Creating original game 3D characters and 3D art visuals is what we love to do. Still, when the opportunity to work on something as iconic as the Star Trek franchise arises, this presents a new challenge and possibilities for creative satisfaction.

Working on Star Trek Resurgence, a well-received story-based adventure game, was the opportunity of a lifetime for the Magic Media team. Working within the boundaries of this franchise’s legendary visual identity and motifs was a true pleasure, and we couldn’t have been more satisfied with the results.

The Star Trek 3D Art Visuals Style

For this project, we were brought on deck to provide our second-to-none 3D character modeling expertize, which we talk about in our 3D character blog, and to create environmental assets. We created a wide range of characters, both human and alien species alike, environments both inside the protagonists’ ship, the USS Resolute, and other locations. We strived to create our environments and models as closely as possible to the classic Star Trek visual identity – from the distinct features of alien species down to the smallest details of Starfleet uniforms.

To get to the heart of the distinct Star Trek style, we looked at the various series and movies that have come before. Star Trek has a long and detailed in-universe history, a large portion of which was represented on screen in TV and film. The IP’s small and big screen outings were the best and most obvious reference points for us to help hone the attention to detail we’d need to craft memorable characters and environments congruent with the franchise as a whole.

Creativity Within Requirements

Working within the boundaries of the Star Trek style wasn’t the final frontier of creativity, and we found ways to express our artistry within our requirements. For example, we worked on a wide variety of 3D art visuals high-quality characters, from humans to Bolians, like the USS Resolute’s Operations Officer, Yann Urmott. Though, of course, we worked within the defining traits and characteristics of each species, within those confines, we had the freedom to experiment with facial structures to make them as distinct as possible.

Similarly, with the environments we worked on, we had an element of freedom with the USS Resolute’s transporter room. For this location in particular, there was no concept set in stone. This provided us the freedom to leverage our reference material and create an original transporter room in keeping with the established Star Trek style. Though we worked on major areas such as the bridge, shuttle bay, engineering, and more, it was exciting to execute our 3D art visuals vision for the USS Resolute’s transporter room.

Diverse Work

The Star Trek universe is renowned for its diverse cast of characters of different species, beliefs, strengths, and weaknesses. Fittingly, our work on Star Trek Resurgence featured a similarly diverse range of characters and locations.

Our character work is notable for its sheer range of interesting and captivating figures. First Officer Jara Rydek, one of the game’s playable characters, was fascinating to craft. She is part human and part Koblid. This made for an experimental exercise in melding the notable features of both species. Creating such a varied cast of characters is sure to be endearing for players who are thrilled by the prospect of learning from different species and understanding their customs in Star Trek Resurgence.

In addition to modeling the hard-edge areas of the USS Resolute, we worked on Hotari locales, such as the Queen’s Chamber and Hotari Palace. We used sculpting techniques to present a more organic feel to these environments, a far cry from the colder, clinical appearance of the USS Resolute and Starfleet areas. It was a true pleasure to create iconic visuals for diverse Star Trek locations and characters, which pushed our creative skills to another level.

At Magic Media we are veterans of the gaming, tech and entertainment industries, offering comprehensive services including game development, VFX, animation and full art services! Our main goal is to provide a one-stop solution for any project. If you’d like to utilize our expertize and experience in creating, game art and more, drop us a line and let’s create magic!