Weeks 3 & 4: Visual Upgrades and Environment Design

During these two weeks, I was away from my VR hardware, so I focused on improving the visual side of my project. My main goal was to make the game world feel more immersive and visually interesting by adding a variety of environment assets and props. Here’s what I accomplished:

Asset Integration

I explored the Unity Asset Store and incorporated several high-quality, free and low-poly asset packs to build out my dungeon environment:

• Animated Old Chest
  A detailed, animated chest model for loot and enemy traps.
  Unity Asset Store, ID: 20179
• N-GonForge Dungeon (Low Poly)
  A modular dungeon environment pack with walls, floors, props, and lighting elements for creating atmospheric dungeon scenes.
  Unity Asset Store, ID: 303819
• Low Poly Dungeons Lite
  A collection of modular dungeon pieces and props, perfect for expanding and customizing the environment.
  Unity Asset Store, ID: 177937

Environment Building Process

Each day, I added new assets and iteratively built up the scene. My process included:

• Importing Assets:
  Downloaded and imported each pack into my Unity project, organizing folders for easy access.
• Scene Layout:
  Started with basic dungeon walls and floors, then layered in props like barrels, crates, and torches from the environment packs.
• Progressive Detailing:
  With each session, I added more decorative and interactive elements—such as animated chests (used both as loot and as enemy traps), banners, and small clutter to make the dungeon feel lived-in.
• Lighting & Atmosphere:
  Experimented with different lighting setups from the packs to make the dungeon look moody and mysterious.

Screenshots & Visual Progress

Throughout these weeks, I took regular screenshots to document my progress. Each screenshot captures a new stage:

• Early Screenshots:
  Replacement of placeholder assets and finishing basic layout of dungeon layout
  
• Mid-Progress Screenshots:
  Show the basic dungeon layout with minimal props, focusing on structure and navigation.
• Final Screenshots:
  Display enemy chests placed in the scene as both hazards and rewards, along with a variety of small assets that make the environment feel complete.

Reflections

• Working Without VR:
  Not having access to my headset meant I couldn’t playtest interactions, but it gave me time to polish the look and layout of the game world.
• Asset Management:
  Using modular, low-poly assets made it easy to experiment and iterate quickly.
• Next Steps:
  Once I’m back with my VR hardware, I plan to test how the new visuals feel in VR and make adjustments for performance and immersion.

Asset References

• Animated Old Chest (Unity Asset Store, ID: 20179)
• N-GonForge Dungeon Low Poly (Unity Asset Store, ID: 303819)
• Low Poly Dungeons Lite (Unity Asset Store, ID: 177937)

: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/dungeons/n-gonforge-dungeon-low-poly-303819
: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/dungeons/low-poly-dungeons-lite-177937
:https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/props/animated-old-chest-20179