Notes for the visual developmenmt:

Goals of the visual development:

• Ensure awesome looking creatures that the audience will like at a glance.
• Ensure unique design to identify the brand with.
• Ensure realistic implementation that allows scalability of the graphics based on hardware specifics.
• Model will be refined into a more menacing, dynamic direction (similar to the model sent images from).
• Surface treatment will be pushed in a more stylized direction:
  • Sharper edges of the details so they look more like fragments and less like scales.
  • Overall reduction of organic treatment and increase of angular, edgy and fragmented look of small details on the models and textures.
• Modelling provides the best control over the design. Not relying on the performance expensive treatment we will ensure cool looking creatures on all platforms.
• Developing shader that will deepen the fragmented look of the creatures.
  • The shader will add distorted treatment on the silhouette to mimic the fractured look of the concepts.
  • The distortion will be developed in both screen space and vertex manipulation directions.
    • Screen space for a more organic and cohesive look.
    • Geometry manipulation to duplicate parts of the 3d model into floating fragments around the model.
  • This distortion will be controlled with a mask (texture or vertex paint) in order to maintain readability/clarity of the shape in key areas and provide loose fragmented look in other areas.
  • The shader will work lessen the distortion effect with the distance to the camera in order to maintain clear readable shapes when characters are small on the screen.
  • Another function of the shader will be to add dynamic feel to the surface of the creatures when at close up/cinematics etc. Parts of the surfaces will be "flowing" depicting that the creatures are composed an ever changing matter.
• Developing a set of Idle (supporting )Particle Effects.
  • Particles will be key element to add expression to the creatures as well as solidifying their fractured(yet readable) look.
  • Idle effect of surface emitting particles with the shape of pixels / cubes / voxels will support the time fragment look.
  • Those idle effects should be "flowing" together with the movements of the creatures as if the creatures are inside their own environment/matter and they move it with them. Similar to how light objects are affected in the water by big objects. Or similar to how smoke is being affected by moving solid objects around it.
  • Those particles will be emitted from certain areas of the model in order to ensure areas of rest, readability and clarity of the shape.
  • The particles will "Evaporate" from the surface of the creatures.
• Developing a set of particles that will support game design expressions:
  • Weak points.
  • Attack
  • Aggressive state
  • Passive state
  • Fleeing etc.
  • Those will be depicted by animation of the creature and VFX.
  • We will define clear visual design for the enemies and danger for the eon world.
  • Part of this visual design will be presented with particle effects and shader effects.

Goals of the visual development:

• Ensure awesome looking creatures that the audience will like at a glance.
• Ensure unique design to identify the brand with.
• Ensure realistic implementation that allows scalability of the graphics based on hardware specifics.

Design Documentation: