Creating PSX-style isometric environments in Godot Engine

Abstract

In the recent years, the gaming industry has experienced a surge of nostalgia through the revival of retro graphics, embraced by both major companies and independent studios, reminiscent of the iconic aesthetic of early 3D computer graphics. This visual style not only suits a variety of game genres but also aligns with the limited resources of smalls development teams. These benefits led to the exploration of retro-style graphics inspired by the PlayStation-era to create the visual direction of the game Project Survival Academia, an isometric survival game with management elements developed by the author’s team.

This thesis covers the process of producing PSX-inspired graphics using modern software, highlighting the benefits and challenges of using an isometric projection. The theoretical part is accompanied by a prototype scene for Project Survival Academia, first modelled in Blender, then implemented and stylized in the Godot Engine.

The results of the project demonstrated that the workflow needed to produce retro-inspired graphics was easily accessible by adhering to technical limitations of the 1990’s, such as low-resolution textures, low-poly models and baked lightmaps, all facilitated by a modern engine like Godot.