The Nocturnal Tide - WIP

This is a VRChat World I have been actively developing out of a love of karaoke and socialising with friends. After finding a lack of satisfaction in several "karaoke worlds" due to size, shape and lack of functionality in design, I took my time to research and took the feedback of my peers and I slowly worked out this world's shape.

Initially, I took cues from old pieces of design I loved, such as the starting area of Soldier of Fortune 1's "The Shop" level, becoming the inspiration for the spawn area and lead down into the club. The main club area can be accessed through a small reception area, designed to provide a buffer zone between the spawn and club, as well as to offer a little immersive realism of a "coat check".

The main club area is broken up into 3 main areas. The Stage, The Seating and Upstairs.
The Stage was designed to provide focus on a single person performing during karaoke sets, while also providing a clear and near unobstructed view of the video player for non-karaoke uses. It's additionally a separate piece that can be toggled separately of the rest of the geometry, in case of reconfiguration. This was mainly due to initial prototyping where the stage shape was modified several times.

The Seating is multi-tiered, designed to separate groups out to allow them to talk wiithout interruption, but also focus attention on the stage without obstruction. During prototyping, seating was originally a 180 degree arc around the stage, but this was quickly reduced because it became too much focus and made it easier to be overwhelmed, leading to a "box and cone" combined shape.

Worth mentioning is the area between The Seating and Upstairs, effectively the entrance to the area and a purely liminal zone for moving between place. Detailing in this area is yet unfinished, with plans for additional props to "fill" the area.

Upstairs is separated out to be a quiet area, where focus is not on the stage and is more about enjoying a quiet chat. Unmentioned until now is an audio control system that allows control of player voice volumes and 3D interactions, which is used to effect here to mute the voices of any players outside the zone. Upstairs also allows access to a small games room, as well as a private karaoke room for those wanting to get away and find a smaller crowd.

There are also private rooms, small areas with complete audio occlusion from the rest of the level, lockable for privacy and curating guests. They possess isolated video players, separate from the ones on the Main Stage and in the Upstairs karaoke room, for whatever use players might have.

Lastly, the exterior took form from a want to portray a more industrial area, reminiscient of business parks but with a more Dockyard/Construction feeling. It is still lacking some details, such as any kind of litter, but such is merely set dressing.

Lighting was baked using Bakery in Unity. While still currently lacking for unique models, the lights were placed with a design to keep a warm space, but with contrasts to bring attention forward. Such as the lighting bar trim around the ceiling of the main stage. It has a scrolling effect that pulls eyes along it towards the stage.

The level currently sits at just under 100MBs as reported by VRChat, and is also currently Quest-compatible, allowing mobile users to use their phones to explore and enjoy the space.

This is my first proper try at real level design for myself in a long time, and frankly, I'm really proud of myself.