art-direction
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Captain's Log Supplemental: Exploring the art design of Star Trek Online's Delta Rising races
If you asked me about my favorite antagonistic race through all of Voyager's seven-year run, my answer wouldn't have been any of the regular suspects. It would have been the Vaadwaur, and not just because of their funky appearance; the race really twisted the usual formula of a Star Trek one-off villain, and besides that, they had a culture that hinted at something very unusual in the show. I was kind of sad that they never showed up again after their one episode. Obviously, I was happy to see one of my favorite races get the upgrade treatment in Star Trek Online. But that poses a problem just the same because it's not as if the producers on the show detailed dozens of ship classes and a huge amount of culture for a race that showed up for 50 minutes. I chatted with art director Brad Stokan about bringing these smaller races of Star Trek into a fully fleshed-out form in Star Trek Online, discussing both the Vaadwaur and the Kobali and how his team took a one-off guest appearance and made a full race out of it.
Explore Destiny's early fantasy, sci-fi, and space western art
Game Informer is gearing up for some Destiny content reveals, the first of which is a six-minute video journey through the sci-fantasy shooter's art direction. The clip also features an extended Thundarr the Barbarian segment, so there's that. Art director Christopher Barrett says that for a while, Bungie wasn't sure if it had a fantasy, a space western, or hard sci-fi on its hands, and the early art reflects a lot of that "fun exploration." Most of the ideas ultimately ended up in the game, too, as Barrett says that Bungie was able to create a sort of "historical or aged look with sci-fi that felt new."
Meet the art director behind Ultima Forever
If you've been playing Ultima forever, you started out by playing the game on a monochrome monitor with all the graphical lushness that an Apple IIe could provide. Ultima Forever's art director Peter Lipman knows all about that, because that's where he started as well. So going in with a memory of the franchise from the beginning, he decided to really focus on exploring how lush the world could look with a modern aesthetic. This was the core idea behind using background tiles rather than a 3D engine; as Lipman puts it, he wanted to take the beautiful concept art that people would come up with and put it directly into the game rather than just make something similar. You can hear all of Lipman's observations on designing the game in the video just past the cut, including a discussion of changing the game's overall art style to help make the game stand out more for players.
Pathfinder Online shows off early development art
You might have been looking forward to Pathfinder Online for a while, but it's been hard to really look at the game. That's starting to change with the latest blog entry on the official site in which art director Mike Hines discusses the process of making art for Pathfinder Online and shows off some early renders that should demonstrate what the game will look like once players finally get to enjoy it. Hines discusses the fact that the game has the advantage of drawing upon a great deal of established artwork for the Pathfinder tabletop game, but it also has the challenge of adapting those visuals to the online space. He also shows off several early concept renders and sketches, stressing with each that these are still works in progress that might change before the final release. If you're anxious to look at the game instead of just forward to it, look through the full blog entry on the official site. [Thanks to matixuzn for the tip!]
The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar style
There's no two ways about it: The way that WildStar looks is just plain going to turn some people off. And while I'm hesitant to say those people are wrong, exactly, I think they're missing the mark something fierce. When the game's first trailer hit, the look was what immediately attracted me to the game. Not that it had a whole lot of competition; back then, we knew the name, we'd seen a couple of vague concepts, and we had a wonderfully animated trailer. Picking the last item out of those three was almost just choosing the more substantial option. But I won't lie -- I loved the visual style, and when it became clear that the game was bearing that out all the way along, that just made me pleased as could be. Some aren't as fond of it, that's for sure. But I can think of some good reasons for the game to look how it does and at least one major flaw in the arguments against the look. I might be wrong, but heck, I'd be doing a disservice not to speak my mind on the subject.
Massively Exclusive: An interview with WildStar art director Matt Mocarski
WildStar doesn't look like anything else out right now. We're not just talking about the game's mechanics; the game's stylized graphics make it look distinct. There's a lot of unique visual elements in the game, from its opening cinematic to the most recent screenshots, and while you might not like the more stylized approach, you can't say that it lacks personality. This comes with its own set of challenges, though. After all, creating stylized graphics for a game means you're not just making the best-looking environments possible; you're also creating a whole new aesthetic and making environments that make sense within that style. We had a chance to ask WildStar's art director Matt Mocarski a few questions about the process of putting the game's unique look together, and he provided us some excellent insights into bringing the visuals from concept to reality. Whether you're a fan of the game in specific or stylized art in general, take a look at the full interview past the break.
New Darkfall dev diary vid talks art direction, Unholy Wars changes
So Darkfall 1.0 has come and gone, as Aventurine has officially closed the servers in preparation for the Unholy Wars reboot. The firm has also released a five-minute dev diary video featuring creative lead Adam Oikonomopoulos, who talks at length about the game's art direction updates and AV's expanded creative vision. The video boasts a bunch of fly-through shots that show off Agon's new textures, higher polygon counts, and improved shaders, many of which are a marked improvement over the originals (that date back to the game's genesis in 2002 in some cases). Oikonomopoulos also mentions that Unholy Wars and the original Darkfall are set "several hundred years apart," which accounts for some of the changes in both the landscape and the game's architecture.
Elder Scrolls Online art director talks MMO limitations and stylistic influences
What's up with the stylized visuals on display in The Elder Scrolls Online's recent screenshot and video reveals? It's all about marrying various takes on Tamriel with the limitations of MMORPGs, according to ZeniMax Online art director Jared Carr. "We're not really at the technical state with MMOs to be able to pull off photorealism," Carr explains. He goes on to say that the target is 200 characters on screen for the game's massive battles, and he also notes that despite concessions to tech limits and travel times, TESO is heavily influenced by previous Elder Scrolls games, particularly Oblivion and Morrowind. Head to Game Informer for the full video dev diary.
New DDO trailer goes behind the scenes on Underdark expansion
Can't get enough of Turbine's new Dungeons and Dragons Online expansion, eh? We can't either, and fortunately the firm has released a new trailer that takes us behind the scenes on the making of the Menace of the Underdark content. The clip features producer Fernando Paiz, who calls the expansion the largest content push in the game's six-year history. Since the expansion is delving into a new IP (the Forgotten Realms, as opposed to DDO's original Eberron setting), the devs have had to adjust their thinking in terms of both content and art direction. Turbine's Jeff De Puy says that "almost all the monsters [the devs are] creating for Forgotten Realms are epically large and big." How epically large and big? You'll have to click past the cut and view the video to find out.
Art in service of gameplay: Gravity Rush
Sony's next big internally developed PlayStation Vita game, Gravity Rush, is still a few months from launch in North America. In Japan, however, the game has been out since early February, freeing up art director Yoshiaki Yamaguchi to present his work on the already completed game to a room of GDC 2012 attendees this morning. Yamaguchi spoke of how cel shading and creating a living world helped to service the project's open world gameplay. "The color of the sky provides information about location or acts as sort of like a symbol for that place. However, just simply applying a layer of color would be too direct or too strong, and may even feel out of place," he said. "So we crafted this atmospheric sort of simulation to give it a more natural feel and appeal." The result, as shown off during the presentation, is a vibrant, painterly world that can be fully interacted with by the player. Yamaguchi said the team at Sony's Japan Studio pushed for an open world from the beginning of the project, as seen in the first concept video above (revealed for the first time during his GDC panel). The game's main character saw more of an evolution than the game world, in fact. Seen after the break, Kat saw several iterations before the team settled on a definitive look that would represent a "strong female" as well as a "strong ninja."
Go behind the scenes with EVE's art department in new video diary
CCP's latest dev blog spills the beans on EVE Online's upcoming rookie ship revamp. CCP Guard reports that the redesign is "part of our ongoing effort to continuously update the art assets in EVE Online and [make] sure it remains the most beautiful MMO out there." The blog entry features a video clip that takes us behind the scenes at CCP's art department, and there are plenty of talking-head interviews as well as a few glimpses of sexy internet spaceship concept art. The five-minute clip is basically a crash course in the lengthy process of adding new art assets to EVE, and you'll find it after the jump.
Former Lineage II artist returns to NCsoft for new MMO project
NCsoft's prodigal son has returned, and with him the hopes and dreams of the future of gaming. Well that might be a smidge melodramatic, but fans of the company's games certainly have a good reason to celebrate today as former Lineage II artist Juno Jeong has come back to the fold. Jeong signed back on with NCsoft as of yesterday to be the art director of an unknown MMO project. This is a marked step up from his previous role in the company as a member of the character production team, and those who know Jeong's art style are already expressing excitement with his current role. Following his stint on Lineage II, Jeong worked for several other game companies including Gravity, NHN, and Npluto. While speculation is swirling over the exact nature of the project to which he's been assigned, the most common assumptions are either that he's working on another Lineage or Aion title.
SOE gearing up for PlanetSide 2 dev chats
PlanetSide 2 is in the news again this week, but to be honest we don't know all the details as of yet. Sony Online Entertainment has sent out a press blurb stating that it will be "brief[ing] the troops on anything and everything related to the art of PlanetSide 2." This includes a chat with senior art director Tramell Isaac (whom die-hard fans will recognize as the art director on the original PlanetSide) scheduled for Tuesday, September 27th. Tramell will be discussing "the original PlanetSide's legacy and influence on PlanetSide 2's art style, and how SOE's powerful ForgeLight engine will carry this vision forward." Thursday brings a PlanetSide 2 webcast (also with a focus on art direction). After that, fans can look forward to a Twitter chat on Friday, and the dev team will be fielding multiple questions relating to the upcoming sci-fi MMOFPS.
Undead Labs art director talks about the heart of horror
So what is art direction and why is it important to video games in general and MMORPGs in particular? That's a good question, and sadly one that can't be answered in a brief news post. What we can do, though, is point you to some worthwhile reading on the subject. Today's lesson comes courtesy of Undead Labs and Doug Williams. Williams serves as the art director on the firm's upcoming zombie apocalype Xbox Live Arcade MMO (currently codenamed Class3), and while you might expect him to spend time talking about gory effects or the best way to render blood and brains in a dark environment, Williams actually spends a good portion of the latest Undead Labs blog post talking about something called "Faded Americana." "Faded Americana really resonates with me because there are many analogies between the style and a zombie apocalypse. In both cases, you see society hanging onto the ghosts of its past," Williams explains. The concept goes a long way towards explaining Undead Labs' decision to set the game primarily in a small town environment, and Williams has quite a few interesting anecdotes relating to influential games as well as the challenges inherent in separating the new game from the stack of zombie-themed entertainment products that have swarmed over the popular consciousness in recent years.
Blizzard Insider #39 goes behind the scenes with the art of the Firelands
Patch 4.2 brought back one of the most iconic WoW villains in the game's history -- Ragnaros, the Firelord. Blizzard Insider interviewed two critical members of the dev team, Lead Level Designer Jonathan Dumont and Lead Environment Artist Gary Platner, to discuss the process and philosophy behind the Firelands' design. Dumont and Platner go into detail about the origins of the Firelands, the design decisions that made the cut and some that didn't, and how the environment animates with the new particle and water effects. Firelands is one of the most cohesive and engaging locales Blizzard's team has brought to life, in my opinion. Much like Deepholm and Vashj'ir, the Firelands exists to bring the realm of fire to life, when the daunting Sulfuron Keep only existed in our imaginations prior. An interesting piece of info was that Ragnaros' model was rebuilt from scratch, completely overhauling his skeleton, animations, and feel. The new Ragnaros is one of those things, to me, that the Cataclysm did right -- create a new thing with the heart and soul of the original. Ragnaros looks like he belongs. Check out the full interview after the jump.
The Daily Grind: What aesthetic should we see more often?
Possibly showing our skewed priorities, most of the Massively staff launched into paroxysms of cooing at the unveiling of City of Heroes' Steampunk Pack. It's an aesthetic that's sadly underused within the MMO space -- we have a few hundred games that feature a vaguely European fantasy world but a decided lack of games with thick smoke, oil, and clockwork machinery. But steampunk isn't the only design aesthetic and general setting getting short shrift within the games we adore. The modern "art deco" aesthetic of the 1950s. The lush jungle setting of South America during the reign of the Aztec and Mayan peoples. The bleak iron and hard edges of Soviet Russia. We've all got settings that we think would be a bit more interesting than yet another game with French castles and full-plate knights, so today we ask -- what would you like to see more frequently? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
From Dust dev diary directs our attention to the art direction
This latest From Dust dev diary reveals a gameworld inspired by out-of-this-world locales: from the the lagoon archipelagos of Polynesia to the central Sahara Desert and on into the mind of prolific French sci-fi author Laurent Genefort.
Guild Wars 2 art director talks racial redesigns and making it as a game artist
Tap Repeatedly has posted the third part of its interview with Guild Wars 2 and ArenaNet art director Daniel Dociu. Unlike yesterday's segment, which focused on game art in general as well as Guild Wars 2's unique aesthetic, today's entry deals with everything from concept artists and breaking into the business to why ANet chose to revisit some of the game's racial designs (specifically the Sylvari). "For some races the early design didn't stand the test of time. You build and implement things, some grow on you and some tend to age poorly and beg for redesign," Dociu explains. He also touches on his relationship with the characters and creatures art team, noting that his contributions are more along the lines of managing creative energy and overseeing the big picture as opposed to creating assets, designs, and concept art.
Daniel Dociu talks Guild Wars 2 art direction
If you're looking for the latest art-centric news for ArenaNet's long-awaited Guild Wars sequel, look no further than Tap Repeatedly. Guild Wars 2 art director Daniel Dociu recently sat down for the second part of an interview that shines the spotlight on the forthcoming fantasy MMORPG's visual palette as well as the man responsible for overseeing it. The piece covers a lot of ground, including everything from GW2's painterly user interface to the company culture at ArenaNet (which was founded by a group of engineers but also boasts one of the MMO industry's premier artistic rosters). This is no accident, Dociu explains, and one of his goals as ArenaNet's art director is to ensure that game art is given the respect it deserves. "Too often in this industry art is an afterthought. More often than not the expectations are set too low. It isn't always regarded as an equally important component next to game design or technology," he explains. So what's up with the hand-crafted aesthetic that permeates everything from Guild Wars 2's client interface to its marketing materials? It's very deliberate, Dociu says, and it resulted in a marriage between talented artists and the realities of a finite budget. "We've unified stylistically the cinematics, user interface, and all visual branding... It all started because it was something we wanted to do, but we had to wait for the right moment and approach it from the resources angle."
The art director speaks in the latest video for Final Fantasy XIV
One of the defining elements of Final Fantasy XI was the attention to detail, with every area of the world carefully crafted for maximum verisimilitude. It's a tradition that has been carried on to Final Fantasy XIV, with the game's art direction as one of its primary selling points. Akihiko Yoshida, the art director for the game, shares his thoughts on the design of the game and his hopes for the player experience in the newest Making of Eorzea video, embedded after the cut. Yoshida discusses the added challenges experienced with the game's dynamic format, as well as the many ways that the team has tried to expand upon the lessons learned from Final Fantasy XI. Players of the open beta have no doubt noticed the amount of detail going into each environment, and it helps make even mundane tasks more enjoyable. See what Yoshida has to say about designing Final Fantasy XIV's visuals after the cut, and keep your eyes open as the open beta continues (Square-Enix has been rolling out a new patch nearly every day).
