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Dinesh
Dinesh

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Why My Environment Work Improved After Using a Storyboard

Before this, I always felt lost while building environments. I kept placing assets, then deleting them. Everything changed once I planned first.

This post is part of my daily learning journey in game development.

I’m sharing what I learn each day — the basics, the confusion, and the real progress — from the perspective of a beginner.

On Day 38 of my game development journey, I learned how storyboarding helps environment creation in Unreal Engine.


What I tried / learned today

I learned that creating a simple storyboard before starting environment work saves a lot of time.

Before opening Unreal Engine, I planned:

  • Basic camera angles
  • The overall mood of the scene
  • Where the player or camera should focus

Using the storyboard as a guide, I started building the environment in Unreal Engine. Instead of randomly placing assets, I followed the storyboard step by step.

This helped me:

  • Place assets with purpose
  • Maintain consistent composition
  • Finish the environment faster

Even rough sketches were enough to guide my decisions.

What confused me

Earlier, without any plan, I was always confused about:

  • Where to start
  • Which assets to place first
  • Which direction the lighting should come from

As the scene grew bigger, the confusion increased and I felt stuck.

What worked or finally clicked

The biggest realization was simple:

Decisions made before opening Unreal save time inside Unreal.

With a storyboard:

  • Camera direction was already decided
  • Lighting made more sense
  • Asset placement felt intentional

I wasn’t guessing anymore. I was executing a plan.

One lesson for beginners

  • You don’t need perfect drawings
  • Simple sketches are enough
  • Storyboards give direction and clarity
  • Planning reduces confusion
  • Great for solo developers and long projects

Slow progress — but I’m building a strong foundation.

If you’re also learning game development,

what was the first thing that confused you when you started?

See you in the next post 🎮🚀

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