Lighting and camera positioning play very important roles in signalling points of interest and establishing the size of RTO’s environment. But that also creates a problem: how do you maintain that imposing sense of scale in these larger levels without zooming so far out that you actually start diminishing the feeling of the space? The split screen idea we landed on here is a little unusual, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out!
In Return to Omega, some levels are too large to fit in a single frame. We still need to maintain that sense of scale while keeping players informed of critical events happening across the environment. A dynamic split screen was the solution. When Alpha triggers distant mechanisms or environmental reactions, the screen will automatically split to show both the player's immediate action and its consequences elsewhere in the level. This gives players a direct window into what Alpha can see and experience exactly when it’s needed. Making these transitions feel natural was important: as players move toward the area shown in the split view, both screens seamlessly merge back into one. #indiegame #indiedev #unity3d #unity #gamedev #blockout #leveldesign
Very satisfying when it all lines up at the end!
This is such a unique way of handling this problem but it turned out very well!