Pillars of good environment art

What the talk is about

Kacper Niepokólczycki shares his experience of environment art and outlines five pillars of a good environment. First, teamwork: writers, gameplay and quest designers and sound people set the foundation and needs of the world, so artists must keep talking to them. Second, navigation: landmarks, visible paths, lighting, composition, verticality and real route choices give players freedom without hand-holding. Third, iteration: the first idea is rarely the best, so changes are made on concept art and simple geometry, even if a location is rebuilt several times. Fourth, visual beauty: a library of references, textures and lighting. Fifth, environmental storytelling, which keeps a world from feeling empty. The Q&A covers starting a location, timing, quest markers and visual overload. Useful for environment artists, level designers and concept artists.