When you look at the huge amount of work that has been accomplished in two and a half years, you would not believe that this was possible at the first place. But the point is that nothing happens right away - the creation of the game world, like any other complex aspect, is a long road of small steps.
So, today we will tell you about how the style and visual language of Torn Away locations were formed.
It all started with the first mood sketches. Even when the script and storylines weren't ready yet, we tried to find what kind of mood we wanted to convey.
The purpose of the thumbnail sketch is to establish composition and tone relationships at the level of several spots. For some locations, we made such a sketch right in 3d space using the grease pencil tool right in Blender. This allows us not only to establish tonal relationships and composition, but also to immediately understand how the parallax of our sprites will work.
In the process of searching, the graphic style of the game developed and changed beyond recognition. This happened for several reasons - for example, testing technologies: for our art director, it was important that the solutions conceived in graphic editors could be implemented in the engine.
Character design also influenced the overall style. If at first it was cute and stylized, as we went on we came to more realistic proportions, leaving a certain amount of convention. This was necessary for the design to work well in conjunction with the content of the story and the emotion that we want to convey. The overall minimalism of the presentation was necessary so that the project, in principle, was feasible for our small team. We didn't have a huge budget like Ori, where each sprite was drawn for a long time and painstakingly by experienced artisans. Therefore, we chose such a presentation, where we could put together effective working compositions from simple fills and texture strokes without wasting a lot of time.
A clear evolution of style.
And more steps.
When the main style is set, an understandable, but at the same time no less difficult part of the work remains - thinking over each location and then gradually working out the graphics. The process for everyone is about the same - general sketching, blocking, object concepts - working out 2D and 3D assets, drawing textures and then final assembly of the level in the editor.
Even though Torn Away is a war game, we didn't want our scenes to feel drab and dark. Firstly, our heroine Asya is a child, and we wanted to show that even in the most terrible conditions, children do not lose their special view of the world. And secondly, the contrast allows us to evoke the most vivid emotions in the player.
Below is the process of working on the forest level.
Now this level looks like this.
In addition to visual expressiveness, it was also very important for us to maintain historical accuracy. Yes, of course, we stylize images from references, but knowledgeable people will be able to find out what was the source of inspiration for this or that object.
The location of the German city that Asya wanders into has become one of the most difficult for us. We did not take any particular city as a basis, but tried to convey the spirit of small German towns of that period.
You can see several propaganda posters here. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that we did not use real Nazi symbols. Some countries have laws that prohibit the use of such symbols even in historical works of art. We decided that it is more important for us to convey the spirit of that time than to portray real posters.
It was much easier for us to work on Soviet interiors. Since we ourselves are from Russia, we know where and how to find the necessary materials. There are many museums dedicated to this period that carefully collect items from the early and mid-20th centuries. Among other things, we know and love Soviet films, which also have enough historically correct sets.
It's always a pleasure to look to your country's culture for inspiration.
Looking at archival materials and footage from old films, it is difficult to imagine that Asya's room could look like this - bright and cheerful. As if there is no and will not be any war.
Thank you for delving into this trip down our development ‘memory’ road with us. We have oh so much in store for you, so please, let us know your thoughts and stay tuned!