Even Studio are very smart
thye use and reause lot of stuff like textures, and even buildings or parts of levels.
Some simple example : DarkSiders 2 game
Where all pillars, lot of rooms, walls , rocks have been used , and re used everywhere.
Sometimes they only made some variations on texture or on some part of a mesh to make some other model based on existing one.
Re usability and modular environement or textures ( reuse ) is not indie is even Industry.
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Now there is different types of games.
1) non terrain based :
Some like God Of War, have very diversified levels , very unique,yes making some game like that will consume too much time for an indie.
Or you'll have to make little levels, and have no choice and try to re use models as you can.
Because of the big tme put on studying design , how level will be, the effects etc , and modeling unique rooms , textures and stuff for each level.
2) Terrain based levels.
The big advantage is that terrain sculpt with tools and painting , anyone can do it. So you don't have to think on complicated architectures compared to some games that don't use terrain.
After terrain it depends on your game style :
- The Witcher game using unique buildings, textures, characters on some places would cost too much time to an indie perhaps.
- MMo like : you just put buildings , monsters and NPC, and you can re use a lot without thinking on very unique houses, characters.
- FPS games :
It depends, : Far Cry was terrain a lot, even Crysis, you have just to thaaught on putting good AI, and good 3D assets, you can re use.
But it has evolved with CRysis 2 and CRysis 3, they put more and more diversified big 3D structures, so it's not only fast terrain creation.
Could your game be FPS or RPG or action, terrain based is great for indies and others, caus you can go fast on level creation and less complicated than thinking and creating polygon based big levels (Risen game style and some others)
Now you can find lot of 3D editors, some allow you to paint trees, and group of trees, , some will just paint randomly oriented trees that will be auto well placed on terrain height.
Like oblivion there are some tools allowing ot paint random grass and bushes etc ...
So tools can speed up level creation also.
3D tiles :
USed by any indie or industry.
Oblivion, Skyrim, uses corridor and room 3D tiles to create dungeons, so yes re utilisabily.
You create fast the dungeons , and the result is great.
Modular building parts :
Fro exterior building there are some industry teams using modular 3D parts of buidlings, like upper parts , low parts, they combine to make diversified buildings.
Sometimes they just change textures or material color simply.
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The most complicated is full Interior levels that don't use 3D tiles.Caus it's like BSP you'll spend too much time creating some original level having unique rooms and section parts.
So yes the advice is to use modularity.
And keep it small fisrt, one or two rooms, one little part of terrain before going further.
Make sketchs of the level you want to make, without precise idea , you'll loose too much time creating something.
Don't target complicated , first do empty rooms or terrain before begin to add 3D assets.
After that it's only : HARD WORK.
What game style do you want to make ?
