Hey there, travellers of the skies,
You’ve probably seen some of the amazing player-made creations from our Island Creator by now. Many of you have already delved into the sweet art of island-making, and have produced vast, colourful havens amid the clouds.
We’re going to be updating this useful tool really soon - including such things as ruins that have a chance of containing loot in the live game, and ancient databanks that contain knowledge of the past. We can’t wait to see what you create with these new features added, but until then, we caught up with a couple of our top island creators, to see how they have found the tool so far, and what they have created.
First up, we have Rykaan…
“I'm Robert Stephenson and I've been using the Island Creator as a means to practice level design work while I try to move towards a games design career. The program stood out to me for the simplicity in it's scope but the width of it's possibilities. A difficult aspect of level design is how to present the player with a consistently interesting space, the limitation of the floating island appealed for this reason. The playable area is entirely determined by the premise of the island itself and the imagination of the designer. Trying to fill an entire horizon of gamespace as someone teaching themselves level design is a daunting task, whereas an idea can quickly be fleshed out in the island creator since the world is only ever as big as is necessary. There is enough complexity available to create something big and elaborate; but a small island with a great idea can be designed, finished and uploaded for people to see in a few hours.
The complexity limitation I was took as a challenge. It's very easy to make an island with a forest on it by placing a lot of trees. But trees are very intensive object to put into any game. Learning to use the more interesting assets available, like the trees or larger building structures was a lesson learned while using the program. For a 3D tool it was very simple to use as well. I have a little knowledge of Maya from university and the Island Creator was easy to pick up from that background. Learning the Island Creator itself took very little time, which meant that I could focus more on the level design than the interface itself.
The Islands I created with the program were each a lesson to teach myself. The inspiration for each being an aspect of gameplay I wanted to explore. 'The Maze' was my first big undertaken build, the enforced structure to focus on exploration within a recognisable space with a clear goal. However this clashed with the idea of the Worlds adrift gameplay in general, with very little verticality to the map. 'The Makers Sundial' was designed specifically as a response to this mistake when it came to creating a new Island. A truly vertical map with a real focal point on the top. It's very satisfying seeing an element or asset within the program and thinking of ways to use it that no one else thought of. This is a key part of the Island creator experience that I really enjoyed. The last big map I created with the program to date is called 'Utopia' and set out to be the culmination of all the lessons learned on the way. The map is maze like yet with large vertical elements, and a focus on grapple points to allow fast movement through a large city. I wanted it to become a showcase of what can be done with the program both from my point of view and from the community as a whole.
The possibilities of the Island creator grow with every update and the new features have made map creation faster and simpler. It's far easier to be imaginative and see ideas through when the tools are a help not a hindrance. It's a great little program to unleash creativity and get designing. And makes me even more determined to get past my QA days and into level/games design work.
Next, we have Ritchie J….
“My background's in architecture and I've found the Island Creator to be a great sketching and concept development tool - I just start with an idea and go straight into the app without recourse to pencil and paper. And sometimes with no idea at all - simply doodling away with the components often bears fruit. Generally, I lay out the primary built form first and then sculpt the terrain to suit after creating custom groups for re-insertion. I like to alternate between the 'traditional' ruin + cave environments and something more conceptually playful. I'm bemused that Fast Franky's Fryland is proving to be more popular than Temple to the God of Flight but hopefully there's room for a multitude of approaches in the WA universe. I guess as long the environments are interesting and invite exploration then the aesthetic style is not too critical.
01 - Temple to the God of Flight
Initial attempt in WA – playing around with shape and scale. The structure developed first and once the head was added ‘temple’ evolved and the choice of god was a no-brainer. A conventional layout which assumes a fixed spawn point at the start of a processional route – of no consequence at all to visiting ships!
02 - Far Easterly Isle
Another exercise in ‘shape and scale’ inspired by the moai on the real Easter Island. Primary formal elements are Desert Rocks and Metal Wings with terrain downplayed and used as infill. Lots of different levels to explore or colonise.
03 - Mushroom Troopers
I wanted to experiment with ‘minimalism’ so limited the architectural components to Metal Screw, Icon Shield and Radiant Fungi. This island is intended more for settlement rather than exploration with the open plan floors lending themselves to colonists adding their own walls and divisions with movable scrap that can be harvested elsewhere.
04 - Saboriana Industrial Spawn Facility
I just wondered where all those large-scale components came from - an alternative try at a three-component strategy using Sky Column, Step Pyramid and God Statue with lots of help from Cave Foliage to bring a more human scale to the volumes. Not really an island, more of an exercise in trying to keep it simple.
05 - Saboriana Cargo Ship
I like the Saborian aesthetic but the sheer size of some of the elements makes customizing buildings a bit of a challenge – so I chickened out and went into the delivery business instead. Spaceframe courtesy of Memorial Pillars, mirroring elements about major axis and rotating groups – can’t wait for the Ship Builder App to launch.
06 - Fast Franky’s Fryland – Oft Visited Isle
For those primarily concerned with attack, defense and social engagement where exploration is secondary to rapidly harvesting critical supplies. Not just for fun – designed to beg the question as to who or what is to be responsible for placing ore and fuel. A discerning human designer or a procedural algorithm? Hopefully the former
07 - From Dust to Dust – Warriors’ Rest
This started with humble beginnings – I like the progressive decay implicit in the Simple Floor Tiles set and wanted to use them as the generating element. They dictated the way the terrain should be laid out and the warriors’ statues were already in an ‘experimental – WIP’ island of disparate groups.
08 - Island Chain Smoking
To be twinned with Fast Franky’s Fryland for those who can’t do a full meal without a fix or simply need to grab resources on the go. This one has similarities with Mushroom Troopers with many large-scale open-plan levels hopefully inviting colonization by bringing in cast-off items from elsewhere to create shelter at a smaller scale.
In conclusion I’m thinking that WA is going to be a fast-evolving, dynamic multiverse not just in game-play but also in the format of the islands themselves. So currently I want to test out a variety of types and not get stuck on one particular formal idea in order to see what appeals to the WA community. The islands should emanate a sense of identity and uniqueness and not just be seen as resource platforms for ship building and storage.”
Make sure you head over to Steam Workshop and check out these islands - even if you’re not the most creative person in the world, it’s a lot of fun swinging through clouds, exploring other people’s creations.
If you have any questions about the Island Creator and want to prod us for secrets about the update, come and chat to us in the comments.
The Worlds Adrift Team
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