To create art for a game, you need to have artistic ability, the ability to pay attention to detail, and a willingness to learn new techniques - especially when it comes to creating art for new technology. One major part of that process is working with others to create a finished product that makes a lasting impression. Learn some of the ins and outs of creating art at Resolution Games from Pon, a 3D artist on our team.

What is your favorite part of working at Resolution Games?

The work environment is very open, creative, and tolerating. Beyond that, the projects we work on are all different. We span across different genres and I find that type of work rewarding because I get to try out a lot of different styles. There is also a sense of being in creative control of my work and having a say in how things should be done from an art perspective. Even beyond art, the whole game team usually joins in on playtests to get a full sense of the experience we are trying to convey and I get to be an active part of achieving that.

Tell us about some projects you've worked on, and challenges you’ve encountered

The first project I worked on at Resolution Games was Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale. I spent most of my time figuring out the more technical side of the visuals and a lot of that was very new to me. Some examples were visual optimisation, light baking setup, and implementation of items that had specific technical parameters with a need to be set individually. Optimisation for art in VR and AR is extremely important, but it can be very time consuming. I needed patience and a keen eye when trying to find places where unnecessary draw calls, alpha planes, or polygons could be removed. There are always things you can improve on to make a game run better. This experience later helped me when I was tasked with assisting the port of Carly and the Reaperman from PC VR to the Quest 2. Wireless VR needs so much more optimisation than PC VR, especially on the art side!

Today I am part of the AR division where I get to work on several projects focusing on up-and-coming technology. It’s very exciting! However, this poses new challenges for me as an artist. There are limits when it comes to making visuals look good without clashing with your real world surroundings. The main project I have worked on is an AR laser-tag style shooter game, Spatial Ops. It lets you walk around a real-life space while using virtual weapons, covers and avatars to win against the opponent team. When creating assets for this I have to keep in mind that they should stand out to the player while still feeling like they could be part of your real surroundings. This is also the first project where I have implemented proper LOD steps for almost all assets since there is so much space you can move around.

How do you collaborate with your colleagues at Resolution Games?

I sit with my team, which allows me the chance to receive day-to-day feedback. I can usually just turn around and ask my colleague or art director for advice - direct communication is the quickest way to get answers. If I have queries to my programmers I run across the office floor to their room to get answers. Since some days are spent at the home office, Slack and online meetups are also extremely helpful tools for a smooth communication process.

I often collaborate on tasks with other artists as well. When we need to create an environment we can share the task of making the props and decor before curating the final scene. Sometimes tasks are also tag-teamed, for example I created a lot of LOD models for assets another artist made before moving on to another project. You need to be flexible and work relatively clean so other people can take over if needed!

Can you tell us about some of the fun things happening at Resolution Games, outside the daily work routine?

Oh gosh there are a lot of things! We have art meetings where we share our thoughts about art as well as things we have accomplished both at work and privately. We have gameplay shares where we can present game ideas and brainstorm together. There are also a lot of spontaneous get-togethers arranged by coworkers motivated to do things outside of work, like tabletop game nights or a dinner on a Wednesday. Something we recently picked up again after people started coming back to the office is game jams! Personally, I never seek out such events outside of work, so having it arranged through work is very exciting and sparks a lot of creativity.

What excites you about being in the VR/AR games space?

The amount of experimentation and new discoveries you can still do with these platforms is very intriguing. As an artist. you constantly need to figure out how to make things look interesting and accurate when right in front of a player, AR even more so since you can’t even manipulate the entire surrounding with light and colorful environments. You need to try and make items naturally seem like they could be real while still giving them something interesting that makes them pop. It’s a tricky balance to manage for sure, but that’s what’s exciting!

More generally speaking, the excitement for me is how we need to figure out new ways of interacting with games. What can we gamify and how? Innovation is always needed and the market isn’t oversaturated, it’s almost the other way around. There is so much room for exploration and I love that.

What do you look forward to learning at Resolution Games?

I want to keep evolving as an artist and a game developer. There are so many tricks I haven’t used and so many angles to approach visual problems. I love coming up with new ways to make my work more efficient as well as develop my visual eye. I’m surrounded by so many creative smart people, I feel like I learn new things every week. It’s very fulfilling and I look forward to filling my brain with all the knowledge I can handle!

If you want to see some of Pon’s latest work, be sure to check out Spatial Ops.

Life At Resolution: Pon, 3D Artist