Jumpgate Evolution - Interview @ Massively

An short interview with Darren Klein, NetDevil's art director for Jumpgate Evolution can be found on Massively. The interview focusses on designing ships.

When designing a ship class what comes into mind? What inspires each design?
First thing that comes into mind is scale. This is depicted mainly through the size of the cockpit and size of the engine glow on the back of the ship. Next, we try to determine a silhouette (with the art style of that Nation) that reflects the class. A shuttle/scout may be thin and agile in appearance as opposed to a heavy fighter, which may appear more bulky and armored. Transports are all designed with an on board cargo haul in mind while haulers all have the distinct "TRI" containers attached.

Once we have a basis for silhouette we add the style of the Nation to the design. Some Nations have more organic designs while others have an angular aggression about them.

What challenges come into mind when designing ships?
The main challenges are simply "does this ship look cool?" "Would you put in "X" amount of effort to buy it?" "Is it cooler than your last ship?" After that we have to determine if the ship looks the way it fly's and vice versa. This is important. If someone gets an awesome looking new light fighter and it flies like a hauler then its game over. Likewise, if you obtain a ship that looks terrible and it fly's amazing, what fun is that?