Design Requirements
Each level has a different themed look, in a style reminiscent of 90s console games. I created matching environments for "Nevada Desert", "Daytona Beach", "Asteroid Belt" and "Red Dwarf".
Jon provided me with moodboards for each level which the team had created.
The first incarnation of Chaos Karts was in a temporary structure in London, and the media server being used to display the wall projections only allowed for an output large enough to cover two of the four walls, so the other two walls were simply mirrored. The canvas size was effectively 8530 x 1200 pixels - roughly four times bigger than HD video.
After the success of the initial prototype in London, in April 2023 work began on a new version of Chaos Karts at the former Granada TV Studios in Manchester. The media servers were of a higher specification so we would now be able to project video across the full four walls without any mirroring. This new canvas was 18,000 x 1096 pixels.
The Manchester venue also has a second "pit stop" room allowing the track to divert through this room on some levels. There are two openings in the wall for the karts to drive through and these are incorporated into the environment designs.
Design Techniques
There are a few techniques used to make these environments feel expansive:
- Incorporating layers of depth - objects in the foreground, middleground and background
- Being careful with what appears at the corners of the room
- Scaling objects appropriately to maintain the immersion
- Creating 3D "pre-visualisations" to test the environments before installation
My twenty years of experience with Adobe After Effects has left me well equipped to handle these technical challenges, with a number of tricks employed to keep things running fast.
Environment Designs
Each level has a unique themed environment with immersive visuals.
Space Station
A futuristic space station with vehicle entry ports and control panels. The pit-stop openings are designed as airlock entrances.
Beeland
This environment was designed by a competition winner. A fantasy land populated by bees, with trees that drip honey, and honey waterfalls!
Neo Tokyo
A futuristic version of Tokyo with an adundance of neon, flying vehicles and occasional appearances of a Godzilla-like creature roaming the streets!
Deep Space
This level is set in deep space, surrounded by stars, colourful nebulae and a sci-fi wormhole.
3D Environment Visualisation
A pre-visualisation showing how the animations look to players as they drive around the track. This helps ensure the scale and perspective work correctly from the player's viewpoint. This environment is "Bee Land" - one of four new tracks that I was commissioned to animate.