NAV


CHARACTER
WEAPONS
PROP/GRAPHICS
ENVIRONMENTS



populating our world


I remember seeing a paternoster lift for the first time and thinking it was such an interesting and efficient way to traverse floors-albeit with some specific weaknesses. But for a public facility in the right circumstances, it’s great-hence the prop exploration here. I envisioned this lift primarily as a means of shortcut for the character or in a gameplay space.  It could be temporarily disabled via some security measure or power loss and subsequently returned to working form to provide quick access between floors. 


Crates like these may not be exciting for most people but I love designing props like this as much as any other aspect of a project. These also need to tie into the aesthetic and form correctly in order to sell the world to the audience. The shape of a crate can tell me a lot about the world. In this case, I was trying to reinforce large affordances and simple form factor underscored by technological advances. 

In a project like this, I could use assets from any kitbash library or other easy-to-acquire asset repository, but I’d be depriving the setting of the depth that gives it soul. When we write off the details of a project as unimportant it can communicate to the audience a lack of care or attention. Most of the time, I don’t think it reads consciously, but on a subconscious level, they are aware that something is missing. That’s why in many aspects design for boxes, crates, bottles-you name it- are just as important the success and soul of a work as the characters or environments. 


Individual livery from a variety of factions and conglomerates indicates their varied, but far reaching influence. Some of the patterns I designed were inspired by older Russian and Japanese graphics in an attempt to communicate elements of surviving cultures.In this world, there are many different alliances, factions, conglomerates, etc. that hold power in different ways. Rather than just being manufacturers, many of these serve as collectives in one capacity or another, vying for influence over this burgeoning solar culture, and desperate to win over their own portion.

The cultural graphic flare is an opportunity to break tradition and complement the overarching form language in an unprecedented way. I love midcentury modernism and minimal logos as much as the next person, but wanted to start exploring something different with the graphic identity of the project. 

What if it included more texture? A tertiary layer of texture, patterns, and visuals could help set a distinct style while allowing for more possibilities for these groups to stand out. And in use for larger spaces, the tertiary layer and elements could be stripped to preserve readability. 



New world manufacturer of experimental weaponry with a trend for innovation and complexity.
Among these different groups are some that are a little more straightforward. Manufacturers of arms and tools-both of interest to our character and audience. For each of these, the logo, type, and colors needed to communicate each brand’s style and approach to their wares. Not an easy task, but certainly a gratifying one! One of my earliest jobs was graphic design in freelance so Ilove and consider it an invaluable tool in my concept kit and sensibilities.

Odd manufacturer known for their line of entirely modular tools and weapons-sporting best in class flexibility for the price.

Borderline luxury weaponry with unparalleled ease-of-use and ergonomics.

Reliable producer of simple and widely popular arms. A favorite of independent groups working on a budget.
Old Ruso-manufacturer of explosives and weaponry. Knack for heavy duty arms that pack a punch.
 Pictured here is a look into some of the ideation that goes on for each logo. It’s a lot of trial and error guided by a group of values and objectives integral to the brand. In this case, I knew that I wanted something that said “strong” and “no nonsense”. I ditched the serifs and stuck with simplified, bold text complemented by a shape that would match the brand’s namesake and aesthetic: Something with a lot of power behind it. The meteor motif came naturally from there and until I landed on the version you see now. 

Door scanners gate access to different parts of the facility, providing roadblocks at some junctions and opportunity at others. I wanted to create a spread of different sized versions varying in complexity that I could use continually in the environments. 


Even dooryways need designing! In this case, the idea was to create  cover for the sliding doors that would reinforce the primary shape language of the environment and provide sample layouts for the door scanners and headers.


Door headers identify in world locations and routing throughout the base. Not the use of Univon in primary text supplemented by more native and colloquial languages in the subheaders. Just another element of reinforcing the idea that this universal language, though in use, is undercut in some capacity by these different groups.

Sometimes it’s much easier to just build and texture a rough version of an asset if I know I will be frequently using it. In this case I build and modeled these crates quickly as a asset to populate scenes later on.

Crossing Orbits

We’ll need a vessel to carry our character to Keres. In this case, it’s a Hoplite Reconaissance Ship. I knew that this would be one of the first things players or viewers will see in theory if it’s used in any sort of intro so I wanted the form language to set the stage for what would be later explored in the architecture and other props.


There was a tricky balance to strike with this design. I knew it wouldn’t be visible for long- so I didn’t need to detail all of the mechanics, but I still wanted it to be functional and have some neat visual hooks for cinematics. It needed to look nimble, and fast, but avoid the look of a top-end dogfighting craft. So I leveraged aggressive angles, but pulled back on some of the aerodynamic surfaces to make it more blocky and utilitarian.


Some of the mechanics of the hoplite, showcasing different visual hooks that could be used in a cinematic.



i HAD







Booster detach sequence with clamps.

Here are some of the many explorations I made in choosing a color scheme for the hoplite. I wanted some degree of vibrant color to set the tone for the rest of the story-that this may be a moody world, but it’s not bleak or dark- it’s full of color.



There was a brief, early idea in which the main character would sneak aboard a freighter in order to make their way to the station.  So these were some quick sketches and explorations of that. 

Very early versions of the sculpt; here showing the different moveable components that would end up in the final version eventually.



This was a rough sculpt made early in the process. Note the difference in form language here compared to the final version, which complemented the rest of the setting much better and helped sell the story of the craft as a whole.



early silhouette exploration allowed for many quick possibilities before I settled on the final, simplified version.