Obsidian Entertainment - Beyond Infinity

RockPaperShotgun ask Obsidian about their approach to recreating the isometric art style of the Infinity Engine games.

Beyond Infinity: Obsidian on modernising the art of the isometric RPG

When Obsidian Entertainment started work on Pillars of Eternity [Official Site], the studio had two goals in mind. First, it wanted to recreate the style and tone of the classic Black Isle RPGs - particularly Baldur's Gate. Second, it wanted to modernise that style, taking advantage of today's technology, and avoiding mistakes made the first time around.

In both cases, the visual representation of Pillars' fantasy world was crucial to the success of the project. Baldur's Gate's distinctive pre-rendered backgrounds have become synonymous with isometric RPGs, and as a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, Pillars needed to evoke that look. But Obsidian also wanted to bring those static backdrops to life using modern graphical techniques: dynamic lighting, particle effects, 3D character models. It would be a blend of old and new, fusing the visual style of Black Isle with modern techniques.

To help promote the Kickstarter campaign, Obsidian released a concept image of what they intended the final game to look like. It's a gorgeous picture, depicting an idyllic pastoral landscape with verdant foliage, a lichen-covered bridge, ancient marble statues and a crystalline waterfall. It sold the fantasy brilliantly, helping to raise almost four times the funding Obsidian originally asked for.

There was just one small problem. Obsidian didn't know how to make the game look like that.

"We had no idea how the tech would even work at the time," says Adam Brennecke, executive producer on Pillars of Eternity. "The next eight months of development was trying to figure out how to actually make a game that still looked like the Infinity Engine."
[...]