The craft of making games is an iterative one. You rarely get something right on the first (or even tenth!) go, and often there’s a fair amount of discussion that goes into a finalized asset that winds up in a released game. Here’s an example of how such a conversation goes.
John DeRiggi, our Lead Character Artist who modeled the gun in this video, shares a bit of his process:
What reference material were you working off of?
I was primarily working from Danny Moll’s awesome concepts. Danny based his concepts on Alx Preston’s initial concept sketches. I used a few references of actual guns for thinking through the forms from other angles.
What was your thought process?
First, I closely matched the concept from the side view of the weapon first.
Then, I created appropriate depth and bevels to each part as needed for a believable representation of this concept in 3D, matching the style choices created by the concept artist.
Tell us more about the iterations and considerations here.
These guns are currently in a blockout state (rough) to primarily create the intended silhouette and large forms. Doing this blockout first for any assets allows us to iterate faster and earlier in case art direction needs to change after seeing the initial forms in 3D. This avoids loads of lost time if an asset needs to be scrapped. It also allows us to make the big decisions first, and therefore save time reworking a completed production asset with refined forms, details, textures, materials, etc.
Let us know what you think of this weapon and our dev process!
Heart to Heart w/Kim Belair: Narrative for Hyper Light Breaker
We had the pleasure of being able to interview Kim Belair, Co-Founder + CEO of Sweet Baby about her agency’s work on Hyper Light Breaker for the past year, narrative writing for games, hiring and career paths in game writing, and more!
Here are some highlights from the stream, compiled by our wonderful mod Polare.
SweetBaby has worked on HLB for a year.
Story details from Hyper Light Drifter may be “pulled into” Breaker’s story, but it is not a continuation of Drifter’s story nor a sequel.
Easter Eggs are more than likely to appear.
One goal is to make the co-op and single player story experiences “seamless”.
"Empathy” is a word to help convey HLB’s tone.
Not traveling to HLD locations, “different story, different land”.
HLB will likely not have voice acting.
PLUS check out some exciting new game art drops!
And we’re back...
This time around we didn’t wait such a long time to drop more info on a new game.
With Solar Ash we were trying something new; working with a publisher for the first time, transitioning from 2D to 3D, and mostly working in a vacuum. In the end, we released a project we’re incredibly proud of, but the process deviated heavily from how we did things with Hyper Light Drifter, and ultimately, how we want to do things in the future.
We’ve decided, following the (we hope) exciting announcement of Hyper Light Breaker, to return to a more community-focused development process. We will also continue be a multi-project studio, so keep a look out for more new stuff from us in the not-too-distant future (*eyes dart around, looks over shoulder, gazes at the ground blushing and giggling*).
Our aim going forward will be to continually engage with our wonderful players through regular blog posts, content drops, streams, events, contests, and perhaps even some in-person affairs! As a team, we’re continually in awe of the creators who connect with our projects: the artists, students, musicians, developers, designers, writers, streamers, speedrunners, and more who make up our incredible and diverse community. We hope to continue to inspire and amplify your work!
As we approach Early Access for Breaker, we’d love to get you all more involved, so please send your thoughts, feedback and anything else you’d like to share with us!
Speaking of Breaker…
Is it a sequel? Hyper Light Breaker is neither a sequel nor a prequel to Hyper Light Drifter. It is set in the universe of Hyper Light and is its own story. It will share threads, aesthetics, lore and other recognizable elements, but will be a new game driven by new designs.
Why did we decide to return to that universe? The faded whisper of allure of this world we built transformed into a clarion call through the years. A new story became a solid vision. It felt right to come back in, root around, and share what we unearthed about this beautiful-yet-bleak world with everyone.
Is it single player? This time, you won’t be traveling alone through our range of lush though deadly landscapes. You’ll be able to play alone or with friends online cooperatively! There will be more hidden truths about the world to uncover, an ever-shifting landscape, and tremendous rewards for exploration. Plus, you’ll see the world in 3 full dimensions. Wild.
Thank You From everyone here at Heart Machine, past and present, thank you so much for your support of our projects over the years. We hope to continue to create beautiful, transportive experiences for everyone.
Finally, we wanted to give a big shout out to Studio Grackle who made our incredible animated trailer. We’re so privileged to have been able to partner with them!
