Observatory Map

note - some elements of the original design document are combined for initial version

• Distance - this level will be surrounded on 3 sides and extending down beyond the cliff by a huge sky box. A huge floor tile map of an island matches up with the terrain on the sky box (a promise of things to come in the retail Nemo’s Mind) - On the 4^th side is the volcano - the observatory alllows access to underground path caves running  down to sea level - giant sea cave/grotto - gratuitous volcanic activity and giant transforming statue
  

• only level with out distance fogging (although might use it in the biggest caves to add mystery if it helps frame rate) - only level with sky box
• see the info in the design document for details on the observatory
• add echoing in the caves to voices - maybe there is a a cheap way to take the participants voice and do an instant echo (not an echo that is delayed) right back out of that participants speakers as if in closed environment - make sure there are other opportunities for more environmental echoing

• use all the volcanic and lava particle effects and animated textures from Gdemo

• camera underwater - view enters a sea-shell - just about every sea-shell grows to the right (I still haven’t figured out what that really means) so camera cork screws in and camera comes out of water and turns from straight up to eye level
• looking around you see you are standing in the middle of a circular reflecting pool halfway inside an open architecture with a tile map floor of an island on the exterior side
  

                                       click to map

• see the info in the design document for details on the observatory and the bold details below - this area is the heart of the level
• late day sun and terrain is a very detailed sky box - won’t see the terrain detail until you come up to the edge of cliff - edge of cliff may be a bounding edge so bottom of sky box isn’t visible and/or make base of cliff a heavy shadow to transition to sky box
• this level will be surrounded on 3 sides and extending down beyond the cliff by a huge sky box. A huge floor tile map of the Nemo's Mind island matches up with the terrain on the sky box (a promise of things to come) - On the 4^th side is the slope of a volcano
• initially the participant is bounded by the cliff edges and the volcano
• the observatory is our chance to show off some fantastical, grand, open air  architecture - balconies, staircases, etc. - could be a structure of the future as envisioned by Nemo - so showing a style dictated by his time and place with a futuristic vision
• maybe architecture is  inspired by the actual nautilus creature
• make this architecture glow with full polygon ambience lighting
• to progress through the level participants activate the observatory rotation - this rotates the structure and the floor and exposes 2 new areas - the underground access and access into the upper part of the observatory
• opening to the entrance pool shifts to a new opening that was under a sidewall - into an entrance to a descending stair-case - if a participant is inside the pool upon activation of the observatory rotation then they access a new above ground entrance after the structure rotates over the top of them to gain a new opening upwards
• new above ground entrance opens into access of upper decks of the observatory
• make sun high enough to paint an appropriate sun dial shadow across the tile ground map of the island 

• staircase winds down and turns into steps and and then opens into the first cave by way of a descending metal spiral staircase
• spiral staircase only extends down below top of cave a small distance - fogging used here with some diffuse light coming from below - can see another staircase descending from same level as if the 2 staircases should connect
• stairs spiral in mid air down the center of the vertical cave
• a participant can go up and see an overlooked switch at the initial entrance to the staircase that will rotate the observatory back to its original position and then the 2 staircases line up
• halfway down the cave the spiral staircase is disrupted at walkways that partially account for the diagonal shift in the cave at this point - so one walkway takes participant over the new center spiral downward into the bottom part of the diagonal cave - this part of staircase could be diagonal with supporting metal beams jutting from the cave walls
• the other walkway at the spiral staircase disjoint goes to a hole in the cliff that the observatory looks over - a glass, room sized Bay window type architecture projects out past the cliff
• as the participant descends - the fog clears - cave turns out to be vertically and diagonally aligned with opening to cliff in lower 1/3rd of vertical cave  - opening is enclosed with plate glass and that good old riveted metal reinforcement - so participant will descend a spiraling metal riveted staircase while seeing the glass cliff window against the sky box
• Make a giant Bonsai styled tree as big as the engine allows at bottom of enclosed cave and skybox window
• give the giant window some reflective properties - see if it kills rendering speed - hopefully it won't since the only thing on other side is sky box
• at bottom of glassed in cave 2 separating paths continue into the volcano mountain - one goes through the Transforming Statue path  - one through elevator leads to the volcanic path

• path quickly becomes a glass tube made of plate glass and metal framing that projects outward past the cliff wall of the volcano crater descending down and then through the crater lake
• glassed tube is a copy of the one that can't be accessed in the lagoon level (level 1) - descends out of the crater wall down into the lake and underground - can step out onto a dock platform at the lake surface
• crater is a skybox except for the cliff that the tube extends out from
• we have the option of this tube branching off once it goes below the bottom of the lake and into the Pantheon - this version could be simplified by painting the globe directly on the walls with a dynamic light coming from the glass opening at top - letting the lake refracted sunrays play on the walls - or static transparent panels for globe representation

• 2 sided statue - one enslaved and one free with books (one of the books would indicate justice) - books are enlightenment/freedom - if statue is transforming then may be able to control viewing distance by funneling and only allowing approach (to gain entrance to rest of level) from one angle
• may or may not animate or morph according to the ability of the initial team and the engine used - may just make it a 2 sided statue

• a few flickering electric lights
• in the middle of the volcanic caves is one of the bigger caverns with petroglyphs from around the world - could have separate walls labeled somehow with the area of the world each set is from
• the theme is all these petroglyphs from around the world show similar symbols and the desire to communicate and art is internally universal
• use wooden planked suspension bridge from Gdemo here
• we have the option depending on the level manager of this level - of adding in a few sets of the binaries, these binaries though will probably be set horizontally compared to the vertical plan in the design document
• could put in an area with old mining mechanisms to interact with - lifts etc. - a chance to change from natural cave walls to more angular human changes

• the volcanic path and the crater lake path join up so one path descends to the grotto
• could have steamed water (volcanic) and solid white cave from salt residue - sounds of boiling water
• spiral staircase cut into the rock descends from middle of cave floor
• should hear sound effects of water environment before seeing it
• when steps first intersect the top of the sea grotto they continue down the wall so the grotto interior side is open to viewing and the other side of each spiral is cut back inside cave wall
• half way down to the grotto floor the spiral turns to metal staircase since it was descending over an under hang and is open on all sides as it finishes descent to the floor (so it descends down the wall of a cave and then into midair when intersecting the horizontal part of the L shaped cave) - so a rock pile at bottom of stairs from excavating through roof of cave 
• where the participant comes out of the steam - maybe a dolphin jumps and races through the water past the participant - later can see it racing around in the outer grotto
• lots of dripping water sound
• after exploring the cave floor you come out to where you can see outside the cave to the ocean and a portal or skybox view

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