Mushroom Inspiration

To get some more inspiration for my mushroom forest concept I have looked into Zangarmarsh (a map from World of Warcraft) and Avatar. Zangarmarsh has a lovely concept for one of their maps where there is a swamp that is covered by this mushroom forest. The main reason to why I'm looking at this, isn't necessarily the idea of the mushroom forest but the way in which the mushrooms have been light and glow, and how there are platforms from these mushrooms which suggest people live there. As you can see, not all the mushrooms glow which could suggest that only certain types glow or that it depends on the time of day. My scene will be set at night so it is essential all the mushrooms glow as this is the main light source. I haven't decided on a colour palette as of yet but I want the glow to feel as if it's alien yet give off a sense of energy and power.

As my playable game space is only 100m x 100m I still need to think about my backdrop, a possibility is to have a flat 2D plane that would suggest more mushroom clusters in the distance, this would not only not add to my poly count but also would be less intensive on the processor. I said my original plan was to create treehouses of some sort and have bridges connecting between the many mushrooms, however after testing it I found that it wasn't aesthetically pleasing. Also it seems to be a quite common theme, as you can see in Zangarmarsh. By creating a cluster of mushrooms and having the inside carved out so that would be the 'house' I am creating something that is modified from what already has been done.

I have also looked at Avatar, mainly for the glowing organisms that inhabit Pandora. They blend in really well and don't look out of place, it's like they belong there, naturally occurring, luminescent lifeforms. My mushrooms need to glow in a way that makes them look like something from a different/alien planet, yet blend in with the surroundings as if it fits in. To do this, it will probably rely heavily on the way I texture the mushrooms e.g colour, bump mapping, patterns etc so I will need to do several tests to find out what combinations work best.