Designing a Town in Games: Building a World That Feels Right

Creating a town in a game is both art and science. It’s a delicate balance between making an environment that is visually appealing, functional, and immersive. This is a really interesting topic for me. I started out making games and later moved into working with engineers, visualising major civil and construction projects here in Australia. I used to love drawing town maps and expansive worlds, so let’s look at what it takes to design a town that truly feels right. Before laying down a single building, there are several key concepts to consider to ensure your town not only looks good but feels alive and believable.

Before designing any physical layout, understand the purpose of your town. In the real world, towns form for specific reasons. Maybe it’s a crossroad town, thriving on trade and travellers. It could be a major port due to nearby water access, or perhaps it sits on land rich with natural resources like minerals or fertile soil. The purpose of your town should guide your design choices.

Research real-world towns similar to what you want to create. Look at how towns in the area you’re trying to replicate were founded and how they evolved over time. This historical context gives your world authenticity. Remember that towns are living things; they expand from simple settlements into more complex structures, and these changes are often tied to economic growth or shifts in technology.

Next, learn some basic urban planning concepts. This knowledge is crucial for creating a town that makes sense structurally. Key elements include:

• Roads: Roads connect the most important places. In older towns, roads often followed natural terrain or were laid out based on trade routes. Modern roads, however, are more grid-like and carefully planned. Think about main roads that lead to town centres and smaller, winding streets in residential areas.
• Utilities and Civil Infrastructure: These include water supply, sewage, electricity, and waste management. In older periods, towns relied on wells, rudimentary plumbing, and open markets. Today, we see complex sewer systems and power lines. If your game world is historical or fantasy-based, research period-appropriate infrastructure.
• Types of Developments: Understand why certain areas are designated for residential, commercial, or industrial use. Markets are often near the town square, while factories or blacksmiths might be on the outskirts.

Standards change over time, so consider the period of your town. For example, medieval towns had defensive walls and narrow streets, while industrial towns needed wide roads for carts and goods. Keep these evolving standards in mind as you design.

Research Luke McMillan’s article on rational level design, particularly his Level Flow Diagram. This diagram helps you plan key points of interest and ensure smooth navigation. Think about how players will move through your town. If it takes five minutes to walk between two key locations and players have to do this repeatedly, they’ll get frustrated.

Use tools like Miro to lay out a flow map. This lets you quickly plan and test the movement and pacing of your town. The goal is to have a good flow between important areas, such as shops, quest locations, or landmarks, without making travel tedious.

Once you have a flow map, it’s time to create a rough block-out. Take a screenshot of your flow diagram and use it as a base. Import it into a drawing suite or 3D modelling software. Begin filling in basic building shapes to visualise the space.

Use common house shapes and sizes to get a feel for how your town will look. It’s not about details at this stage; it’s about understanding the layout and seeing if everything feels cohesive. Are there enough spaces for people to gather? Do important locations stand out? Does the town feel believable?

Designing a town in a game or digital environment requires a blend of historical knowledge, urban planning, and game design principles. By understanding the purpose of your town, planning the flow of movement, and testing your layout, you can create a rich, believable world that captivates and engages players or viewers.

From here, your rough layout is ready for testing. Depending on your needs, this could become a map for a tabletop RPG, a set for a film, or an immersive environment for a visualisation project. The key is to keep refining your design based on feedback and how well the space functions for your intended purpose.

This iterative approach ensures that your town will not only look right but feel right when people interact with it.

Thank you for reading, and if you found a part of this useful. Share so it can help others.

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