Modular Design in Urban Environments

My project was an exploratory venture into modular design for cities. My process started with doing research into popular industry practices and common architecture. I was interested in finding ways to shorten art workflow and block out environments quickly. Creating urban environments have the challenge of requiring many building and decorative assets, which strain time and resources, and at the same time designers must avoid using too much repetition that could confuse the player’s direction.

I used Autodesk 3ds Max and Adobe Photoshop to produce my assets. My final result was over two dozen or so assets that could be repeated and retextured easily for more variety. From shop fronts that could line down streets and walls that stack up into high rise buildings, I also had some bigger chunks that make up large corporate buildings.  My thesis expanded to provide assets for a software engineering student in his thesis project in the creation of a 3D city generator for use in the Unity engine (unity3d.com). .