O mighty Tlatoani!
Behind each game stands a team. We present to you an interview today. It's done with Kinga Dąbrowska, one of the 3D graphic designers who work on Aztecs: The Last Sun. She tells you about the work on the game, what she's responsible for, the techniques she uses and her biggest accomplishments. Also, a lot of lovely GIFs and images from the game. Let's go!
Kinga Dąbrowska - 3D graphic designer
What do you do in the project and how long have you been a part of it?
Hi everyone! I’m a 3D graphic designer and I mostly deal with creating landscapes, as I’m an environment artist. My job revolves around designing buildings, plants and all the stuff related to them. Aside from this, I also implement these assets into the game and prepare them for coding. I’ve been a part of Aztecs: The Last Sun since the very beginning of the project.
How long does it take to make a single asset?
Oh my, there’s no general way to say that. Each model is different, so it calls for different measures, methods and approach - a separate estimation is needed for all of the assets. Making 3D models isn’t only about creating a shape, but textures too. The research also takes usually quite a lot of time as well. Making a single building from scratch can take even up to 2 days.
What techniques do you use to create the models?
The main technique’s called “trim sheets”.It’s very important from the performance point of view. We create a PNG file that isn’t very cumbersome for the graphics card and we use it to put texture to even more than 100 buildings, or huge amounts of foliage and surroundings. Thanks to this method we can save time and add more details at once.
Where do you find the reference material?
I use many different sources - from Pinterest, through photos to books about the Aztec history and culture. We scour the internet, while also adding a little bit of our own artistic flair.
How important is it to stick to the reference material?
It’s crucial in this project. We do our best to stay true to the Aztec culture and architecture. We avoid placing tools that they didn’t use or materials that they had either no access to or didn’t process. In the case of buildings, we tend to stick to the forms and shapes they actually used. However, we don’t aim for absolute realism. The employment of magic and supernatural in the game gives us a reason to opt for occasionally wilder designs or colours that aren’t the most accurate but look great. Still, we must not get carried away too much!
What’s more important - the artistic vision or the realism?
The balance. Sure, we are making a game and it’s meant to be entertaining. While opting for ultimate realism would be a decent idea, people want to play, not watch a documentary. And here comes the artistic vision. We’ll drop a number of eye candies and vibrant colours to break up the browns, greens, blues and greys of real life. As mentioned earlier, we can’t get too carried away with our own ideas, so we’ll present a world that is quite similar to ours, but lively and entertaining at the same time.
Let’s talk about plants, as you mentioned them earlier and we haven’t had an opportunity to delve into them.
Working on foliage has been a tremendous challenge. At first, I wondered how to make them appealing, but it turned out that optimisation was the biggest issue. I’ve spent countless hours side by side with Krzysztof, the leader of the programming team. We worked, we discussed and we argued about each polygon and detail until we reached the level of looks that is satisfying, while also maintaining good performance. The techniques we have developed allowed us to render heaps of lush greenery and I’m very proud of that.
Speaking about pride - what was the most satisfying thing you’ve done for Aztecs: The Last Sun?
As I put my heart into each task, it’s hard to point out a single one. My favourites, though, have to be the floating farm or chantli, an Aztec house. What I’m really proud of is the overall amount of work. The way the models and the general looks work in the game’s engine is astonishing and this is something that makes me go “wow”.
That was a fun read, wasn't it? And all the eye candy in this devlog was something special! Thanks for being with us, see you soon!
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