Null Station builds environments and props for BLACKWOOD, a cinematic third-person action game by AttritoM7 Productions. This is what the studio asked for and how we approached it.
This work is part of our game art and animation services.
Snapshot
- Client: AttritoM7 Productions
- Game: BLACKWOOD on Steam
- Our role: contract environment and prop art
- Engine: Unity
- Scope: environment design for four to five levels of Act 1; 3D prop models; decals and texturing; LODs; model optimization
- Team: 12 Null Station artists working on the project full time
- Working together: since 2025, 12 months so far, ongoing. We are now working on Act 2.
The brief
AttritoM7 Productions came to us with blockouts for the game’s levels. A blockout fixes the layout: where the walls, routes and sightlines are. It does not yet look like a place. The studio needed that layout turned into finished environments, built to their blockout instructions rather than redesigned.
They also needed the objects that fill those spaces. So the brief had two parts: design the environments, and make the props that go inside them.
Scope of work
Across four to five levels of Act 1, we designed the environments and modelled the props that populate them, in Unity. For each space the work covered:
- Environment design that follows the client’s blockout, so each level plays the way the studio intended.
- Prop models made for the environments, from large set dressing to small objects.
- Decals and texturing that add wear, grime and variation, so surfaces read as used rather than new.
- LODs and model optimization so the assets run well in the game.
The spaces include an industrial warehouse with a mezzanine, the walled service yard outside it, a briefing room, and a workroom dense with props.
The challenge: performance without losing detail
The hardest part was keeping the environments light enough to run well without losing visual quality. The two goals pull against each other. More detail makes a space more convincing, but every extra piece of detail costs performance, and a game level has to run on players’ machines, not just look good in a screenshot.
Our approach
We treated optimization as part of the art, not a clean-up step at the end:
- Build to the blockout. Staying faithful to the client’s layout meant we knew what each space had to hold, and where players would actually look.
- Reuse textures and decals. Shared textures and decals carry much of the wear and variation, so detail does not have to be modelled into every surface.
- LODs on props and environment pieces. Lower-detail versions take over at a distance, so the player only pays for full detail up close.
- Optimize the models. Props and environment pieces are cleaned up for real-time use in Unity before they go into the level.
This is the same way we start every project on our game art and environment design service: with the client’s art direction and technical constraints. The constraints give the art a clear target.
Beyond the warehouse: yards, offices, rooftops and streets
The warehouse was only the start. Our team also built the spaces around it: the loading canopy and walled yards outside, a rooftop of skylights and plant units, a wood-panelled office building with its briefing room, executive office and lounge, and a night street of shopfronts, graffiti and sodium light. Each one follows the same rules as the rest of the game: build to the blockout, keep the materials consistent, and keep the level light.
A film studio level: homage sets on a sound stage
One of the levels we built is set inside a working film studio. Its sets stand on an open sound stage, under lighting trusses, beside camera dollies and rows of audience seats, so the player can see where each set ends and the stage begins. Each set is our own original build, designed as a homage to an action film scene: we studied the films for layout, mood and choreography space, then modelled, textured and lit every set from scratch. Nothing from the films themselves is used, and the sets are not affiliated with or endorsed by the films’ owners.
Office set, inspired by The Office
A beige open-plan office with a reception desk, rows of desks, a conference room, a manager’s office and a break room with a vending machine. We used published floor plans of the TV series’ office as a layout reference, then built our own version for the stage, sized for combat and cover.
Bar set, inspired by Max Payne 3
A dark, wood-panelled bar with leather booths, carved screens, vintage posters and framed photographs. The reference was the game’s bar shootout: tight booths, low light and plenty of hard cover, which shaped where we placed the booths and partitions.
Japanese teahouse set, inspired by Kill Bill: Volume 1
A two-storey teahouse with paper screen walls glowing amber, wooden balconies on both levels and a lit grid floor at its centre. The fight in the film’s House of Blue Leaves was our reference for the open floor and the upper walkways that frame it.
Bathroom set, inspired by Mission: Impossible – Fallout
A bright, white-tiled bathroom with basins, mirrors, urinals and stalls, built as a set within the stage. The film’s bathroom fight was the reference for the clean, hard surfaces and the long, open run of the room, which the camera can follow end to end.
Museum set, inspired by John Wick: Chapter 2
A classical hall of paired columns and arched windows that opens into a modern gallery of freestanding white walls, framed paintings and vertical light strips. The museum sequence in the film was the reference for the change from stone hall to gallery maze.
The stage also holds a set inspired by the Star Wars films, images of which will follow.
Why homage sets work in games
Players recognise the language of a great action scene even when the set is new. Building homage sets gives a level instant mood and a clear fight layout, while the art itself stays original. The work is the same as on any of our environments: reference study, blockout, modelling, texturing, lighting and optimization in Unity. See our game art and environment design service if you are planning something similar.
Outcome
BLACKWOOD launched on Steam on 16 September 2026 with Act 1 and has earned positive reviews from players, with community praise for its world.
As a contractor, we do not see the studio’s internal numbers, so we do not quote sales or player figures. The work continues: our team is now building environments for Act 2.
Lessons for studios outsourcing environment art
- You can hand over a blockout. A studio that has locked its layout can outsource the art pass without giving up control of how the level plays.
- Props and environments work best together. One team making both keeps style, scale and materials consistent from the room to the objects in it.
- Plan optimization early. Agree LOD and optimization expectations at the start, so quality and performance are planned together.
- A dedicated team can stay with you. On BLACKWOOD the same team has moved from Act 1 to Act 2.
- Privacy is normal. We keep project details private, and a mutual NDA is available on request. Once payment is complete the IP belongs to the client; we keep only the right to show the work in case studies, breakdowns and our portfolio.
Have a blockout that needs environment and prop art? Tell us about your project, or see more of our selected work.
FAQ
Does Null Station do environment art from a studio’s blockout?
Yes. On BLACKWOOD we designed environments for four to five levels from AttritoM7 Productions’ blockout instructions, and made the props for them.
Does Null Station work in Unity?
Yes. Our BLACKWOOD environments and props were built for Unity, including decals, texturing, LODs and model optimization.
How do you keep game environments optimized without losing quality?
We plan for it from the start: we build to the blockout, reuse textures and decals, add LODs to props and environment pieces, and optimize models for real-time use.
Can Null Station support a game over several releases?
Yes. A dedicated team of 12 has worked on BLACKWOOD for 12 months, from Act 1 through to Act 2, which is in production now.
Who owns the art, and can you work under NDA?
The client owns the IP once payment is complete; we keep only the right to show the work in our portfolio and case studies. A mutual NDA is available on request.
What film-inspired sets did Null Station build for BLACKWOOD?
An office set inspired by The Office, a bar inspired by Max Payne 3, a Japanese teahouse inspired by Kill Bill, a bathroom inspired by Mission: Impossible – Fallout, a museum inspired by John Wick: Chapter 2, and a Star Wars-inspired set. All are original builds.
Are the BLACKWOOD film sets copies of the movies?
No. Each set is an original environment, modelled, textured and lit by our team as a homage. We studied the films for layout and mood only. No footage or assets from the films are used.
What environments did Null Station make for BLACKWOOD?
Warehouses, yards, a rooftop, an office building, a night street, a workroom and a film studio level with sound-stage sets, all built in Unity with props, decals, LODs and optimization.
