept art, I try to consider what system of assets (like the tile sets I discussed earlier) will need to be created in order to construct the environment. I also think about how efficiently I can construct new levels with these assets and whether or not the scenes consist of objects that I can actually render in my drawings in at least a semi-appealing way.
Furthermore, the order of environments in the game is very important to consider. Thematically, there should be some sort of escalation in the types of environments the player encounters as they proceed through the game. Likewise, for gameplay purposes worlds whose themes tend towards challenging play should be placed further towards the end. Mario titles start with grasslands and end with volcanic wastelands; Sonic titles start with bright beaches and end with high-tech factories, etc. Not to say that this thematic progression has no alternative, or is not worth subverting, but when it is executed well it lends itself to world building in a subtle, brilliant way (from what I have planned, Vacuous does actually subvert it to some extent).
And now, a selection of the concept work:
