We’ve had a strong collaboration with Avalanche Studios for some time now, working with them on the Hunter series on 3D art assets. We were delighted all those years ago to join with them on another project as an outsourcing specialist to assist on their upcoming game, Generation Zero. Since then, four years have passed! And the Magic Media team have grown from outsourcing assistance to co-development partners! Let’s have a look into some of the 3D art assets and pieces our incredible artists have created for this project.

The World of Generation Zero 3D Art Assets

We’ve developed a lot of incredible 3D art assets for the unique setting of Generation Zero. A world torn apart by intelligent machines set in the 1980s! This immediately sets the world in a period of particular technology and limits the equipment of our survivors and resistance quite heavily. While the robots themselves boast futuristic and dangerous evolving weaponry, our heroes are left with scraps and scavenging.

The compelling aspect of Generation Zero’s visual makeup is this scavenging nature of the players contrasting with the futuristic oppressors. Creating the beautiful robotic pieces is all about sleek and efficient design. Their weapons are covered in sensors and everything is hooked up to a central system, they are malicious sentient AI, they have no need for our primitive systems. 

But for the resistance! For our players, our artists and 3D modelers could embrace the scavenging nature of play. Utilizing the assets that already exist in game and break them down for parts, just as the player characters would. Makeshift pieces come together beautifully like this signal jammer.

A radio combined with a small piece of wiring and circuitry. It’s simple but believable! And our work is filled with designs like this. A personal favorite is the flamethrower! Which utilizes spare pipes and parts, with a propane tank and bicycle handle for a trigger!

Visual Storytelling and Tools

The best way to help players settle into this world is the things they see and experience. Watching your resistance members scramble and craft tools and weapons will immerse them so quickly! The DIY nature of all the gear, the rust and the wear-and-tear, they all speak to the visual language of Generation Zero.

Cannibalizing assets mean the world the players live in is seen again, piecemeal, across weapons and equipment. The weapons themselves are designed to be recognizable, meaning we offer both grounding in the setting but also a quick and identifiable visual reference players will understand at a glance.

These 3D art assets are created with a variety of tools. Maya is used for modeling of high and low poly models as well as the UV layout. ZBrush is great for sculpting before baking textures in Substance Painter or Marmoset Toolbag. The textures themselves are done in Substance Painter. If there’s any cloth or certain simulations required, Marvelous Designer is very useful. Finally, it’s all implemented using the game’s engine. These tools are always changing, but our artists have found these to be the foundation of many modern games. 

At Magic Media we are veterans of the gaming, tech and entertainment industries, offering comprehensive services including game development, VFX, animation, 3D art assets 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 in creating game art and more, drop us a line and let’s create magic!