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We're talking space cows and space whales here. Where do we start when we create these things? How do you make a cow that's still a cow, but sci-fi? Take us through your process.

TL;DRChance Rowe says creature design starts from familiar Earth archetypes in look and behaviour so players can read them, while avoiding making them too Earth-like, and artists enjoy the freedom.

Chance RoweCharacter Art Director

Great question. Obviously, when you're making humans, you know what they're supposed to look like, right? And clearly that's a pretty straightforward process of making them look as photorealistic as we can. We have actors to go on and stuff. Now, once you start talking about creatures, it's kind of a wide open thing, right? Obviously we're not on Earth, so they could be really weird looking. Nobody knows what these things might look like. But one of the challenges, though, is that you want some ability for the player to understand what they might do. And so that's kind of why you start with archetypes of things you might think of on Earth, whether it be a cow or a bear, and not necessarily just in visuals, but also in behaviors. And so if I see something as a player, I'm wondering, is that thing going to eat me or am I okay to walk by it? And that's where we really have to start. And you just got to keep that balance, because we don't want to make something too Earth-like. It's just going to be a little on the boring side. But I think it's something that many artists love to get into, making creatures, because the nice thing is you've got so much freedom. What does a space cow look like? I don't know. I've never seen one before. So go ahead and make it something cool. So really, it's the fun for us. Most of the artists are very, very excited to get more creatures into the universe. And just the idea of being able to land on a moon or a planet and it'd be teeming with life. That's a very exciting thing we haven't got to see yet. And me personally, that's one of the things that I can't wait to get into.

Calling All Devs›Bugs, Boids and Beasts·
Published on this date.24 Apr 2020