A modern art team

Art director

Saul Bass looked at the word on the document, which wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him.

This isn't the first time he's collaborated with Gamenova on a project.

However, the previous "Patapon" project was entirely a 2D project.

His responsibilities were limited to visual design and some UI adjustments.

This time, the situation is... a little different.

"Who is this art director...?"

Since getting closer to Gamenova, Saul has been studying video games quite a bit in his spare time.

Especially the recent film, * The Return of the Obra Dinn *.

The visual design is absolutely stunning.

But what is an art director in video games? "It's exactly what it sounds like; the overall supervisor responsible for all visual styles."

Lin Lixin waved his hand.

"Yes, of course I understand, but video games... do they really need this kind of job?"

Saul Bass pursed his lips.

Despite his advanced age, this old man, who stands at the forefront of artistic trends, is by no means a rigid fellow.

But he still didn't quite understand what Lin Lixin was planning to do.

Based on what he said when he invited me, Lin Lixin probably intended for me to help design a map.

"It wasn't necessary before, but things are different now."

The formalization of the art team has always been one of the business issues that Lin Lixin has been struggling with.

Since the Diablo project began, Blizzard has gradually assembled a design team of more than ten people.

However, compared to the modern art team that Lin Lixin truly desired, this size was still too small.

That's understandable. Video games haven't really evolved much from the 8-bit era to the present.

I've been pressing the accelerator too hard. Although my technical skills have improved by leaps and bounds, my soft skills on a deeper, more intellectual level haven't kept up.

In the 1980s, especially for video game developers on 8-bit machines.

Art is a complete false proposition.

Generally speaking, a good designer can handle all the work by themselves.

After all, there was no lighting, no textures, and no complex spatial design in that era.

All the developers need to do is draw pixel images according to what they want.

Even the most "luxurious" teams are nothing more than hiring a pixel artist.

The real segmentation of artistic positions only began in the 1990s.

The rapid development of 3D and graphics has created countless new jobs in the art field of video games.

The originally unified graphics business has been subdivided into various positions such as concept design, character design, scene design, texture mapping, UI design, and animation.

However, a skilled person can usually handle multiple roles. So although there are many positions, the actual number of people needed is actually only so-so.

What truly spurred the art team to expand wildly was naturally the period after the turn of the millennium.

As 3D models become increasingly precise and the image quality becomes more exaggerated, the demand from artists is also rising sharply.

Setting up lighting alone requires a dedicated position, and sometimes more than one person to be in charge.

Only a lighting design director leading the entire lighting team can fully refine the entire project.

Small projects are fine.

For AAA-level masterpieces, it's quite normal to have an art team of hundreds of people.

Theoretically speaking...

This project has reached this scale.

He pulled in most of Industrial Light & Magic to handle the modeling business.

"I need to be responsible for many parts of the development and can't keep up with the art design from start to finish, so I need your help, Mr. Bass."

Lin Lixin shrugged. If he had to be given a title, it would definitely be "creative director."

That is, the legendary creative director.

For modern video game development teams, they are essentially the same as the "producers" of the past.

Whether it's Hideo Kojima's Kojima Productions or Hidetaka Miyazaki's FromSoftware, these people essentially hold the position of "creative director."

"As the art director, I want you to be in charge of the overall visual style, Mr. Bass. You don't need to design anything yourself."

Lin Lixin patiently explained,

"You just need to decide on the overall art style and then communicate with our art team."

The entire workflow is actually not complicated.

Although there are many positions, each person's responsibilities are very clearly defined.

Saul Bass oversees the design style and is directly in charge of the art team, which is nominally the art group under Blizzard.

The art team will create concept art and various references based on the requirements.

Ultimately, all this data will be sent to Industrial Light & Magic), where the 3D team will model them, and then the terrain design team will assemble them into a game map. Of course, there will also be different roles such as material designers, lighting designers, and color designers involved.

Ultimately, the entire workflow is now starting to resemble a modern system.

After saying that, Lin Lixin pulled out a concept drawing that he had prepared in advance.

Faith, the game's protagonist, stands on an impeccably clean rooftop.

As far as the eye can see, apart from the vast expanses of modern buildings with glass curtain walls, everything is white.

It was a white color, like a thick layer of putty, so bright it was almost dazzling in the sunlight.

However, amidst this vast expanse of white that could almost induce snow blindness, the red slabs and the red drainage pipes above stood out starkly.

In a sea of white, these red elements almost immediately drew all eyes.

Even though the white areas contain more information, it's difficult to focus one's eyes on them.

Saul Bass took the concept art and immediately gleaned a key piece of information from it.

These red elements represent the routes the game is guiding players to take.

The character needs to run a few steps quickly, leap high from the red panel at the edge of the roof, and then grab the red pipe on the opposite side. "That's beautiful."

Even this veteran artist, who has seen his share of ups and downs in his life, could not hide his excitement at this moment.

The color and lighting design of the entire image is simply a work of art.

This concept art could totally be printed out, framed, and displayed at home.

It won't feel out of place at all; in fact, it can even make the whole home decor a bit more stylish.

So cool, bro!

and...

Within this static graphic lies a sense of dynamism.

Everything is still, printed on paper.

But in his eyes, he could feel a force pushing him to run.

An invisible force is urging the protagonist to move.

"Now I understand." When it comes to creating animations, Saul Bass is absolutely in a league of his own.

There was no need for Lin Lixin to say anything more; a single concept diagram was enough to convey all his ideas.

The information contained in a picture is far richer than dry language.

"A very clever color design, did you do this?"

"I guess so. It's part of the game's tutorial. I hope that once players get used to it, they'll instinctively move towards the color red when they see it."

"Like bullfighting."

"Yes, it's like bullfighting."

"I see..."

Saul Bass pushed up his glasses.

"Is this an arcade game?"

Even Lin Lixin was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

He hadn't even told the other party about this yet, and now Bass had guessed it himself. "Is that so? How did you know?"

"Because you've been constantly reducing cognitive load and making the game's pace very fast."

"Ha..."

Lin Lixin nodded knowingly.

Mirror's Edge... is indeed a frighteningly fast-paced game.

Even in Mirror's Edge Catalyst, aside from the plot, the protagonist rarely even stops.

It's always in motion.

This style actually fits surprisingly well with arcade games.

Unlike PC games, arcade games discourage players from having time to think slowly and instead encourage them to rely on intuition as much as possible.

Only in this way can players be kept inserting coins while ensuring the game cycle remains as short as possible.

If it were set in this era, it would definitely have a strong arcade feel.

However, the level design has already shifted significantly towards the style of modern games. If they were to do it, they would still need to make quite a few modifications to the map design.

"So... shall we begin?"

"Certainly!"

Since it's an arcade game, we need to carefully consider its business model.

How exactly do you turn a game that's constantly evolving and progressing at breakneck speed into an arcade game?

In fact, Sega had already solved this problem a long time ago.

Or rather, the entire arcade industry had already found an excellent solution long ago.

Countdown.

"Lin, this is the one. The arcade delivered it this morning, and I've already set it up."

Cerny and Lin Lixin arrived in front of the large arcade machine shaped like a red sports car.

Five years ago, this thing would have been a prized possession in arcades, comparable to Ace Combat. It was Sega's Outrun, developed in 1986, and it was also the first time Sega unleashed its powerful Superscaler technology.

The smooth 3D terrain effects, combined with Yu Suzuki's expertise in motion-sensing arcade games, made this machine a Legend from the moment it was created.

The hydraulic struts simulate vehicle tilting and the Ferrari Steinerosa supercar's shape, creating a near-realistic pseudo-3D visual experience...

All of this made it one of the most popular arcade machines in Sega history.

However, Lin Lixin and his group didn't find this thing to learn any technology.

Instead, they referenced an arcade design philosophy pioneered by Sega.

Simply put, the number of lives will no longer be used as a reference for payment.

It's time.

This is not the internet cafe model that is currently being piloted in various places, but rather a countdown that is faster-paced and more intensive.

The time limit begins to decrease from the start of the game.

If the timer reaches zero, the game is over, and the player can only continue by coin or end the game.

And here's the key: if players reach the checkpoint before the countdown ends, they receive a time bonus.

It is this gameplay that constantly motivates players to keep taking on the challenge.

This model is very suitable for their upcoming projects.

In fact, Mirror's Edge is a game that is very suitable for players to stop and appreciate the scenery.

But they can't do that.

The graphics performance is inadequate!

If players actually take a serious look at the map, the tricks they've used in optimization will likely be exposed immediately.

Players need to keep running and enjoy the parkour experience.

This will give them enough room to maneuver and optimize their designs.