Surreal Environment Test

[degru_35]

Tried to make a surreal sort of dimension from scratch. Maybe I can expand this into a game with like multiple dimensions or worlds?

New dimension I just made:

Even newer:

Was slightly inspired by Brent Wong paintings, and a 3d artist/animator who made these really surreal geometric machine/structure videos. If this was a actual game what could it be about? I can’t think of any ideas.
The only game that I found that was sorta close to what I’m thinking of is this awesome game by domokoa. Its ending was really nice and gave that “worth it” feeling. Descriptions of 3D Environments | Play on Roblox

A big problem with me trying to come up with how to connect all these worlds is how the game should progress. Should it start off in like enclosed spaces then at some points have like open space paths where you can see the cool dimensions or something?
Another problem with megalophobia type stuff is how to traverse it. You can’t just float around, maybe a good idea could be a single straight path which acts like a window between each cramped enclosed room maze structure.
I also think constantly changing rooms would be super cool here. Turn a corner in a corridor and it leads to a dead end; backtrack and the whole room is gone. I’d probably use stuff like this sparingly, make the player think “wait wasn’t there a chair there” or stuff.
A really good aspect I could use is the fact the world is fully unfamiliar. Apart from recognizable objects here and there you do not know what can happen or what to do about anything. So I could make basically ANYTHING happen.

[KingAlijahforever (TheDevKing)]

I actually really like the look of this!

Could make it about exploring the unknown. Or like some liminal game where it plays with your mind.

Nothing is what it seems . . .

@degru_35

[megasuperalfonato (RonaldoR9)]

i like these type of games, so im looking forward to your game

I recommend playing games like this masterpiece which may inspire you in these worlds

[KingAlijahforever (TheDevKing)]

(Offtopic of me but)

Ayy welcome back to the forum @megasuperalfonato

Havnt seen you on in quite a bit :"]

[Kooraseru]

I think if you want to make a game out of this, I’d actually lean into more-so the endless abyss side of surrealism. Maybe throw in some existential horror and megalophobia… something like “The Utility Room” would be cool to see on the platform.

Either way, really cool environment!

[Ionypex23]

Megalophobia works well with this scale. If you actually try to build it, focus on heavy fog and low-intensity lighting to sell the depth of the abyss. Anything else is just cluttering the atmosphere.

[Kooraseru]

@Ionypex23

Anything else is just cluttering the atmosphere.

I wouldn’t say anything else always clutters, it’s just it has to fit the environment and work in favor of it.

Again referencing The Utility Rooms on Steam, it’s LITERALLY a gray expanse with gigantic structures, massive stone heads, moving objects, etc. On paper that’s a lot of clutter, but it all reinforces the same atmosphere. None of it feels randomly placed… it’s meant to more-so emphasis this giant “clockwork of the universe” where you’re basically just an insignificant ant wandering through it.

Spoilers for The Utility Rooms

Throughout most of the game, you’re just… there. The environment doesn’t care about you. These giant structures, massive heads, pendulums, machinery, etc. all feel like they’re operating independently of your existence. You’re just wandering through this absurdly large “machine.”

Then you eventually start interacting with it. You interrupt that “clockwork,” a gigantic head slowly turns toward you, and a massive pendulum comes crashing into it. It’s one of those moments where the environment suddenly acknowledges that you exist, and it completely changes how you view the world you’ve been walking through.

That’s why I don’t necessarily think having more objects is “clutter.” If they all contribute to a larger idea or feeling, they become part of the environment’s storytelling rather than just decoration.

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I’d probably start by deciding what kind of surrealism you actually want to lean into, then build the world around that.

Looking at Brent Wong’s work, he tends to explore a few different ideas:

1. A lone object or structure becoming the focal point of an otherwise empty landscape.
2. The landscape itself being the subject, emphasizing scale, isolation, or distance.
3. Entities or creatures inhabiting the landscape, making the world feel alive without necessarily explaining anything.
4. Light and atmosphere becoming the primary storytelling element rather than the geometry itself.

Any of those could become the foundation of a game… the first could be about exploring impossible structures, the second could lean into megalophobia and existential horror, the third could become environmental storytelling through strange encounters, and the fourth could rely almost entirely on atmosphere and visual progression.

[Ionypex23]

The point about scale is valid, but it only works if the lighting and fog are used to hide the edges of those objects. If you just drop massive heads into a clear scene, they’ll look like assets rather than part of an abyss. The ‘clockwork’ idea relies on everything feeling heavy and integrated, not just placed.

[Kooraseru]

@Ionypex23

The point about scale is valid, but it only works if the lighting and fog are used to hide the edges of those objects.

Not necessarily… that’s definitely one way of doing it, but far from the only one.

Back to how the OP was talking about Brent Wong’s art as their basis, I’m gonna reference one called The Wandering Land for example. The floating landmass isn’t hidden behind fog or haze or anything… it’s just… there. Broad daylight, bright blue sky, completely exposed. The surrealism comes from the fact you’re looking at something that’s very obviously impossible, yet the rest of the landscape is almost completely normal.

I think that’s more-so what I was trying to get at. Surrealism doesn’t always have to come from hiding something… sometimes it’s the exact opposite. You put something there that absolutely shouldn’t exist, and let the viewer question why it’s there in the first place.

(Not trying to like argue with your idea or anything btw, you could 100% do the whole fog and atmosphere stuff in fact I suggested that as more-so option #4 in the list of ideas based on Brent’s work)

[Ionypex23]

That works for a different vibe, but it’s much harder to pull off without looking cheap. High-contrast surrealism relies entirely on perfect composition and lighting, otherwise the ‘impossible’ object just looks like a bad asset placement in a generic skybox.

[Kooraseru]

@Ionypex23

High-contrast surrealism relies entirely on perfect composition and lighting

That’s fair… my point wasn’t really “this is easier” or “this is harder,” more-so just that surrealism isn’t limited to one style. Since the OP mentioned Brent Wong as inspiration I figured it was worth pointing out he explored a bunch of different ideas throughout his work.

[Ionypex23]

True, but it’s still a matter of execution. The point is that if you don’t nail the lighting, the whole concept falls apart regardless of which style you pick.

[KingAlijahforever (TheDevKing)]

Dont mean to put my two sense in here . . . but thats not necessarily the case . . .

Lighting is just the look, althought it helps carry the overall vibe of the scene, it doesnt really play a massive role other than detail

Surreal is just what cant exist in the real world – or what feels out of place really.

[Ionypex23]

That is a pretty reductive way to look at it. Lighting is what defines the depth and weight of the scene, not just some extra detail. If your lighting is flat, even the most impossible object will just look like a 2D sticker slapped onto a background.

[KingAlijahforever (TheDevKing)]

Lad . . .

Not disagreeing with you – but not sided eighter. As for the lighting just sells the look.

Surrealism comes from the concept itself – you can have the BEST lighting . . . with a completley ordinary scene, and it won’t (M A G I C A L L Y) become surreal.

Something can be completely surreal EVEN in bright daylight – just like the one @Kooraseru showed;

The lighting just changes the feel.

Such as if you see something bright an colorful, that gets paired with happy an cheerful.

While on the hand, if you have something gloomy an dark, that gets portrayed as eerie or lonely. . .

Surrealism is essentially reality with rules bent, a world in which is seemingly impossible but while also feeling as it naturally belongs.

Which means my point still stands. :'3

[Ionypex23]

The concept is what makes it surreal, sure, but lighting is what makes that concept believable within the scene. Without proper integration through light and shadow, you’re just looking at a collage of unrelated images rather than a cohesive environment.

[KingAlijahforever (TheDevKing)]

Not trying to argue but you just blatently argreed with me then;

@Ionypex23

The concept is what makes it surreal

@Ionypex23

lighting is what makes that concept believable within the scene.

I am simply just trying to give you a better understanding thats all,

Such example would be of my character here;

The overall lighting fits with the character

Meanwhile this doesnt, an everything feels disaligned with one another

I have learned from my father (as a photographer for over 20 years) that the LUT is what gives that emotion when seen.

You can take the EXACT same scene an everything, but you change the LUT, it changes the mood.

For instance if lets say it were a picture of someone smiling with a bright background, that would be calm an peaceful / but if we change the saturation to be dull an the contrast deeper then would be eerie – playing around with it more is really how you would make it look like horrorify.

Annnd yet another example;

Essentially reality bent – doesnt essentially mean everything has to be affected eigther.

[Kooraseru]

I think we’re all pretty much saying the same thing now… lighting absolutely adds to surrealism and can completely change how an environment feels. My only point was that it isn’t what creates surrealism.

You can have amazing lighting on a completely ordinary landscape and it’ll still just be an ordinary landscape. Likewise, you can have something inherently surreal in broad daylight, it’ll just evoke a different feeling. The concept is what makes it surreal… the lighting is what changes how the viewer experiences it.

Example: duc 🦆

With Atmosphere Density ~0.5	Without Atmosphere Density (0)

[KingAlijahforever (TheDevKing)]

T H A N K – Y O U

Was all that I was trying to say really

Not gonna be sitting here ranting – not gonna ruin my night!

Well any-whoop, have a wonderful rest of your night :'>

[Kooraseru]

@degru_35

Was slightly inspired by Brent Wong paintings, and a 3d artist/animator who made these really surreal geometric machine/structure videos. If this was a actual game what could it be about? I can’t think of any ideas.
The only game that I found that was sorta close to what I’m thinking of is this awesome game by domokoa. Its ending was really nice and gave that “worth it” feeling. Descriptions of 3D Environments | Play on Roblox

Since you mentioned “surreal geometric machine/structure videos,” another thing that came to mind was Aleph-0 (epilepsy warning for flashing visuals).

It isn’t a game, it’s a music/animation video, but I think the geometric structure idea could translate really well into one. Rather than the surrealism coming from what’s in the world, it comes from the world itself constantly changing.

A fun(?) direction could be leaning into almost a “4D” space, where the environment itself is constantly shifting around the player. Hallways move, structures rotate into each other, landscapes fold in on themselves… not necessarily in a horror sense, but in a way that makes the player constantly question the geometry they’re walking through.

I think that’d pair really well with the kind of impossible architecture you’ve been posting. It’d also make the world itself feel “alive,” almost like it’s operating independently of the player rather than just being somewhere you’re walking through.