The main things in creating a playable and recognizable style of a project.

What the talk is about

Roman Guro explains how an art director can build a readable, recognizable image for a project. He starts with talking to team members one-on-one to gather their vision. He then sets out readability priorities: interface, effects, characters and enemies, interaction objects and direction landmarks, then the background for movement. Characters should be the most contrasting, while backgrounds and secondary objects stay calmer and simpler, which also saves production effort. Using examples such as Zelda, Limbo/Inside, Transistor, Rayman and Journey, he shows how style rests on a limited palette, color, light and simple shapes, and why style is hard to test. He closes with team practice: a visual art vision, a dynamic wiki, Trello with sprints, and delegation. Useful for art directors, artists and leads.