Shadowrun Returns - Update #48, Developer Diary on Art

A developer diary from Mike MacCain on the art in Shadowrun Returns has been published last Friday using plenty of screenshots.

Shadowrun Returns mixes 3D characters, lighting & effects with a 2D isometric environment - a decision made early in our Kickstarter campaign. This hybrid approach gives us the best of both worlds from both a visual and art production standpoint. By going “old school” with 2D environments, we’re able to create much broader and more intricate environments than we'd have the time for in a full 3D game. Plus, painting the building blocks of the world directly allows us to stand out more with a rich, detailed rendering style.

2D isometric games generally use either pre-rendered environments (the Infinity Engine games) or tile-based environments (Fallout, Arcanum, Diablo). Pre-rendered environments are ultimately hand-crafted by artists and "baked out" as a single, finished environment - whereas a tiled environment remains a collection of many assembled parts. It's a plastic toy vs. a box of Legos. Shadowrun Returns uses a tile-based environment. While a pre-rendered approach could provide some more artistic freedom, modular tile-based art is more production-friendly and offers our designers far more flexibility to create and iterate on complex tactical combat spaces. It also, importantly, lets all of you guys build your own environments in the editor using our digital Legos!