set-dressing

Set Dressing

Story through placement. Controlled clutter. Readable clusters.

When to Use

• Interior/exterior dressing passes
• Narrative prop clusters
• Avoiding empty or overstuffed spaces
• After modular layout is locked

Workflow

Layout locked → Hero narrative props → Secondary clusters
  → Background filler → Decals/wear → Lighting check → QA

Density Rules

Zone	Density
Hero interact zone	High intent, low noise
Midground	Supporting story clusters
Background	Sparse; silhouette only
Traversal path	Clearance for player/camera

Cluster Method

1. Pick a story beat (meal abandoned, workbench used, escape rushed)
2. Place 3–7 props that sell the beat
3. Add 1–2 wear/decal cues
4. Stop — do not fill every surface

Prop Sources

• prop-artist for unique pieces
• Kitbash / modular libraries for filler
• Instance repeats; vary rotation/scale slightly

Horror / Sparse Styles

• Fewer props, more meaning
• Negative space intentional
• Coordinate with horror-style / psx-horror-style

Constraints

MUST DO

• Dress after greybox navigation works
• Keep player/camera paths clear
• Instance repeated meshes

MUST NOT DO

• Uniform clutter wallpaper
• Block doors/windows without story reason

Reference Guide

Topic	Reference	Load When
Story Clusters	references/story-clusters.md	When needed
Density Map	references/density-map.md	When needed