Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
The military architecture in Star Wars follows a pattern, being mostly black and grey in the case of the Imperial's side. There is a lot of metal, pipes and control panels with many buttons. The Imperial's architecture conveys oppression, coldness and sobriety. One of the imperial's hallmarks are the lights on walls. They are white and have a distinct grate pattern covering it. The imperial logo is seen on many imperial's facilities. Cohesion and coherence are kept within the game.
Power generators look like power generators. Electrical devices glow and look like they are powered by electricity. The first mission takes place in a secret base in a canyon. On the outside there are communication towers and turrets guarding the base. The equipment boxes and supply boxes match the game's theme. In the huge space facility Cairn each part is a level representing one of the facility's areas. There is a level representing the nuclear reactor with energy beams that serve as environmental hazards. There are devices that look like power generators. There are pipes where there are energized cables passing through. There are structures that seem to be manufacturing yards for AT-ST with tracks and huge containers. There are control rooms and turrets to defend against invading forces.
Each level in the game perfectly fits the context, with challenges that are well though of and require the player to think on a strategy to pass. The environment helps to tell the story by having meaningful structures and settings. For example: the Artus Mine level has detention areas where prisoners are being held captive. In there the imperial forces are enslaving rebel forces to mine crystals for them. The crystals are also part of the plot. The game presents a good variety of levels ranging from outdoor to indoor. All levels contain secrets with ammo and shield for the player. All that is an example of a good direction where artists and designers joined forces to create a great experience.
Bioshock
This game follows the story of a city that was built under the sea. From start to finish the player is in the city and under the sea. The designers researched about Art Deco to create a city with a unique feel and look. Every sign, wallpaper, poster, tiles, doors, windows, follow a style that resembles France and the first world war. One of the key elements are the ventilation ducts that are made of metal and are placed everywhere in the city. It's where the little sisters come out and go in. They are easy to spot and are the place that they little sisters go if the player rescues them.
Why did they choose Art Deco? Without going deeper, the decision was made with a combination of concerns about the character who built the city, gameplay and easiness of modelling. The art style is full of geometric shapes, which are easier to model, low poly and it also ties in to the philosophy of Andrew Ryan, the man who built the city in the bioshock's universe. The city was built as a place where man would thrive over religion. A place where society would be rational and people wouldn't worship gods or adore kings. In terms of architecture this translates into an architecture where the first concern is function. Looking on the outside of each level, the buildings are all skyscrappers and there is a lot of neon lights. Luxury, grandiosity, the power of man's rational thinking, geometric shapes, those are ideas that were explored throught the game's levels.
The lore of this game is about a ruined city, once an utopia that has fallen into disgrace with the ADAM drug playing a central role. ADAM gave people powers but as a side effect it made people insane, leading to the ruin of its society. The player can see how damaged the place is with running water everywhere, leaking pipes and completely flooded areas. Water isn't there for nothing, it can interact with the player such as when the player has the electric powers. Every place in the city looks run down with broken furniture, broken walls, falling ceilings and enemies that are dressed with clothes that match the place they are in. Even the dialogues help create an atmosphere that the player can really feel.
The whole game feels claustrophobic by placing the player inside a city where there is no escape and water could flood it all at any time. Every level has narrow corridors and locked doors. The lighting is often dark and some enemies surprise the player from behind. It isn't a terror game but a survival game with some scary moments. Due to technological constrains the levels have a limited size. In spite of such limitations the levels are well made and the developers have achieved a combined sense of claustrophobia and a sense of exploring the city.
Max Payne 3
Image credits: AlphaYellow
Each environment in the game was well made and reflects that it was carefully researched on. In Max Payne 1 the game takes place in New York. There was a lot of research to create an environment that represents New York and at the same time is meaningful for the game, with challenges that feel natural. In Max Payne 3 the same care was taken and each place was well though of. There are some incoherences though, such as making the Tiete River too wide and with trees that aren't part of the real river. The rainy atmosphere that they created resembles more a swamp and an asian tropical forest than the real river's biome. The story has some abrupt changes that are reflected in the game. In Max Payne 1 the whole game has snow. In Max Payne 2 it's rain. In Max Payne 3 they wanted to pay homage to previous games and added some levels with rain and snow that break the game's cohesion.
Nonetheless each level has cohesion and coherence in itself. The luxurious ship has bedrooms, kitchen, engine room, living rooms and everything feels right. The scale is correct and feels natural. The abandoned hotel level is a callback from Max Payne 1. Wall paint is peeling off, there are cracks everywhere, long corridors, broken furniture and lots of debris. The slums level is a close depiction of the real slum they based the level on. It feels real and natural, with great care taken to make characters that speak in way the real people living in there would and dressed with real looking clothes. Even the music was made by a professional artist to reflect on the slum's culture. The streets are narrow and there are many dead ends and alleys. There is a lot of garbage, exposed brick walls, bottles, wooden boxes, plastic tables and chairs, wall writings and exposed concrete blocks.
In Max Payne 3 every level is linear, there is only one way to go. In spite of the levels being linear they are also open for exploration. The game isn't a good example of cohesion because it brings environment that have cohesion by themselves, but the overall storyline lacks cohesion. The environments are varied but the plot itself is lacking in terms of depth to properly explain the atmospheric changes from one level to another.