Game environments should always be interesting no matter
how ordinary the setting. Even the most mundane of places
can be made more interesting with some unusual elements.
Techniques I use are things like breaking up uniform
outlines (for example, roofs, fences or walls), with other
objects to keep the scene unpredictable for players eye;
non-uniform shapes are more pleasing to the brain.
Light can be used to dramatise a scene. Pick out strong
shadows and highlights to prevent the scene looking flat
and define the shapes of the main structures so it’s
dimensions are obvious at a glance. Use slightly
exaggerated colour saturation to avoid blandness. Having
textures with an obvious light direction (for static
objects) and matching them to the lighting direction of the
game lights makes the scene look far more detailed than it
actually is (unless normal mapping is being used).
I like to include features in an environment which give the
objects a sense of mass. Things leaning or resting on other
things and their influence on them, maybe causing them to
sag or lean. Rope, chains or material draped over solid
objects. Solid objects leaning on flexible objects such
wood against a mesh fence. Movement is also important. Use
animating flags, swinging ropes or chains, smoke rising
from chimneys, etc; to bringing a scene to life.
A game environment must usually have 'lived in' feel to
make it believable. Not just by people but anything alive
in the environment, plant growth specifically around
objects can give the scene a cohesive feel rather than a
series of objects that have just been placed together and
don't seem to interact with each other. Each object should
look like it has a history, a story to tell. Why is it
there? Why is it dislodged? broken? open? closed?
etc.