Chapter 3 – Tech props and world hooks

Chapter 3: Tech Props & World Hooks

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Tech Props & World Hooks — A Genre Toolkit for Prop Concept Artists

For both concepting and production artists. Written in clear paragraphs you can drop straight into a pipeline.

Introduction: What Tech Props Do for a World

Tech props are the quiet engines of worldbuilding. A latch with a saint’s sigil, a drone with chipped municipal paint, a ration can stamped with a defunct colony crest—all of these are world hooks: visual cues that tell players who made a thing, why it exists, what it costs, and who’s allowed to touch it. World hooks convert props from background dressing into narrative systems: economies, laws, religions, supply chains, and black markets. For concept artists, the goal is to make every object read as if it belongs to a larger organism—your game’s world—while still being simple to model, surface, and animate.

This article gives you a genre-by-genre playbook (Fantasy, Sci‑Fi: Hard/Soft, Cyberpunk, Historical, Post‑Apocalyptic, Whimsical) with practical principles for both the concepting side (visual ideation, lineup logic, hook selection) and the production side (naming, metrics, callouts, materials, LODs). Use it to design tech that feels specific, lawful, and alive.

Core Ideas: How World Hooks Work

1) Origin Logic. Every tech prop comes from an origin: a guild, manufacturer, empire, hacker cell, or artisan. Encode origin with crest shapes, fastener types, thread standards, serial plate layouts, and palette laws.

2) Use-State Clarity. A prop must telegraph what it does and what state it’s in. World hooks here are status lights, open/close indicators, lock symbols, charge gauges, fuel windows, patina patterns, and safety decals.

3) Ownership & Legality. Who’s allowed to use it? Add permit tags, color bands, rune wards, RFID seals, tally marks, trophy cords. The stricter the regime, the more visible the compliance language.

4) Maintenance Story. Tools that are used get modded. Show field repairs, aftermarket brackets, guild-wax seals, software stickers, ritual bindings, grime in reach points. Maintenance is the most honest lore.

5) Supply Chain Echo. Materials imply logistics: oak vs yew, stamped vs cast steel, printed vs milled composites, polished brass vs ebonized iron, bone vs ceramic. These choices point at trade routes, power sources, and class lines.

6) Readability & Budget. In production, world hooks must survive camera distance and performance budgets. Prioritize one big silhouette idea + two medium hooks + three micro cues. Bake the rest into textures and decals.

Deliverables That Make Downstream Teams Happy

Nomenclature: GENRE_SUBGENRE_Function_Variant_Scale_V# → FANT_Reliquary_Censer_MkII_Small_v03.
Metrics: Put a ruler in every sheet. Include hand scale silhouettes and socket/interface callouts (bolt circle diameter, thread type, dovetail width, magic inlay channels).
Exploded + Ortho Lite: One clean ortho for bounding box and one exploded mini to clarify assembly order and access panels.
Material Stack: List shader targets with % coverage per surface: brass 40, bone 20, lacquer 10, wax 5, soot 5, fabric 20.
Hook Legend: A side column labeling the world hooks you deployed: Guild lacquer (Class A), Illicit re-weld, Tax stamp (Year 3 of Regime), Rune seal (spent).
LOD Intention: A tiny panel showing which hooks persist from LOD0 → LOD2. Keep the primary silhouette hook and one emblem at all LODs.

Genre 1: Fantasy — Artifice, Relics, and Ruleful Charm

Concepting Focus. Fantasy tech lives at the intersection of craft and myth. Your hooks are material sanctity (wood species; holy metals), order marks (guild rivet patterns; saint seals), and ritual affordances (where a hand would bind a ribbon, where incense exits, where a gem focuses).

World Hooks to Favor.

Sacred Manufacturing: Hammer peen marks in repeating cadence; file strokes crossing at 45°—the craft is visible and rhythmic.
Ward & Warrant: Wax seals, braid knots, tally beads, etched oaths on screws; color rules tied to deity domains.
Energetic Grammar: Channels for aether, crystal beds with retainer claws, bone ferrules insulated by leather.

Production Notes.

Topology: Keep fillets slightly exaggerated so the edge catch reads under low-light. Avoid micro-bevel noise—save detail for decals/roughness maps.
Shaders: Author anisotropic brushed brass, shellac/lacquer with warmth, bone with subtle grain, smoke tint on glass. Keep emissive from runes readable at mid-distance.
Animation: If it opens, show a hinge logic consistent with period craft: pinned knuckles, simple cams, gravity latches. Provide a 3‑frame anim guide.

Example Sets. Reliquary tools (censer, aspergillum), witch-chemist kit (alembic, athame, tongs), ranger tech (snare pins, wind compasses), siege adjuncts (powder horns with dragon-stamped authority).

Genre 2: Sci‑Fi (Hard) — Standards, Tolerances, and Interfaces

Concepting Focus. Hard sci‑fi world hooks come from engineering conservatism: standardized mounting, connectors with keys, service labels, and materials informed by environment (vacuum, cryo, radiation). Remove whimsy; reward legibility.

World Hooks to Favor.

Interface Discipline: MIL/NATO‑like connector patterns, QR-coded service panels, fastener families (socket head cap screws only; torque stripe paint).
Power & Safety: Ground symbols, lockout/tagout paddles, pressure relief valves, thermal blankets with quilting.
System Lineage: Serial plates with manufacturer hierarchies; maintenance stubs; calibration seals.

Production Notes.

Scale & Units: Display metric with SI units and one imperial parenthetical if the fiction supports legacy hardware.
Surface Strategy: 70/20/10 rule: big clean painted panels (70), secondary gaskets/trim (20), micro text/decals (10).
LOD Planning: Bake rivet fields and panel breaks; keep a single hero connector and safety chevron at all distances.

Example Sets. EVA toolkits (mag boots, tether reels), drone bays (rail clamps, tool-less trays), survey beacons (tripod feet for regolith; dust covers), cryo crates (phase-change indicators, shock loggers).

Genre 3: Sci‑Fi (Soft) — Speculative Aesthetics and Friendly Magic

Concepting Focus. Soft sci‑fi is about humanist silhouettes and hopeful UX. Hooks come from soothing shapes, organic seams, and plausible-but-kind interfaces: gestural ridges, emotive status lights, living materials.

World Hooks to Favor.

Haptic Invitation: Grip scallops, fingertip indents, gesture arcs; glass-ceramic lenses that “blink”.
Bio-Tech Fusion: Mycelial foam cores, grown carbon shells, liquid metal hinges—sell the fiction with interface translucency.
Civic Color: Welfare program blues/teals, clinic whites; non-threatening iconography.

Production Notes.

Shading: Use subsurface scatter for biopolymer skins, soft roughness ramps, and low-contrast color blocking.
Rigging: Favor magnetic closures, morphing seams, and one-axis hinge to keep animation cheap.
FX Handshake: Provide emissive masks for gentle pulses; a single LUT for brand tone.

Example Sets. Med‑assist pods, companion drones, adaptive utensils, mood lamps that double as network mesh nodes.

Genre 4: Cyberpunk — Illicit Layers, Corporate Frames

Concepting Focus. Cyberpunk props sit between corporate cleanliness and street modifications. World hooks are ownership friction: tamper seals, asset tags, firmware stickers, scratched-off logos, heat‑sinks zip‑tied to plastic.

World Hooks to Favor.

Traceability: Property labels (asset numbers, rental barcodes), warranty voids, holo‑seals—often broken.
Patchwork Power: Aftermarket battery sleds, mismatched screws, printed brackets, electrical tape over cracked glass.
Brand Warfare: Competing corporate palettes; counterfeit packaging; driver version stickers.

Production Notes.

Materials: Mix injection‑molded ABS, die‑cast zinc, CNC aluminum, FR‑4 PCB greens, and heat discoloration on steel.
Decal Strategy: Create a library of legalese microtext, FCC/CE marks, QR scam tags—bake most to roughness/height.
Rigging: Cable runs need slack and anchor points; antenna masts should telescope with believable friction joints.

Example Sets. Skimmer controllers, implant programmers, burner mesh routers, pawn‑shop optic kits, street clinic sterilizers with cracked UV tubes.

Genre 5: Historical — Period Correctness and Silent Standards

Concepting Focus. Historical tech props are about process authenticity. Your world hooks come from period manufacturing and bureaucratic marks: guild stamps, proof marks, maker’s plaques, gauge standards.

World Hooks to Favor.

Process Traces: Hand‑planed facets, wrought iron grain, sand-cast parting lines, dovetail pins, japanning, shellac crazing.
Regulatory Marks: Tax stamps, proofing hall crests, inspector initials; measurement standards (inch threads vs Whitworth, cubits vs metric).
Logistics: Crate stencils (port names, tariff codes), waxed linen wraps, tallow residue on threads.

Production Notes.

Scale: Lean on real period dimensions; avoid modern ergonomics unless justified.
Surface: Use subtle grime stratification—polished where touched, oxidized where ignored.
Assembly: Show joinery and fastener scarcity (fewer screws; more pegs and wedges). Provide a short repair note: how a field smith would fix it.

Example Sets. Surveyor’s kit (Jacob’s staff, circumferentor), ship’s bosun tools (belaying pins, serving mallet), apothecary drawers with paper labels, officer’s field compass with vernier scale.

Genre 6: Post‑Apocalyptic — Bricolage, Scarcity, and Risk

Concepting Focus. Post‑apoc world hooks express resource tension. Think repurposed materials, visible hazard management, and tribalized ownership. Safety is improvised; standardization is local.

World Hooks to Favor.

Repurpose Logic: Car spring as door hinge; road sign as cook surface; IV stand as antenna mast.
Field Fixes: Hose clamps everywhere, pop‑rivets, baling wire, JB Weld beads, duct tape butterflies, Franken‑battery packs.
Tribal Identity: Spray motifs, bead codes, cloth tags, scrap‑metal sigils; kill‑tallies and trade seals.

Production Notes.

Shader Mix: Contrast bare steel (blueing, rust scales), sun‑chalked plastics, sun‑bleached fabric, ash and soot.
Budget: Let silhouette do the work (plate overlaps, rebar cages). Decals carry the rest (hand lettering, salvage labels).
FX: Dust, ash fall, grease smear masks; simple cloth sim for flapping tags.

Example Sets. Water stills from condenser coils, bike‑chain locks on storm doors, lanterns made from mason jars and siphoned fuel, Geiger‑gauge bundles zip‑tied to broom handles.

Genre 7: Whimsical — Delight, Surprise, and Legibility

Concepting Focus. Whimsical props use exaggerated affordances and toy logic—clear shapes, bold seams, playful materials, and cause‑and‑effect that delights.

World Hooks to Favor.

Friendly Mechanisms: Big buttons, satisfying clacks, visible gears that animate feelings more than physics.
Material Candy: Candy‑shell enamels, felt pads, cork stoppers, rubbery bumpers; hand‑painted numerals.
Narrative Stickers: Travel stamps, kid‑drawn labels, adoptable faces on appliances.

Production Notes.

Topology: Keep forms simple; round your edges generously for specular charm.
Palette: Limited and high‑value contrast; assign one saturation hero per prop.
Animation: Snap‑to states; squash‑and‑stretch hints; tiny particle confetti or puffs.

Example Sets. Rocket‑mail tubes, clockwork umbrellas, self‑buttering knives, pocket terrariums with tiny weather.

Cross‑Genre Hook Library (Steal These Patterns)

Power Story: Candles → oil → springs → coal → steam → electricity → chemical cells → fusion → aether. Put a fuel window or charge glyph on the housing.
Authority Story: Civic logos, lintel crests, barcode bands, firmware watermarks, saint seals, ration stamps, QR permits.
Wear Story: Polished grab points, chipped paint on corners, soot around exhausts, sweat salt on leather, UV‑chalked plastics.
Interface Story: Keyed shapes, ribbing where grip matters, recesses where fingers go, icons at approach angles.
Risk Story: Shields around heat, cages around fans, guard loops around triggers, radiation pips, cursed‑object bindings.
Economy Story: Scrap overlaps, artisan inlays, injection‑mold flow marks, sand‑cast pores, mycelial knit—all imply cost, craft, and scarcity.

Workflow: From Hook Hypothesis to Shippable Sheet

Step 1 — Brief to Hook Map. Before drawing, list 5 hooks that prove the world exists (origin, legality, power, maintenance, economy). Pick 1 primary, 2 secondary, 2 tertiary.

Step 2 — Silhouette First. Compose one big silhouette hook (frame, handle, shroud) that survives LOD2. Keep negative space purposeful.

Step 3 — Interface Pass. Add approach affordances (thumb scallops, latch tabs, rune‑read windows). Ensure state readability: OFF, ON, LOCKED, SPENT.

Step 4 — Material Thesis. Choose a 3‑material stack that embodies your world’s economy (e.g., bronze + bone + lacquer for Fantasy; painted aluminum + nitrile + polycarbonate for Hard SF).

Step 5 — Hook Proofing. Stress‑test: can another artist identify origin, state, and ownership at a glance? If not, strengthen decals/ornament in texture space, not geometry bloat.

Step 6 — Production Sheet. Deliver orthos with metric dims, callouts for fasteners, hinge axes, cable bend radii, seal types, magic channels, serial plate layout.

Step 7 — Variants & Families. Show Basic / Pro / Illicit or Civic / Military / Pilgrim trims. Maintain shared joints and palettes.

Callout Language Cheatsheet (Use or Adapt)

Origin Plate: Maker: Aurelian Guild; Shop: Canal Quarter; Year: 3 Post‑Concord; Batch: 17.
Seal Types: Lead crimp seal — single use; Writ‑wax — color denotes deity; RFID tie — encrypted; Rune ribbon — breaks if cursed discharge.
Fasteners: M6 × 1.0 SHCS, 6×; #8‑32 pan head, 4×; Dovetail rail, 12 mm.
Interfaces: Power: 24VDC; Data: keyed A‑port; Aether: tri‑channel braid.
Maintenance: Filter access, quarter‑turn bayonet; Gasket: nitrile, shore 70; Rune inlay: refill wax every 30 cycles.

Pitfalls & Anti‑Patterns

Genre Muddle: Mixing cyberpunk stickers with hard‑SF engineering without explaining lineage. Either make it a refit (and show the surgery) or simplify.
Micro‑Detail Addiction: If it doesn’t read at gameplay distance, move it to decals/roughness or cut it.
Flat Histories: Pristine + new across everything. Add one era echo—legacy fasteners, old paint peeking through, previous owner tags.
Symbol Soup: Too many icons reduce clarity. Use one visual language per authority (state, guild, corp).

Genre Mini‑Briefs (Plug‑and‑Play)

Fantasy — Pilgrim Beacon. A palm‑sized lantern that guides travelers to shrines. Hooks: saint seal, votive slot, spent‑wick jar, soft rune glow. Production: one hinge, one glass, brass shell, bone handle.

Hard SF — Regolith Sampler. Tripod probe with keyed sample vials, dust gaiters, purge valve. Hooks: caution chevrons, torque stripe paint, QR maintenance plate.

Soft SF — Mood Mesh Node. Table light that anchors a mesh network. Hooks: soft breathing LED, ultrasonic hum grille, rubber base, companion‑friendly palette.

Cyberpunk — Burner Optic Kit. Case with lens programmer, cracked UV sanitizer, asset tags peeled. Hooks: barcode sticker residue, mismatched screws, thermal pad shim.

Historical — Harbor Scale Weights. Brass/iron set with city proof marks and inspector initials. Hooks: tallow residue, rope impressions, crate stencil of origin port.

Post‑Apoc — Condenser Still. Radiator matrix on tripod, mason jars, tape‑sealed hoses. Hooks: hose clamps, scorch marks, tribe spray code, stick‑on radiation pips.

Whimsical — Weather-in-a-Jar. Pocket terrarium with tiny cloud dial. Hooks: cork cap, hand‑painted numerals, smiling barometer needle.

Checklists: One‑Page Review Gates

Green‑Light (Concept).

Primary silhouette hook is obvious at 5 m.
Origin/ownership readable via one emblem or color law.
Use‑state clear: where to hold, where to open, how to power.
Materials support economy story (scarcity vs abundance).
You can produce a Basic / Pro / Illicit trim with one shared base.

Alpha (Production).

Metric dims and hand scale included; bounding box stated.
Interface & fastener callouts complete; hinge axes shown.
LOD plan defined; decals organized by visibility tier.
Shader stack documented with % coverage and texture budgets.
Hook legend shipped; variant swatches named consistently.

Final Thought

World hooks are evidence—proof that your objects belong to systems larger than themselves. Whether sanctified brass or torque‑striped aluminum, repair tape or candy enamel, each cue should tell a small truth about origin, power, ownership, maintenance, and risk. Design those truths first. The rest becomes not just believable, but inevitable.