Art direction is a crucial aspect of video game development. A game’s art style is what immediately cements its identity and tone, long before players ever get their hands on a controller.The game’s art designis especially important when it comes to fantasy titles likeBlades of Fire, where monster designs and otherworldly environments play a vital role in shaping the game’s personality.
Game Rant was recently invited to visit MercurySteam’s Madrid-based studio to play the opening hours of its upcoming Soulslike,Blades of Fire. Between all the enthralling, bloody action of the game, we also spoke with a few senior members of MercurySteam, includingBlades of FireArt Director Arturo SerranoBlades of Fireproducer Lucas Felden, who discussed the art team’s biggest inspirations and the process of creating such a brutal fantasy world.This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
The Inspirations Behind Blades of Fire’s Art Design
Q: Could you tell me a little about how you first got into the video game industry?
A:I was fascinated by the games industry, and I used to draw a lot at home. But I saw that it was hard to find an entry point into the industry. When I saw the ‘making of’ of theoriginal God of War games, I saw there was drawing and graphic design. I saw a point where I could fit in, and I said, “I want this…please.”
Q: What was the first game you worked on?
A:The first place I worked was Pyro Studios, an old developer in Spain that made the Commandos games. But the first game I worked on here (MercurySteam) was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate.
Q. Blades of Fire features a rich fantasy world. What’s the first step on the journey to create that world from scratch?
A:From the start, we wanted to hearken back to the art style of old 80s fantasy movies like Willow orConan the Barbarian, and bring back that style and those characteristics. Not only movies, but comics and illustrations too. The tricky thing was taking all of those inspirations and modernizing them, and bringing them up to today’s standards.
In taking from these old fantasy inspirations, we were hoping to capture an epic style and characteristic design that’s immediately recognizable. We want players to see designs outside of the game and go “Oh, I recognize that from Blades of Fire.”
Everything that surrounds us in our daily life is also part of our inspiration. For example, even a cooking recipe could spark some inspiration for a character design.
How MercurySteam Created Blades of Fire’s Brutal Fantasy World
Q: With those inspirations in mind, what was the first part of the Blades of Fire world that the art team worked on?
A:All of the sparks of those original ideas came fromBlades of Fire’s Design team, and Enric Alvarez, who is the Director of the game. The Design team sent us some documents about the needs for the game’s systems and mechanics. They got sent to concept artists, who try to visualize it and form images. Once they’ve done that work, the concepts spread out to other departments, like models, rigging, and environment.
The starting point of Blades of Fire’s journey was looking back at thepast games created by MercurySteam, and trying to capture their essence. Specifically, we looked at Severance: Blade of Darkness, a game that wasn’t technically developed by MercurySteam, but was created by its founders. They wanted to go back to that fantasy they created when they were younger and make a sort of spiritual successor.
Q: Blades of Fire is quite a violent game. How do you go about capturing that brutality from an art design standpoint?
A:Animation is the most important thing: the attacks from the protagonist and the enemies, and their responses. Also, the VFX, all the blood splatters, and everything. We always knew that we wanted it to be a visceral game. You see that in the brutality and hostility of the world. You’re also facing off against monsters bigger than yourself. Through the animation, the visual effects, and the design of the characters, we attempt to show thatbrutality in Blades of Fire.
Q: Is there one specific enemy or monster design in Blades of Fire that you can’t wait for players to see?
A:Rather than give one specific monster design, I’m looking forward to seeing players unlock the Bestiary. Throughout the journey, Adso (the player-character’s NPC companion) takes notes of the enemies you slay. The more you slay one specific enemy type, the more information Adso adds to the Bestiary.
Adso also draws the monsters in the Bestiary. I can’t wait for players to see those drawings, because a lot of artistic work has gone into integrating these concept-like designs into the world. It’s something really special. And we wanted to give completionists a little reward for slaying all the monsters.
Q: Weapons play a huge role in Blades of Fire. Do you have a favorite weapon design?
A: Yes! The greatsword with spikes at the side. It’s a really, really big greatsword. That’s my favorite weapon.
Q: What’s one key lesson you’ve learned while working as Art Director on Blades of Fire?
A:It’s my first time asArt Director. The main thing is patience. Knowing how to have patience, learning about having patience, specifically when it comes to communication with other team members and the leads of other departments. With my position as Art Director, I need to speak to and manage the work of a lot of people.
Knowing how to be patient and how to spread that patience through the team has created a good understanding of the work between all of the departments. That’s the key thing I’ll take from this project.
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