“The key thing to monitor though is that the tool doesn’t replace the idea.”
Innovation: Many of our clients come to us looking
for art that will make them stand out. This is a big responsibility and requires our artists to push beyond what has been done before. We aim to hire creatively curious people who draw inspiration not only from games and media but also from the wider world beyond the screen. Bringing together a diverse range of artists from across
the world and then letting them collaborate is one of the keys to creating some special ideas. It’s also a lot of fun to be part of this kind of group and the community aspect is a big draw for a lot of the people that apply to work at Atomhawk.
What trends in game development are you keeping a close eye on in terms of how they might impact Atomhawk? The increasing convergence of art and technology: We have seen an increasing need in the industry to provide technical solutions to art and design problems. Last year we opened Atomhawk Advance, a studio dedicated to technical art and user interface design. This team specialise in working in-engine to design and implement art solutions directly into videogame builds.
They also work closely with our concept art team to
build bespoke tools that help enhance their workflows. Our teams are constantly assessing new tools and software that they feel could be utilised in the art creation process. Many of these can help speed up artist workflows and allow them to create some mind-blowing pieces of work in short spaces of time.
The key thing to monitor though is that the tool
doesn’t replace the idea. Ultimately, art still needs to stick to the fundamentals and help convey a story, mood, or idea in an impactful way. Technology like artificial intelligence, photogrammetry and procedural generation can take out some of the spadework in creating a polished piece of art but they still need to be directed and applied by a talented artist to be successful. Expect the unexpected, then expect more of it once it
arrives: A lot of industry-changing ideas seemingly come out of nowhere and then change the landscape forever. A good example of this is the battle royale genre. Very few would have predicted this mechanic or that it would become so wildly successful. It’s interesting to see other developers then take that
model and riff on it in their own way with their own IP. We see a lot of briefs for new games which look to build on an existing trend in a fresh and distinctive way.
26 | MCV/DEVELOP August 2022
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