"Unity and Unreal have enabled a far greater variety of art styles to emerge": how game art and design is in good place

Christopher Payton: The role has grown in scale and complexity in proportion with the team sizes we see and the games we make. Art teams are much larger these days with more sub-disciplines, such as dedicated Tech Artists, Animation Implementation, Scanning Art, Material Art, Outsource managers and more. It’s important to know the value of those staff, where and how to hire them, and, like a magic potion, the ratios needed with other artists and supporting roles.

CP: The role is ultimately responsible for all aspects of art in relation to the project. On large AAA titles such that I’m used to, a lot of this is about building out the right team, with the correct sub-teams to meet the needs of the game and then enabling them to succeed. It’s worth noting that this is separate from a Production role, as a knowledge of Art, Artists and Art pipelines gives vital context to make the right decisions.

CP: I love the creativity and problem-solving opportunities that my role brings. There are very few jobs where you can bring to life exciting locations, themes or time periods. Also, another huge aspect I love is the team; working with an elite team of character, environment, and concept artists who share the same levels of dedication to making a great product is truly exhilarating.

CP: There are constant, varied and exciting new challenges in my role, which are often hard to predict, and it’s important to remain positive, level-headed and open-minded when approaching solutions to these.

For example, the reliance on needing to find real-world assets or locations has been interesting, and the process of scanning real-life items to then insert into the game is also a matter of trial and error.

A surprising amount of time is spent researching and trying to find objects to feature in the game, which can sometimes be rare and hard to get a hold of. If the item is particularly unique, we then need to get in touch with the owner of the item and liaise with them to ask permission for us to photograph or scan it – all of this can be quite time consuming for the team!

CP: I’m not sure if you can call it a trend, but I feel that video games have hit a point of social acceptance where anything goes when it comes to game art. Stylised games, even deliberately low-fi/8-bit games are as equally accepted as high-cost photorealistic games. Just like the music industry is so large that it can accommodate a variety of sub-genres, so too can games and game art.

CP: For gamers seeking realism, absolutely this affects how the artwork is made; the scientific, fastidious approach to capturing and rendering real-world content is first and foremost an expensive business.

We are constantly balancing and navigating between the desire for greater scope, larger levels, more characters, and additional gameplay elements while working within a finite budget. The Art team often leans on the Tech Art and Engineering teams, which are constantly creating new tools for us to use that can accelerate our capacity to do more with less.

CP: In the realistic games that I’ve worked on, the use of Lidar and Photogrammetry scanning has had the biggest impact on my work. Being able to capture real-world props, terrain, buildings, foliage and more, and push these into the game has taken the levels of realism up a notch.

That said, it’s still possible to make a subpar level even with high-quality assets, so it’s vital to have artists who know how to design scenes, vistas and narrative dressing work to achieve great results.

CP: I know from my time working at Unity, and I’m sure the same is true of Unreal, that both are huge advocates of democratising 3D engines and making them available to the wider masses, which is reflected through their pricing models. This approach has and will continue to enable more creators to bring content to their audiences with ease. And these engines aren’t just limited to games; whether it be theatre set designers, architects or historians, all are able to leverage and benefit from these technologies.

CP: It’s hard to imagine AI completely replacing a game engine, given the complexity of real-time engines and the need of them to consistently meet the precise and exact requirements of console hardware in a repeatable way. The more immediate question is if, and how, AI generated content might be used in the current engines – this remains to be seen.

CP: Game developers have been using automated and procedural tools for years to accelerate their work and handle repetitive tasks, such as set dressing forests or creating simulated weather systems. When used as an assistive tool to help artists achieve more, AI can be a useful tool.

CP: The starting point is to learn and gather as much information as possible about the game design. In some of the projects I’ve worked on, an author or game writer has been brought in to write a whole pre-story before then proceeding to write the main narrative for the game.

From there, it’s a mix of compiling together mood boards, mind mapping concepts (often scrappy scribbles), and maybe even going on reference trips for real-life experiences to pull on. We will also look at other games, TV shows and films in the same genre to help us pin down colour palettes and overall presentation.

Ultimately, our goal is to create an ‘Art Bible’ that guides all our art teams toward a common goal and unified vision with cohesive artwork.

CP: Sniper Elite 5 was notable as it marked the first game in the franchise where we sent artists, designers and a WWII historian to various research locations. The game was originally meant to focus solely on the liberation of France, but we were so wowed by Guernsey in the Channel Islands that we decided to design a whole level dedicated to the Island. The location’s stunning beauty, combined with the duality of being a British territory occupied by the Germans in WWII, provided rich artistic and design opportunities.

CP: At a day-to-day level, the role is very much human-oriented, relying on a great deal of personal interaction and soft-skills. Building relationships and fostering communication are essential parts of the job. Given this dynamic, it’s difficult to see how AR, VR, or AI could significantly change the core aspects of this role. These technologies may enhance my role and certain processes, but the human element remains irreplaceable.

CP: The role requires mental discipline to constantly and consistently consider the project from both macro and micro perspectives. For instance, in the same week, we may explore how an individual prop is made as we pay attention to texel resolution, shaders and interaction.

Simultaneously, we may also be looking at concept art and mood-boards for the whole level, paying attention to vistas and lighting. Vitally, you need to keep checking these macro and micro levels to make sure that not only is artistic vision retained, but also that details aren’t missed.

Additionally, I need to also mention the production team here. They play a crucial part of the wider team, making sure that all teams across the board are working on the right tasks against the overall project schedule.