Smaller Scenes - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

A collection of smaller scenes from across the open hub area and in missions.

Church
When I took on the Church it was a very small square chapel, and with the support of Ben Matthews (Art Director) it was transformed into what is effectively something like a compact Cathedral in terms of total footprint. The original intention for this location was that it would be a returning space for the player, so its supporting spaces like side chapels, vestibules, tower room etc were researched and constructed. The feedback was often 'lets go bigger' to push a sense of drama, but that was always needing to be balanced against not making the architecture feel too strongly gothic for its time period, which is an issue as you expand a structure like this which then requires buttressing etc, and that supporting logic and silhouettes are often gothic in nature. I'd say we just about got away with it, due to a reduction in ornate detailing. Big credit to Dani Ontiveros and Gabi Woch who came in after me and dressed the space. Special shout out to Isobel Hine who did an incredible job on the design of the central stained glass window.
- Work done as follows - Early architectural explorations of scale as well as layout and doorways, Art Blockout, 1st pass and 2nd pass on structural hull interior and exterior, creation of modular kit for interior and exterior (with support of Sumo Pune), custom materials, decal pass.
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Dreamscape
A scene I took over from the talented Malik Fernandez which was rebuilt due to streaming requirements. Its a pretty spartan environment, made up of just a pathway through rolling hills of sunflowers, focussed on a central tree, all feeling very ethereral and functions as a palette cleanser compared to the rest of the feel of the spaces in the game.
- Work done as follows - 1st Pass through to Release on landscape, asset work on central tree and sunflowers, custom landscape materials, decal dressing and surface scatter etc.
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Haven Underground Conservatory
I took over this combat arena in blockout stage from Adam Sharp who did a fantastic job across the whole of the Conservatories. I made liberal use of Dani Ontiveros' amazing victorianesque wrought iron modular kit, so credit where credit is due there. In collaboration with Amy Lee (Level Designer), I resolved the multi-tiered height traversal layers, introduced the central spiral structure, and integrated a logical piping network for 'mist' and radiators including floor drainage. All of that being in discussion with design and ensuring that as this was an arena with many enemies, we ensured smooth traversal and legibility.
- Work done as follows - 1st Pass through to Release, surfaces and custom materials, detail scatter and decal pass etc, foliage pass, streaming setup, optimising and bugfixing.
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Rooftop Finale
In this space I concepted and introduced its defining architectural motif, the inverted arch surround structure. It creates strong composition framing as you step out onto the rooftop, provides parallax and works as a nifty way to block lines of sight out to a lesser-filled vista. I also chose to sink the central floor to provide a little bit of an amphitheatre/bear-pit feel without interrupting pathing.
- Work done as follows - Blockout to 1st Pass, hero structure, surfaces and custom materials, detail scatter and decal pass etc, streaming setup, optimising and bugfixing.

With great thanks to my Env Art Leads on these scenes, Toby Hunt and Genesis Asis. Art Direction by Ben Matthews, asset support by Sumo Pune team.

https://www.artstation.com/genesisasis
https://www.artstation.com/tobiashunt
https://www.artstation.com/daniela_ov
https://www.artstation.com/g_woch
https://www.artstation.com/nads
https://www.artstation.com/malik1990
https://www.artstation.com/bigbenmatt