Team Discussion - Extension on Concept

After a lengthy team discussion and a mutual interest of narrative concepts Andrew and I have decided that an aspect of narrative would be a great addition to our concept. Our idea is to create a narrative first and then base our research and concepts around the back story of our game idea. The reason for this is because we are both very interested in creating our 3D concepts as not just interesting and aesthetically pleasing designs but to also have them act as plot devices. So a question I need to ask myself throughout the next three weeks of research is, how can I create 3D environment features that tell a story?