Art of Midway: The Suffering
The following is an extended version of Studio Art Director Mike Nichols’ introduction to the Suffering section of the book, The Art of Midway. All concepts shown here by Ben Olson.
Creating concepts is one of the most exciting stages in the game creation process. It is the first time a team is able to visualize the full potential of an idea. Great concepts inspire a team to reach to greater heights, and solidify the vision of a project for the team. Concept is also an area of increasing demand throughout a games production. At each new generation of consoles and hardware we are able to realize more and more of our visions into these games. And with each of these new advancements comes our reliance on being able to produce more concepts of ever greater detail. More than ever concept is a process that goes hand in hand with development. No longer is concept a phase at the beginning of a project, or a lofty goal unattainable because the technology was not able to produce the images in our imaginations.
Surreal values creating complete worlds in which to play, not just random levels thrown together by a loose concept. At the start of each project an art style is defined and used to drive inspirational concept pieces that outline the feel of what the game might eventually look like. As a project progresses the team invests an enormous amount of effort to create a back-story for the world. This back-story helps concept hone in on a style that will be used to guide a projects look and feel.
The Suffering series was a great opportunity for Surreal to break out of its roots in the Fantasy genre. Previously completing the Drakan series and Lord of the Rings, Surreal was looking for a way to break out of its mold without abandoning its roots. Creating the Suffering series offered Surreal the best of both worlds… The contemporary setting of The Suffering gave Surreal a chance to break into a genre of games that had become stagnant.
Many of the horror themes for games of that time were based around fighting slow moving zombie type characters, in either a post apocalyptic world or a society recently infected by some sort of virus. The controls for many of these games used awkward control mechanics, fighting enemies in rhythmic and predictable patterns, and solving disconnected environment puzzles. It was time for a change.
Inspired by some of the great horror films and novels of our day we decided to explore the world of Torque, a man imprisoned not only behind the bars of the state penitentiary, but by the horrors that drive him to madness. We put the control back into the player’s hands, and created a living, breathing world that reacted to the choices you make, and hopefully added in a few scares along the way.
Working on the Suffering with such a talented team was a privilege for all. To single out the work of a few would be a disservice to a dedicated group who put their blood, sweat, and tears into these games. However, without great concept work it would have made this an impossible vision to realize. Enjoy.
