Computer-implemented systems and methods are provided for analyzing and determining properties of virtual environments rendered on a display. The disclosed embodiments include, for example, a method for rendering a virtual environment, the method comprising operations performed with one or more processors. The operations of the method may include generating a plurality of object layers, the object layers representing permissible height values. The method may also include populating the environment with a plurality of objects, wherein each object is associated with a height value corresponding to one of the object layers. The method may also include determining whether any two objects form an occluded pair. The method may also include calculating a cast shadow index for each occluded pair reflecting a magnitude of a height differential between occluding object and the occluded object. The method may also include rendering the virtual environment in accordance with the calculated cast shadow indices.