The Dying Light player community is getting deep into the popular sequel, and it’s not for less, since since its launch, it has managed to amaze all fans of the franchise with a design of scenes and movements that exemplify those of a skilled parkour.
Something that seems quite curious to us is that fans are always looking for more revelations from the making of this amazing video game, so today we will delve into a fairly detailed interview that was recently presented by the Art Team of Techland.
Techland Art Team Interview
We must mention that the interview was conducted with Katarzyna Zielinska, (Lead Environment Concept Artist) and two questions, 4 and 5, were answered by Dominik Wasienko (Lead 3D Character Artist), and Katarzyna Bech (Lead Character Concept Artist)
1. Regarding street art, did any city inspire you for the murals? (ex. New York, London, Paris, Mexico City)
We look at many street art references, but we are not inspired by any particular artist or city. We had full artistic freedom in choosing the style and message we wanted to convey. I think this helped us maintain the vibe of real-world street art: free, incorrigible, and true to the creator. Seeing how our murals resonate with players convinces me that it was the right decision.
2. Regarding the murals, are there any that have been recreated from real life, or have artists been involved in creating them in Dying Light 2?
Almost all the murals and graffiti 2 Stay Human Dying Light were created by the team of conceptual art Techland environment. Three of them were created by one of our designers missions, Iga Smolenská. She has a remarkable drawing skills, plus the ability to design it.
It was a great opportunity to try different artistic styles that we don’t usually do at work. I was always excited to see what our team created. Each of us has a different personality and interests. Seeing how people translate their own experiences into works of art is amazing.
3. It is known that being an open world game in first person, it is very important that the player feel in the shoes of Aiden Caldwell. What is the most difficult to create scenarios in a post-apocalyptic world?
Design a post-apocalyptic world is basically answering a lot of questions: What do people do without modern technology? How to cover their basic needs? Would they build shelters? Would they produce food? ¿Would manufacture clothes? Would there be room for emotional needs beyond survival? How do people cooperate with each other? ¿Exchange information? I could go on and on.
In addition to the credibility of the created world, you need to have an interesting and meaningful story that resonates in the player. This adds depth to the experience. Combining these elements is an important and lengthy process.
4. Zombie enemies are something that attract the most attention from players, how did you get inspired to create such terrifying beings?
First of all, they aren’t really “zombies” as they are supposed to be animated corpses. Our infected are still living creatures encased in more or less transformed bodies, influenced by a Harran Virus or chemically mutated Harran Virus.
The concept artists spent a lot of time collecting very interesting references from the internet. We focus mainly on organic elements, different diseases, skin and body conditions to create the most believable sensation possible. Our goal was to make them look like creatures that could feel real pain due to their mutations. Each of these beings acts and fights differently.
Extensive research helped us develop a cohesive visual language for them while also really emphasizing those gameplay characteristics. For example, a very dry and hardened fabric turned into something like armor that protects some of our monsters, like Demolisher or Charger. We also used blisters filled with yellow fluid that suggested weak spots on their bodies or smaller details, creating an interesting structure on their skin.
Once these rules, we could create almost any monster that would fit different design needs. After collecting references, the concept artists draw, paint and find the best visual version of each monster that meets all the needs of art direction, gameplay, storytelling, etc.
We focus on unique silhouettes, proportions and interesting details, but without forgetting our technical limitations. When the final concept art is ready, it goes straight to the 3D modellers, and later the animators, so they can use their magic to bring it to life in the game.
5. What was the most complicated thing when creating beings like the infected from the old Hospital?
When designing infected with the old Hospital have to think about the backstory of that place. What happened there. We wanted to show players a resemblance to past history, so find monkeys infected doctor or nurse to show players who were normal people who worked there. As for implementation in the game, we knew that those infected are the largest group we have to show in the game in one place.
So there were two big challenges. A wide variety of visual effects and good performance at the same time. Already in the design phase we focused on preparing a special clothing system for biters and virals, which included different jackets, bodies, pants, etc., which would allow us to create a large number of models that had a different look and at the same time same time maintain good memory performance.
We’ve built an impressive library of heads in DL2SH and our approach allows us to turn as many of the humans in Old Villedor as we want into infected. In the case of the special infected, like Demolisher or Banshee, their mutation is much higher than that of normal human infected, so in the 3D modeling phase we had to make sure that their anatomy and their images were believable and, when same time, terrifying.
6. What part of the city or area took the longest to integrate into the post-apocalyptic setting?
In my opinion, the hardest part was sticking to very tight measurements, which parkour entails. But in the end it was very rewarding. We wanted Villedor to feel like a giant playground that encourages exploration. And we got it. We had a lot of experience from the first game Dying Light, but designing a new city with a different architecture has its own challenges.
It was not only the placement of the projections, but also having a flow rate and between the elements. Therefore, the level design team works closely with all departments of art. That it helps communication and allows us to focus on the best solutions, both visually and gameplay.
7.How did you come up with the idea of integrating alternative murals throughout the city, and why not use messages of peace and love in the environment?
There were several reasons related to the creative pillars of Dying Light 2 Stay Human. I will speak only of one of them. Murals and street art are an integral part of every modern city. We spent countless hours analyzing different references and we conclude that without them we could not create a credible urban environment.
This verisimilitude was always an important aspect for us. Also, murals are a great element that help navigate the environment. They work just like in the real world. Using them was a very conscious decision.