The document discusses the modular level design strategies used in Fallout 4, presented by Joel Burgess and Nate Purkeypile of Bethesda Game Studios. It covers the fundamentals of modular kits, their development process, and various design techniques that enhance flexibility and efficiency in creating game environments. It emphasizes the importance of iteration, usability, and the collaborative nature of kit-building to facilitate effective level design.

1. The Modular Level
Design of Fallout 4
Joel Burgess & Nate Purkeypile
Bethesda Game Studios

5. Modular Kits 101

6. We’re Doing a Sequel!
● Original Talk: 2013 @ LD in a Day
● We’ll show URL on the end slide
● Today’s Talk:
● Recap Core Ideas from 2013
● Updates & Examples from Fallout 4

7. Who We Are
● Nate Purkeypile
● Environment Artist
●The tall one
● Joel Burgess
● Level Design
●The one talking right now (hi!)

8. plus
DLC
plus
DLC
plus
DLC
Bloodrayne
2
Aeon Flux Metroid
Prime 3:
Corruption
TESIV:
Oblivion
Fallout 3 Skyrim Fallout 4
Shivering
Isles
Mehrunes
Razor
Point
Lookout
Operation
Anchorage
The Pitt
M. Zeta
Dawnguard
Dragonborn

9. Bloodrayne
2
Aeon Flux Metroid
Prime 3:
Corruption
TESIV:
Oblivion
Fallout 3 Skyrim Fallout 4
Shivering
Isles
Mehrunes
Razor
Point
Lookout
Operation
Anchorage
The Pitt
M. Zeta
Dawnguard
Dragonborn

10. Who We Are
● BGS as a studio

11. Technique
Context
Process
Studio & Game
Goals
Culture
Values
Priorities

12. What Came Before

13. Daggerfall (1996)

14. Morrowind (2002)

15. Bloodrayne 2 (2004)

16. Bloodrayne 2 (2004)

17. Oblivion (2006)

18. Fallout 3 (2008)

19. Fallout 3 (2008)

20. Skyrim (2011)

21. Skyrim (2011)

22. Skyrim (2011)

23. Fallout 4 (2015)

24. Modular Kits 101

25. Fundamentals
● Begin by Defining Footprint

26. Slide taken from 2013 session

28. 256
2
5
6

29. 256
5
1
2

30. Fundamentals
● Begin by Defining Footprint
● Be cautious with Non-Uniform Tiling

31. Slide taken from 2013 session

32. Fundamentals
● Begin by Defining Footprint
● Be cautious with Non-Uniform Tiling
● Build Within Footprint extents

33. Slide taken from 2013 session

34. Fundamentals
● Begin by Defining Footprint
● Be cautious with Non-Uniform Tiling
● Build Within Footprint extents
● Pick a Pivot, and stick with it.

40. Fundamentals
● Begin by Defining Footprint
● Be cautious with Non-Uniform Tiling
● Build Within Footprint extents
● Pick a Pivot, and stick with it.
● Use Standardized Transitions

42. Techniques
● Use Layered Inserts w/Base Kits

47. Slide taken from 2013 session

48. Fallout 4 – GNN Plaza

49. Techniques
● Use Layered Inserts w/Base Kits
● Local Snap Parents aka Custom Grids

50. Slide taken from 2013 session

51. Slide taken from 2013 session

52. Slide taken from 2013 session

53. Techniques
● Use Layered Inserts w/Base Kits
● Local Snap Parents aka Custom Grids
● Pivot-And-Flange kits for organic areas

54. Slide taken from 2013 session

55. Slide taken from 2013 session

58. Always Look Forward
● Be willing to experiment w/Process
● ...but be deliberate.

61. Preparing for the Future

68. Fallout 4 Family of Kits
● Retail
● Institutional
● Church
● High-Tech
● Industrial
● Public Space
● Steam Tunnel
● Cave
● House
● The Institute
● Neo-Classical
● Office
● Vault
● Quarry

69. Allocating Time & Attention
Retail
Institutional
Public Space
Neo-Classical
Office
High Tech
Church
Steam Tunnel
Cave
House
The Institute
Other
Shack

70. Kit-Building Overhead
● Each Kit is time-consuming to create
● Lead Time
● On-boarding
● Iteration & Maintenance

71. Studio Allergies
● Identify Time Sinks
● Avoid Redundant Work
● Get to Playable Faster

72. Consolidating Like Kits
● Retail
● Institutional
● Church
● High-Tech
● Industrial
● Public Space
● Steam Tunnel
● Cave
● House
● The Institute
● Neo-Classical
● Office
● Vault
● Quarry

73. Consolidating Like Kits
● Retail
● Institutional
● Church
● High-Tech
● Industrial
● Public Space
● Steam Tunnel
● Cave
● House
● The Institute
● Neo-Classical
● Office
● Vault
● Quarry

75. Kits as Solutions
● What problem does a kit solve?

76. Allocating Time & Attention
“Building”
High Tech
Industrial
Church
Steam Tunnel
Cave
House
The Institute
Other
Shack

77. The Building Kit

78. Fallout 3 Office Kit (2008)

79. The Building Kit
● Traditional Construction of Varying Types
● Unified Workflow across kits
● Standard Sub-Kit Types
● Rooms
● Halls
● Stairs, Railings, Platforms, etc.

81. Piece Granularity

82. Breakdown: A Corner Piece
● Old System: Export from 3DS Max
● Lots of redundant work

83. BldWoodPSmHall2Way01
See 2013 talk for more on naming conventions

84. Breakdown: A Corner Piece
● Old System: Export from 3DS Max
● New System: Editor/Pack-In

86. BldWoodPSmFlrOnly01
BldWoodPSmWall01
BldWoodPSmWall01
BldWoodPSmWallCorner01
BldWoodPSmCeilOnly01

88. Higher Granularity
● Break Wall/Floor/Ceiling Groupings
● More Destruction Flexibility
● Kit Interchangeability
● Flexible layouts
● Less Dependence on pre-determined combos

90. Workflow For LDs

91. Granularity & LD Workflow
● More Flexibility
● More Time-Consuming

93. 1
2
3
5 9
6
4
7
10
11
12
8
13
14
15
16
17 18 19 20

94. Old Way = 20 Objects
New Way = 123 Objects

95. Preserving Workflow
Old Way
New Way

96. Preserving Workflow
Pack-In Prefab
Exploded Granular

97. Importance of Kit Readiness
● Kits are cornerstone
● Front-loaded in art schedule
● Graybox quality early
● Visual Iteration throughout dev
● Focus on “Trustworthy” Kit functionality

98. Intelligent Dependencies
● Iterate Accordingly
● Level Design 5-Pass Iterations
● Discussed in 2014

99. Pass 0
Concept
Pass 1
Layout
Pass 2
Gameplay
Pass 3
Content
Complete
Pass 4
Polish
Core Kit
Is
Usable
Layout
Is
Reliable

100. First Pass (June 2012)

101. Final Version (Nov 2015)

102. Kit Priorities

103. Kit Elements
● Hero Pieces
● Utilitarian Core
● Variants

104. Taken From 2013 Talk

105. GENERIC
REPEATED

106. Generic = Versatile
● Common pieces are flexible
Your Unsung Heroes:

108. Prioritizing Pieces
1. Utilitarian Core
2. Variants
3. “Hero” Pieces

109. Unblocking Work
● Minimize LD roadblocks
● Get Real Use Cases ASAP
● Allow Maximum Time for Visual Iteration
● LD: Use Placeholders to Prove Need

114. Kit Variation

115. Building Kit Variants
● Brick
● Colonial
● Wallpaper
● Wood Panel
● Bare Wood
● Deco
● Concrete
● Unique

122. Bldg - Brick

123. Bldg - Brick
Bldg - Concrete
Bldg – Bare Wood

132. Material Swaps
● Only changes the textures.
● Not an architecture change.

133. Material Swaps
● Even more mix-n-match
● Takes very little time to make new ones

143. Other Kits

144. Let’s Create Kit X
● What is unique feature/problem of X?
● How Does it solve this?
● How Does it compliment other kits?

145. Industrial Kit

157. Utility Kit

163. Wasn’t really worth it
● All that we cared about were the pipes

165. “Glue” Kit
● Mix-and-Match kit usage
● Utility kit as “Glue”
● Works well to join separate kits
● Fictionally, Functionally, Cosmetically

166. Steam Tunnel Kit

174. Deco Kit

175. Roof Trim
Main Tiling Body
Lobby Trim
Lobby Level
Foundation

176. Interior/Exterior Transitions
● Able to move freely between the two
● No longer a load

179. Building Boston

180. Modular Workflow & Boston
● Fallout 3’s Washington DC
● Cloistered Neighborhoods
● Separate from Capital Wasteland

181. Fallout 3

185. Authenticity vs Accuracy

186. Authenticity > Accuracy

187. Process
● Coastline & Scale

189. Process
● Coastline & Scale
● Skyline

190. Importance of Skyline
● General Skyline Shape
● Establish Anchor Buildings
● Determine Relative Placement
● Provide Orienting Elements

191. WIP Screenshot circa March 2013

192. Final Game Screenshot (2015)

193. Pre-Launch Fan Analysis (2015)

194. Process
● Coastline & Scale
● Skyline
● Thoroughfares

197. Bandshell
MIT
Fenway
Park
Copley Sq
State House
Faneuil Hall

199. Process
● Coastline & Scale
● Skyline
● Thoroughfares
● Neighborhoods

201. Process
● Coastline & Scale
● Skyline
● Thoroughfares
● Neighborhoods
● Ownership

203. Process
● Coastline & Scale
● Skyline
● Thoroughfares
● Neighborhoods
● Ownership
● Iteration

206. Hard Living
● Tons of hurdles had to be overcome
● Encounter Pacing
● POI/Exploration Density
● Combat and Detection, Enemy AI
● Performance, Occlusion, Sightlines
● Iteration and Metrics
● Everything took longer than expected

207. Optimization
Gameplay Pacing
Encounter AI
Modular
Workflow

210. Ability to React
● Fallout 3: Isolated
● Easy to Reshape & Adapt

211. Can we
support an
alternate
route?

212. Sure.

213. Ability to React
● Fallout 3: Isolated
● Easy to Cut & Reshape
● Fallout 4: Interconnected
● Everything Had to Fit
● Required More Layout Flexibility

216. Modular
Workflow Optimization
Gameplay Pacing
Encounter AI

217. Grab Bag!

218. Plug & Socket System

219. Plug & Socket System
● Predefined “Socket” holes
● Compatible with several “Plug” pieces
● Maximize Flexibility for transitions

220. Sockets
Plugs

222. Kit-Based Destruction

223. Wall Holes
● Problem: Visual Quality vs Repetition

225. Wall Holes
● Solution: Mix/Match
● Lots of small pieces
● Multiplicative effect

237. Platforms
● Problem: Ceiling/Floor Damage
● Solution: Tile-friendly “Free” platforms
● Useful option for demanding cases
● Highly Flexible

243. Dynamic Destruction
● Per-Piece Destructibles
● Kit-Compatible
● Location Specific Damage
● Simple Physics Simulation

247. Decals and Greebles
● Large “Gross” Decals
● Simple but very useful tricks
● Useful to obscure kit patterns

249. Cracks
Gross, Mold.
Greebles
Rust Stains

251. Tool: Layers
● Just like Photoshop
● Very useful, especially in complex scenes
● Huge time saver

255. Tool: Mouse Wheel Swap
● Ctrl+Wheel: Quickly Replace Selection
● Embracing Existing Workflow
● Another huge time saver

258. Helper Markers
● Alluded in 2013

259. Wall Edges
Ceiling
Markers
Doors/Holes

260. Prop Kits

261. The Machine Kit
● Large core library
● Greebles, Fins, Tanks, etc
● LD Blocks Space Functionally
● Artist Handcrafts Machine Swap

268. Conclusion

271. Understand Your Team Priorities
Understand Your Game Priorities

273. Thanks!

274. ● Modular Level Design of Skyrim (2013)
blog.joelburgess.com/2013/04/skyrims-modular-level-design-gdc-2013.html
● Iterative Level Design Process (2014)
blog.joelburgess.com/2014/07/gdc-2014-transcript-iterative-level.html
@JoelBurgess @NPurkeypile