Describe the artistic direction that Necropolis is taking. How is it unique?
I'm really excited about where we've been able to take Necropolis so far, visually. We've been very inspired by what I've been calling "contemporary low-poly", a style that's become really popular in graphic design over the last few years. I would say it's a way of viewing polygons as a compositional tool, rather than a technical limitation. When you combine carefully thought-out geometry with current rendering, lighting, occlusion etc - you can get a really clean, modern look. You'll often see this style used in graphic design to create a very bright & airy atmosphere. It's been our goal to flip that into something darker. The Necropolis can be a bizarre and scary place...
Another big visual goal of ours has been to create a space that feels unique without being firmly rooted in a particular genre. There are many fantasy elements in Necropolis, but we don’t want it to feel married to either fantasy or sci-fi. It's simply its’ own world that stands on its’ own visual rules.
What has been the most challenging aspect of working as an Art Director in general? What specific challenges has Necropolis created for you so far?
The most challenging thing about being an art director so far - at least for me! - is finding a healthy balance between being a director, and being a hands-on artist myself. This is something I really enjoy about working on a smaller team, it's very fulfilling for me to be able to remain an individual contributor. I get antsy if I'm stretched too thin as a manager and don't end up with the time (or energy) to paint.
Necropolis is a lot of new territory for me, there was certainly a period at the start where I struggled to shift gears from Shadowrun, which is very different both aesthetically and in the type of game it is. I feel like I was able to navigate that, fortunately, it just took a little time! Now, I'd say it's probably just balancing the desire to continue to explore and noodle on certain ideas with production realities - some ideas may be really cool visually, but it's best to sacrifice them if they don't contribute enough to the core of what makes this game fun. Game development never stops being a learning experience (but I wouldn't have it any other way.)
