Divine light (2023)
Description
You are the master of reflections. Your task is destroy the invading Robot Towers! Make your way through the captured desert. Use mirrors to reflect light accurately to the target and activate mechanisms or kill enemies.
Genre: 3rd person adventure
Development time: 16 months
Platform: PC, Consoles
Engine: Unreal Engine 4/5
Team size: 4
I was responsible for
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art-direction,
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concept art,
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3d character model,
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animation integration,
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weight painting,
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materials on clothes,
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vfx (Cascade, Niagara),
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lighting,
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post-process,
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game design,
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trailer montage
my contributions
visual style
During the development of the visual style, it was crutual for me to convey these kinds of feeling:
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surrealism,
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an abandoned world acting according to its own laws,
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a sense of instability and volatility.
Firstly, I created several concept art and a fakeshot. Based on these pictures,
I formulated the main aspects of the visual style.
Fake screenshot
Black-and-white concepts
sunbeams
The sun releases the sunbeams to the Earth, where light energy appears. The player can collect this solar energy.
Moreover, they can help the player navigate the open space
of the desert as noticeable focal points. This concept with the falling sunbeams looks nice and enriches the space, so I decided to keep it.
sky as a celestial map
The sky in the game served several important functions: it was supposed to show the trajectory of the Sun across the sky
and serve as a celestial map so that the player wouldn't get lost. For this purpose, I created a celestial dome with
a coordinate grid in the equatorial system of celestial coordinates.
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dynamic textures
The design of the solar entities and the Sun is based on triangles, which is associated with rays and movement. On the other hand, the design of the moon is dominated by a circular shape, representing stability. This way, I want to contrast them.
Final solar material on main character
Texture for solar and lunal materials
Dynamic material settings in Unreal Engine 4
VFX
I wanted the game world to appeal to the player, to be lively and vivid.
For this reason, I paid attention to adding special effects.
Light triangles
To keep track of the main character's path, I added a particle system that leaves a trail of glowing triangles behind them. This helps the player not to get all confused and also reminds them that their character is constantly losing health (or light). The visual effects (VFX) were created in Niagara.
Air trails
I also added some airflow trails to the character's arm to give
a fuller sense of flight. Plus, I made these speed lines VFX
in Niagara and attached them in front of the main character,
so they spawn every second.
Light triangles and airflows vfx in game
character design
Sun bird
My job was to redesign the main character to fit the current concept. Originally, the character was like a bird-person, a solar priest. I decided that the new character would be based on the shapes of a circle and a triangle, to show the ambiguity of his actions and goals, since the main character wanted, like Icarus, to reach the divine Sun and become on par with God.
So, I wanted the character's design to have a mix of minimalist forms and ethnic patterns.
Concept art of the main character
Final design of the main character
After that, I created a 3D model using Blender and Maya. I was also responsible for rigging, weight painting, and animation integration.
3D model of the main character
Moon
The moon is one of the main enemies of the character. The moon has several states, which change depending on what's happening in the location. For example, it can sleep, or it can pursue the character to devour him. The initial concept resembled the Moon from the game Zelda, with a human face and a frightening expression. But in the end, I went for a more minimalist look that scares the player with its massive size and multiple eyes.
Final design of the Moon
Concept art of the Moon
environment design
Towers
These impressive structures are at the heart of an ancient cult devoted to the Sun god. They hold the power to control the Sun's movement and manipulate time. You can find these towers scattered throughout the entire game world, and they even connect to each other through prisms on top, creating a trap for the elusive Moon. Following the visual style, the final concept of the towers resembles more of an art object.
When working on this concept, my main focus was to capture the essence of the Sun god and create a sense of instability and surrealism.
Concept art of towers
The tower's blockout
The final tower
Tower's interior
I faced a challenge in designing the interior of the towers to provide an engaging gameplay experience while reflecting the spiritual journey of a devoted priest. Inspired by modern architecture, I collected references to guide my creative process.
References
In collaboration with our game designers, we came up with an unique feature: a spiral staircase that leads our hero to the top of the tower. But we wanted to add more air, so we decided to break up the staircase into smaller pieces, adding a platforming element with jumps for an extra thrill.
To bring the towers to life, we decided to select materials like gold metal (representing the Sun), glass, and marble.
Final tower's interior
As you climb up the tower, you'll be surrounded by sunbeam-stairs, and the symbol of the Sun will become more prominent, symbolizing your spiritual journey.
At the center of each tower, you'll find a mesmerizing hourglass where sand falls down from above, adding a touch of magic to the atmosphere.
Final tower's interior