The way home
Start at the foot of the forest
I started with a bird that falls from the tallest tree in the forest. Its home is beyond the mountain, and it is too weak to get back there on its own. I set the journey through streams, lakes and places built by other birds, with useful objects to collect along the way. The mountain gives the journey a direction long before the bird is strong enough to reach home.
The bird and its abilities
The bird at the start
The ostrich and kiwi references gave me two ways of thinking about a bird that travels on foot. I kept long legs and a compact body, then gave the young bird a swept crest and a small hooked beak. I carried that outline into the low-poly model and checked it in a plain render, a wireframe view and a coloured version.
Small tools for different obstacles
I made the leaf pickups recognisable by both colour and outline. They have different jobs: one changes how the bird moves, another lets it use fire on objects, and another gives it an extra jump. I wanted collecting to give the player something to try on the route, rather than just increase a count.
- Purple · Shadow movement
- Slip into the bird’s own shadow and move with it.
- Red · Fire
- Give the weapon a fire attack. Certain objects require fire to interact with them.
- Green · Attack after taking a hit
- Taking damage gives the bird a chance to attack immediately.
- Blue · Second jump
- Use the leaf to jump a second time in the air.
- Gold · Choose a form
- Collect five to choose one of the three bird forms.
Three possible forms
I used the wings, tail and stance to tell the three forms apart. The sky bird stretches into a gliding silhouette; the sea bird has a fin-like crest and flowing tail; the land bird stands on stronger, taller legs. They are three ways to develop the same young bird, and I kept enough of its crest and colours for it to remain recognisable.
Drawing the forest in 2D and 3D
Lay out the water, then check the height
I drew one piece of the forest as an isometric map. The stream links the pools and waterfalls, while the rocks, trees and low buildings break the ground into smaller spaces. The mountain rises behind those spaces and gives the route a distant landmark. I modelled that layout in Maya so I could see how the heights and landmarks read together, and brought the scene into Unity.
Finding a shape for the trees
I sketched branches, roots and canopies separately from the terrain. Some trunks curve over an opening, while others leave a clear gap between the ground and canopy. I explored a fuller, painted tree as well as the simpler shapes used in the model.
The level route
Read the main route and the side points separately
I used a red line to mark a path from the spawn point across the low part of the map and toward the slope. The red dots mark the start and end; blue dots mark transport points; green triangles mark interactive objects. The lake, the bird house and the high platform give the map points the player can recognise from ground level.
For travel between different maps, I also considered letting the bird ride a large snake. That idea belongs to the links between maps; the diagram below focuses on the route, transport points and interactions inside this one forest area.
Habitats and other birds
Three places along the route
I gave the lower water, ground-level buildings and high rock different inhabitants. The habitats let me think about what a bird would do in each part of the map, and they make the climb away from the lake visible even in still images.
Explore the silhouettes of the other birds
Alongside the protagonist’s forms, I explored long gliding shapes, heavier birds that stay close to the ground, and birds with broader or more sharply spread wings. Small line silhouettes let me compare these outlines before committing to their markings and colours.