Shrine of Yggdrasil — Exterior Game Environment

Shrine of Yggdrasil is an exterior game environment focused on natural environment composition, vegetation, atmosphere, and lighting.

A major part of the project involved studying how real forests are structured. I spent time walking through local wooded areas and collecting my own reference photography to better understand how trees, ground cover, vegetation density, negative space, and natural variation work together to create a believable forest.

The shrine was designed as the visual focal point of the environment, using the surrounding foliage, stone formations, path, and lighting to guide the viewer toward the center of the scene. I explored both daylight and nighttime lighting scenarios to see how the same environment could communicate very different moods.

This project became an important study in building natural spaces that feel intentionally composed without losing the irregularity and visual complexity found in real environments.