Art for our Video Game in Development
Hi everyone 
I am obviously new so forgive me for starting a thread like this and not taking time to comment on other artwork (yet). I will however as soon as I got some time.
My company is working on a Console/PC/Mac game right now called Oliver&Spike: Dimension Jumpers and I was directed here by one of your members. I thought it might be fun to show some of the progress we do with the game. Especially progress from 2D Concept art to actual in game.
At any rate, if you have any questions or requests, don't hesitate to ask. I am happy to detail technical aspects or anything else that might be of interest to you
But let's get started, shall we?
First some 2D Concepts of Oliver, the main character:
The 3D Adaption:
Actual in game Screenshots:
We also made tons of environmental concepts for the Different game locations (Dimensions):
Which translated into an in game look such as this:
Of course we also have a lot of additional characters and npcs such as the Wabas:
2D Concept:
3D Model:
We have a lot more to show but I'll leave it at that for now
I am obviously new so forgive me for starting a thread like this and not taking time to comment on other artwork (yet). I will however as soon as I got some time.
My company is working on a Console/PC/Mac game right now called Oliver&Spike: Dimension Jumpers and I was directed here by one of your members. I thought it might be fun to show some of the progress we do with the game. Especially progress from 2D Concept art to actual in game.
At any rate, if you have any questions or requests, don't hesitate to ask. I am happy to detail technical aspects or anything else that might be of interest to you
But let's get started, shall we?
First some 2D Concepts of Oliver, the main character:
The 3D Adaption:
Actual in game Screenshots:
We also made tons of environmental concepts for the Different game locations (Dimensions):
Which translated into an in game look such as this:
Of course we also have a lot of additional characters and npcs such as the Wabas:
2D Concept:
3D Model:
We have a lot more to show but I'll leave it at that for now
Replies
Took a look at your website, absolutely love the art style. The concepts are gorgeous, and they've been executed brilliantly.
The environments! Beautiful stuff. Varied and distinctive.
Would love to hear a quick breakdown of your process from concept to in game, reasons why you made the choices to pursue this style, issues you overcame, etc.
Here is a video of the game in action (mind you, filmed from screen at GDC earlier this year)
http://www.gamespot.com/events/gdc-2012/video.html?sid=6365596
Paul, the art style is supposed to appeal to a wide target group. Even though the game initially is targeted at 11 to 16 year olds we surely hope the mix between adventure and platform gameplay will attract a wide range of fans. Generally, if you like a mix between Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank and Zelda, you might like O&S as well
But as mentioned, the idea is to have it as approachable as possible art style wise. The characters you'll encounter are very quirky, the worlds consists of several parallel Dimensions you use to explore but also to get along in the game and we want it to be fun and playful.
We basically create 2D concepts until we are happy with them. For example, Oliver went through a quite long process:
Until we felt we had a good feeling about the look of the concept reflecting Oliver's character. It was either too "bully", too "intellectual" or too "brat". With other things such as the Wabas, they came pretty much naturally and felt "right" from the start.
I'll write a bit more about the actual process and tools we use later
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The 3d one of the main character looks a bit mean to me. The red hair doesn't really fit. I like the concepts a lot more! There is some friendlyness in the concepts I really like and which is totally missing in the 3d one!
Thanks, that's some great input. I'll make sure to pass it on
Thanks Sam
We are using Unity. The platforms depend a bit on if we can find a publisher or funding and who will help is with development. The team wants to develop it foremost for Console (XBLA, PSN etc) but with PC/MAC versions as well.
We will also co-develop mobile/social mini games to explain about the world and characters (think 2D sidescroller/platformer to go with the actual world and characters).
very cool! caint wait to see more and hope you find a publisher
Haha, I love it!
^_^
And i love the graphic style !
I hope that you will go far with this project .
+1 member at your fanbase
If you'll find appreciation for good gameart anywhere, it's Polycount!
it might be that his eyes are bigger in the concept!
Good work on this, want to see more!
Achillesian, I am a big fan of the Wabas in general. I hope we can have some plushies made
I am preparing some new screenshots and I particularly like how the concept art translates into the actual in game look: What do you guys think?
Yeah that is a good input. I personally like the Big Eye approach as well. He just looks a bit more "cuddly (?)" in the actual concepts maybe?
[ame="
Great progress and looks very promising.
Something like this maybe: (very quick since I'm at work) Sorry for the poor quality xD
We agree and got some of the same feedback for Oliver. He seems to "normal" maybe? It's important that he is equally likeable for a wide range of age groups..
More quirky maybe? Something really weird? Maybe we should go with glasses again
MrNinjutsu, I forgot to mention it but we will speed up the run speed and redo the animations to match the change. It was painfully obvious that the speed was not convenient and more annoying then anything else.
edit: uups missed the comments on the second page.
Chris, sorry I hope this doesn't sound like an excuse, but the cutscenes are not finalized and have nowhere near the polish they will have. The lighting and shaders in particular are not up to our vision and a bit of placeholders. I agree with you though
Romy, we are 8 people at the moment (One Animator, one concept artist, one 3D artist/modeller/art director, 4 programmers (including our CEO who also does game design and one marketing/pr/jack-of-all trades person)
We are also working with freelancers for music, voice-overs and text/dialog. On that note - we are looking for a freelance video/trailer pro if any of you guys know someone
Regarding platforms, it's foremost designed for Console but since our strength lies in mobile we will also create mobile games to go with the main game (most probably 2D sidescroll platform gameplay in order to reveal more information about characters). We plan on also having a PC/Mac version available after the initial release.
It all comes down to if we can find someone and who publishing/funding wise
We also have a progress blog post (on how we take 2D to 3D) for one of the first bosses you meet in game later this week for anyone interested.
We are not actively looking but if you have an online portfolio or demo-reel you can link to send them to natascha at rockpocketgames dot com
Modelled in 3D Studio Max.
Polycount: 6920 tris.
4096x4096 diffuse, specular, normal map textures.
Sculpted in Mudbox.
In game the boss is 3,3 meters up the the top of his hunched back.
About 6 meters long, including tentacles.
Hope you guys enjoy
The chicken boss is hilarious! Thanks for the breakdown too! I'm concerned that his spec feels pretty even throughout making him look very plastic like. This might just be the render though.
Keep it coming!
We'll most probably be around again with much more to show (including the big guy above and the boss fight itself).
The proper shaders for the models are going to be applied through the game engine.
The ability to change the ENTIRE environment and game play mechanics is F*CKING SWEET. That is a total game changer (<-- see what I did there?). It is super unique and definitely a remembering game aspect. I would definitely look back and think "Remember that one game where you can play literally switch the entire environment and you complete puzzles and shit with the mechanic?" I did just that the other day when I went to show a friend the awesome prototype videos. Good stuff, and die-ing to see the game come together!
Keep going !
Don't worry about the count. It's not optomized for the game and just the specs of the render
If any of you are planning to be at GDC in San Fran next year, get in contact with me and I can keep you updated on our progress and if and where we will be show-casing the game (if you want to take a look