Valhalla in Unreal
When classism extends even into the afterlife, Valhalla becomes a place of conflict rather than of honour. This project explores a divided feasting hall where warriors and Gods occupy the same space but live very different realities.
Created during my university studies in Unreal Engine 4, this project was later revisited and rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 using improved workflows, lighting, and materials.
The Class Divide
The divide between Gods and warriors is communicated primarily through props and materials. Warriors eat simple bread and gruel from wooden bowls and steel tankards, while the Gods’ table overflows with fruit, meats, cheeses and gold flatware.
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Many assets share the same base geometry but use different materials to represent the class divide.
Symbolic Hierarchy
The head table acts as both a visual and symbolic focal point. The Tree of Life window sits above Odin’s seat, framed by Valknut banners and golden wall engravings of Odin and Thor.
This area was designed to feel elevated and ceremonial, reinforcing the Gods’ dominance through composition and material choice rather than scale alone.
Geometry Optimisation
While working on the assets, I gradually improved my approach to efficient, game-ready geometry. Earlier assets, such as the shields, were built from a cylinder, which introduced poles. Under subdivision, this caused surface and material issues and added complexity that didn’t benefit the final result.
Later assets, such as the sausages, show a more considered approach: geometry is evenly spaced, avoids internal poles, and is built with the final silhouette in mind rather than inherited from a base primitive. This reflects a shift toward modelling with intent; actively avoiding geometry that doesn’t serve the final output, while maintaining clean wireframes suitable for real-time use.
Scale, Perspective & Atmosphere
The environment was built to be experienced at human scale. A long central aisle and repeated structural elements reinforce the size of the hall, while a subtle smoke haze helps break up the space and add depth.
Viewing the hall from a warrior’s perspective emphasises how imposing and unreachable the Gods’ domain feels, despite occupying the same physical space.
Environmental Storytelling
Environmental storytelling is used to imply a recent conflict within the hall. The warriors’ side shows overturned tables, embedded axes, scattered food and blood stains, suggesting a fight that disrupted the feast.
Rather than relying on characters, the narrative is communicated through asset placement and surface detail, allowing the environment to tell its own story in both still and real-time presentations.
Materials & Decals
Custom PBR materials were created for all major surfaces, with the exception of the marble floor diffuse texture. A key focus was ensuring materials responded believably under real-time lighting while maintaining a slightly stylised look.
Liquid spill decals were created to add surface detail. The decals balance transparency and reflectivity, allowing the underlying surface to remain visible while reacting naturally to light.
Norse Mythology & Visual Language
Research into Norse Mythology informed the visual language of the environment, influencing shield patterns, banners, engravings and architectural detailing. Knotwork and symbolic motifs were used to reinforce the theme while remaining readable at the environmental scale.
A key example of this is on the shields. The wolves chasing the sun and moon in reference to Skoll and Hati, who represent the cycle of day and night, or the two ravens in reference to Odin's Ravens: Thought and Memory.
