Until July 13, 2024, the 109 is hosting the UMANoid festival. Bringing together a multi-arts exhibition, Game is Art is the very first festival dedicated to the art of video games.
Ubisoft, Arkane Studios, Microids, and UnJeNeSaisQuoi are big names in the video game studio industry. They are all present for the Game is Art exhibition. No less than a hundred concept designs are on display. Among them, you can find Prince of Persia (the Lost Crown), Deathloop, and even Les Fourmis. As a result of significant research work, these illustrations allow for a greater immersion into the game universe.
Landscapes more true to life
The first thing that comes to mind when speaking of concept art is, of course, landscapes. They create the link between the player and the game’s universe. For this, several techniques are used. Cédric Babouche, the artistic director of the studio UnJeNeSaisQuoi, works with watercolor. The game Dordogne consequently has a very distinctive atmosphere thanks to these drawings. It even won the Pégase 2024 award for visual excellence.
The inspiration comes from beautiful places like Saint-Malo for Treasure of Oblivion or themes such as dreams for L’Amerzone Le Testament de l’Explorateur. But sometimes, it comes from everyday landscapes that often go unnoticed. This is the foundation upon which the studio Tower Five wanted to pay homage to Bernard Werber’s novel Les Fourmis. In the video game of the same name, the player is at the scale of an ant, discovering the hidden world of insects. Every detail immerses players in a world of fascinating proportions that showcases the social interactions of these tiny creatures. An initiatory journey is guaranteed.
From Idea to Implementation
Chara design (sheets of different versions of a character) are displayed, such as Flint’s in Treasure of Oblivion. In addition to offering a new story to the characters from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, the studio Savage Level aims to provide a credible historical context. With its comic book-style narration and strong visual identity, the studio has opted for a character style that deconstructs the Hollywood image of pirates.
The studio Ocellus Service highlights the theme of dreams in its game Smurf: The Dream Adventure. Wanting to honor the legacy of Peyo, the dream serves as the best means to explore original and fantastical worlds, far removed from the typical red mushroom houses. Each dream delves into the personality of the Smurf it belongs to, and the landscapes “are reflections of their fears, what they love, and who they are.”
