In this panel veteran Art Leads will discuss what it takes to build a happy, healthy, art team. With global experience across Indie and AAA studios, we’ll discuss leadership styles, what makes a good studio culture, and how to attract the best talent. You’ll be invited to discuss any pressing issues, and will also have the opportunity to talk about your creative challenges.

Takeaway:

• Attendees will learn more about art leadership and how it contributes to studio culture
• Advice on talent sourcing or securing roles within studios and teams
• Networking opportunities with other industry artists
• Ask questions on a number of topics to veteran industry art team leads

Alexander (Studio Art Manager), Ash and Dan (both Principal Concept Artists) will guide delegates through the process of visdev and the overall art creation of Mediatonic’s PC and console title Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. The talk will cover how the art team tackled creating a Takeshi’s Castle-inspired game world full of chaotic courses that’s both unique and appealing, while also inherently a Mediatonic title all at the same time. Explore the processes behind designing hundreds of loveable, bumbling characters and costumes, all within the constraints of hardware and game design. Uncover answers to questions like ‘But what texture and density IS a Fall Guy?’ and ‘How DOES a jellybean in a banana suit look when it gets hit by a giant mallet?’ amongst other important questions.

Takeaway:

• What is VisDev and what are the basics when developing a pc/console title
• Tips on how to manage a very dynamic art team while overcoming pitfalls and bumpy patches in game development
• Tips and tricks on managing art-pipelines, including a behind the scenes look at how Mediatonic tackled this for one of the company’s most sophisticated (yet silly) game so far

Every kids picks up a toy and plays with it. He holds and animates the toy and there is a game he’s designed in his head I believe animation is design, why? What’s a belief of mine that has changed, and why? • Game animation is about making something look awesome! • No. Animation is making something ‘feel’ awesome. • The player has control, this is the great separation from film. • Player immersion from the interaction. • Responsiveness in the character • Prototyping animation for design Tips for designing great animation • Pace the move out. Give the animation room to breathe. Don’t try to fit too much in. • Make clear contacts. • If you have control of the camera this is a character in the scene. • Set-ups are just as important as the impact • Etc Tips for what the audience can look for now • Martial arts • How to dissect animation/film combat

Takeaway:

• Understanding the role of animation and design in developing fun gameplay
• Tips on how to design a combat animation
• Tips on creating readable combat animation.

Releasing a game that allows the player to be as creative as they want is challenging, especially when you provide over 3000 assets. Liesa and IJke offer a retrospective on two and a half years of art development with a highly creative player base in mind. The lecture starts with the lessons learned from Planet Coaster and how they were taken on board for Planet Zoo. It’s hugely important to anticipate the needs of players and the concept stage is used to identify useful and versatile assets. We take a look at the popularity of certain types of assets, using telemetry from the live game. We also take a look at the unconventional contribution our concept artists made. They were integral to the look and feel of the game, and they used their knowledge of the assets to create in-game buildings and scenery. Our concept artists received a new responsibility in the production pipeline; designing and playing with the in-game assets. Having our concept artists play and build in-game gave us a lot of strong assets, and an insight into which assets were missing. Finally, we take a look at balancing the game to account for multiple player types. Our game is popular with building and management players. Some like to build a beautiful zoo, and some like to build a functional zoo. Those players have different expectations and we look at which solutions we found to satisfy both.

Takeaway:

• Concepting for a highly creative player base – how to anticipate their wants and needs and balancing hero assets vs versatility. Retrospective on where we went right or wrong + player telemetry.
• Taking concept to the next level – Concept artists who play the game contribute more to its progress and design. We look at how they have made an impact on the game post-concept.
• Balancing scenery for creative players versus pure management players – different players have different expectations, what solutions did we find to manage both?

This session will detail the purpose of game Art Bibles, the types of fields that need to be covered & ways to best structure this information for the various target audiences. This would include ensuring there is a clear understanding & alignment of your game's core purpose & razor and how these subsequently influence / waterfall down through narrative framing, game tone, art pillars, establishing visual signatures, world-building, scene-setting and practical applications of the principals & elements of art.

Takeaway:

• The purposes that a game Art Bible serves
• What to include & why
• How to tailor the contents to you suit your project

Making your work look dynamic but believable is always tricky problem to solve when creating characters for games. They need to be cohesive within their own world, but also relatable to the player so that they can build a meaningful connection with them. In this talk, we will be discussing various tips, practices and sources for taking your model beyond their concept art by developing our fundamental knowledge of garment creation, pattern, visual depth and power, branding and more.

Takeaway:

• A further understanding of the deeper fundamentals when creating/designing characters for games
• Practical theory on how to use colour to add depth to the visuals of a character
• How to apply them effectively for a cohesive powerful look