In true Wildgate fashion, the earliest days of development were scrappy and full of exploration. Building something in space was incredible, but it could seem too vast and limitless at times—making it easy to lose your bearings.
So, we chased emotion first, asking the question: What did we want people to feel when they saw our game?
We wanted our game to feel feel warm and lived-in, but not necessarily in a cozy way. Our goal was to build the kind of world that feels ready to welcome you in...then promptly tosses you onto a ship full of weirdos and tells you to figure it out.
The visual style of Wildgate began to emerge bit by bit. Eventually, we moved away from raw emotion and our team—this resilient, chaotic, Reach-brained crew—pulled all its various pieces together and wove them into the whole you see today.
In this edition of CHARTING THE REACH, we return to the early days of our art direction: the rules we made, the ideas we tossed, and the moment the world we were talking about started talking back.
OUR FIRST LEAP INTO THE REACH
Before there were monoliths, mine layers, or salamanders in mech suits, there was Laurel Austin. As the associate art director, her earliest concepts—like a chunky, orb-shaped probe with too many curious little arms—established the tone of our game immediately: it was salvaged parts, repurposed tech, and brightly lit screens in equal measure.
“In the early stages of developing literal space, you can justify including anything. But we weren't going for sleek, sterile sci-fi. We wanted something that felt homey, but not cozy. More like...someone's been here. Someone's tinkered with this. You get the sense that stories happened here, even if you don't know what they were." - Laurel
These sketches didn't just inspire the visual style of the game; they became the foundational guardrails and guidelines that helped warp the world of Wildgate into something tangible, into someplace where you felt like you could truly belong.
But building our game world wasn't just about figuring out the vibes, it was also about understanding how everything functioned. Enter concept artist Sean McNally, who brought in design-based thinking and a love for tech with "just enough logic to be believable." We were now beginning to establish the visual mechanics of Wildgate, and Sean's arrival marked a new chapter in development: one where our art now had to do things.
THIS SHIP'S GOTTA WORK
With Wildgate's plucky, yet dubiously ruthless visual tone taking shape, we turned to how things work—specifically our ships. Silhouettes, turrets, upgrades, and hardware all had to serve gameplay first, while still fitting into our broader patchwork aesthetic. As a result, our focus wasn't on realism, it was on believability.
"You can't just make a ship that looks cool. It has to look like it could do the thing it's supposed to do...and look cool." - Sean
That philosophy carried over into Wildgate's weapons. Rather than standard rifles or pistols, we leaned into repurposed hardware: gear modified or hacked in order to get the job done.
That's how weapons like the Aim-E and Surefire came to life—by starting with a function and layering personality on top. One was inspired by welding tools; another visibly overheats mid-fire. Every detail needed to suggest use.
As a team, we strongly believe that everything in the game should read well from the first-person perspective and serve a gameplay purpose—from the biggest ships to the smallest asteroids. So, if something moved, it needed a reason to move, and our art needed to communicate that reason clearly and consistently.
WE DREW A LOT OF ROCKS
Outside of ships, Wildgate doesn’t always have a “right way up.” When we committed to full traversal, we meant it— fly, spin, dive, or boost yourself staight into the void, if you want. Our environment design had to shift with that traversal, and we had to make sure every angle was the right one…or wrong one… or both. Who’s to say?
"Wildgate has a really expressive visual language. But we also wanted it to feel tight, purposeful. A place where you trust what you're seeing. In a world where everything is flying, boosting, or trying to kill you, readability matters a lot." - Laurel
To help you find your way in the Reach, we leaned on shape, light, and motion. While big landmarks were given strong outlines and layers to make them stand out, a variety of smaller elements—like fog and drifting debris—were also added to make the world feel more alive and easier to navigate.
A lot of work went into these more miniscule materials that players might not ever notice. Whether its rocks or clouds, we knew they not only had to look good from all directions, but they also had to say—"Hey, there’s something over here!"
Visual friction also became a tool for us, as well!
For example: space dust can help you feel your velocity. Thanks to these precious little particles, you can tell how fast you’re moving through space (like when your crewmate sets off the clamp jet they’ve just attached to you).
ENTER: PROSPECTORS
Once the world started taking shape, it was time to fill it—with life!
When it came to Wildgate's characters (a.k.a. "prospectors"), we wanted a lot of visual variety. From tall, burly aliens to sleek, agile humanoids, creating an ecosystem whose inhabitants felt robust was critical, and physical diversity was a big focus. We took inspiration from nature, science, literature, even our favorite Saturday morning cartoons, and more.
“We knew we wanted humans, though we weren’t sure how many or exactly what direction we’d take. We leaned into a strong variety of elements. You’ll notice familiar echoes in some of the designs, like little nods to the kinds of characters I grew up with within the sci-fi and fantasy worlds of the ’80s and ’90s. There’s a lot of nostalgic charm baked into their designs.” - Laurel
Since we first started experimenting with our prospectors, our art and design teams have remained in a constant, yet elegant tango—especially in the concepting phases where nothing was set in stone. Abilities, weapons, movement? Initially, everything was fluid and always changing.
What didn't change, though, was our team's shared approach and end goal.
In Wildgate, we like to say that "personality doesn’t equal preset," so the big balancing act was making sure each prospector could stand out visually without locking players into rigid in-game roles. While we wanted our designs to spark community curiosity, we didn't want them to dictate how they had to be played.
THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG
Prospectors aren’t just eye candy, though—they're extensions of game's tone and feel.
Although Wildgate is dangerous and has high-stakes, it's not oppressive or bleak. Our prospectors are similar contradictions in motion. They're both clever and clueless, enterprising and endearing, and sometimes they're all those things all at once. Full of contrast sharp enough to cut through the Reach, with a visual style to match.
“It’s a ruthless game, if you think about it. But we leaned into visual warmth, humor, and weirdness, not as a mask for the game’s brutality, but as a way to make it more human. If we went full hardcore sci-fi, it just wouldn’t work. It would be too mean. We wanted something closer to the meanness we reserve for our closest friends.” - Sean
“I’ve made some really violent art in my career, but there’s something so fun about living in a world where even when things go terribly wrong, it’s a cute, sneaky little bug-bird-pterosaur-deer guy pulling the trigger.” - Laurel
That balance of violence and whimsy, tension and charm, became one of our team’s signatures. It reflects the game and who we are as a team. We may be some of the kindest people you’ll meet, and yet… we’re absolute villains in-game. That contrast is essential to what we’re building, and informs our decisions from the very first pixel to final render.
WELCOME TO THE LUCKY DOCKS
For years, Wildgate lived exclusively inside the minds of our Moonshot teammates; it was a strange, beautiful little game built on shared trust and endless imagination. From an artist's perspective, it feels rare to be able to craft something original, from scratch, with this kind of freedom—and that gift isn't something we take for granted.
We've poured our heart, souls, and passions into this project...and now, it belongs to you!
And if you’ve made it this far—through axolotls and mech suits, tools and turrets, rocks and cosmic storms—then you’re one of us now! So, choose your ship, prepare your loadouts, and always remember that the only plan that matters is the one you make up on the fly. We hope to see you gate-side.
Wildgate launches July 22: https://wildgate.gg/wishlist
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