SPIRIT Devlog 4: Locations and research

Welcome to this third devlog, where I'm going to talk about how I decide where the game events take place, which is turning out to be quite the undertaking. Keep in mind this is all WIP,  I haven't decided which shots to use or even if I'm going to use the actual photos (probably with a filter applied) or maybe try to trace them and draw my own scenes from scratch.

Even when I've selected a location in the city, such as the neighbourhood in this devlog, that's just the beginning. SPIRIT is going to be a NORCO-style point-and-click game, and so it needs 2D scenes for the player to visit and interact with. In a city as beautiful as Bergen, there's a lot to choose from, and each of them has to be interesting to the player to spend time in. I've come to realize I should use the location of Bergen to the fullest, so I want to really show off some beautiful spots.

For example, here's a WIP articy:Draft X shot of Skuteviken, where the protagonist Hanna Sofie lives with their flatmates:

When trying to decide on what exact places to use, I first visit the location, taking lots (as in possibly hundreds) of photos before trying to piece them together into sets of gameplay scenes when I get home. What complicates things is that a location doesn't just need to stand out, look good, or be a significant place in some way, it also has to work gameplay-wise: Could a certain scene be used as an overview shot? Does it tell the player anything about the location, characters, or even Bergen as a whole? How does it fit into the overarching story? What's going to happen there? What interesting things are there for you to click on to learn about? 

So if I for example want to use a shot of a really nice-looking alleyway, could I for example decide that one of the characters in the story lives there? Could I have a funny conversation or some characterization take place there? If there are NPCs there, what are they going to be like and what will they say? I try to avoid putting in things that feel like  'filler' content, so every shot needs to have a purpose.

Here's an example of a screen that clearly has a lot going on, and is also a nice entry point into the neighbourhood:

There's also some few other things to think about. I like to have locations be visible from each other so that the player knows where they are in relation to other places they know about. I also plan to have ingame maps you can open, but having reference points should make the player feel less disoriented and make the city feel more cohesive, and less like just travelling between random locations with no relation to each other.

Here's two possible screens showing first a view of a playground and fortress wall you can visit, and a street that you'll be travelling down, with the 'Carlsen på taket' business as a reference. The second shot is a possible street scene where you're standing next to said business:

I also considered having the mountains in the background in every shot, to keep reminding the player that Bergen is a small town surrounded by mountains, but I quickly realized this would be incredibly hard, so now you just see them... As often as possible, I guess? Oh, and finally locations have to be limited in number, because while I want to show off beautiful places, but I also don't have to have too many 'filler' scenes where little if anything happens.

A handful of the many scenes on the 'cutting board' that I'm considering using, if I can find a place for them.

Another challenge is the shifting seasons. I have only so much time to grab shots of a certain season, and once the leaves have started to change colour, for example, whatever new shots I take will preferrably have to line up with those I shot in summer! Then if I want more shots of a given site in a given season, I will have to wait a whole year. For example, here's two shots of the same scene in summer and winter:

That's all for this dev post, hope you enjoyed these thoughts on how to put the sights of Bergen into an RPG!