Staking the First Claim Creating the First EQNext Landmark Prototype Rosie Rappaport Art Director at SOE
1999 2003 2009 Rosie Rappaport EverQuestNext and Landmark Concept Art – Wes Wheeler – Roel Jovellanos
R&D Building – Sebastian Strzalkowski – Rosie Rappaport January 2011, the second Prototype for EQNext was rejected and the team was sent back to the drawing board…
“Do Something Revolutionary.” Revolutionary vs. Evolutionary
Revolutionary
• Ultima Online • Asheron’s Call • EverQuest Revolutionary vs. Evolutionary Elder Scrolls Online, The 4th Coming, The Concerto Gate Emil Chronicle Online 9Dragons Cronous Empire & State Ace Online Cross Gate Empire of Sports Aces High Crowns of Power Entropia Universe Evolutionary AdventureQuest Worlds Dark Age of Camelot Eternal Lands Age of Conan: Hyborian Dark Ages EVE Online Adventures Dark and Light EverQuest II Age of Wulin Darkeden EverQuest Online Adventures Aion: The Tower of Eternity Darkfall Fantage AIKA Online Darkfall Unholy Wars Face of Mankind Alganon Dark Sun Online: Crimson Fallen Earth Allods Online Sands Fallout Online Anarchy Online Dawntide Fantasy Westward Journey Angel Love Online Dead Frontier Fiesta Online ArchLord DECO Online Final Fantasy XI Asda Story DC Universe Online Final Fantasy XIV Ashen Empires Diaspora Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Asheron's Call Doctor Who: Worlds in Time Firefall Asheron's Call 2 Dofus Flyff Atlantica Online Dragon Ball Online Fragoria Battlestar Galactica Online Dragon Nest Free Realms Black Prophecy Dragon Oath Furcadia Blade & Soul Dragon Quest X Fury Blood Wars Dragonica Gekkeiju Online BOTS!! also known asDragon Saga GodsWar Online Cabal Online DragonRealms Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising Cartoon Network Universe Dreamlords Granado Espada Castle of Heroes Dungeons & Dragons Online (Sword of the New World) Champions Online Dungeon Runners Guild Wars City of Heroes Dynasty Warriors Online Guild Wars 2 City of Villains Earthrise Helbreath Clan Lord Earth & Beyond Hello Kitty Online Club Penguin Earth Eternal Hero Online Hero's Journey Neocron Rubies of Eventide Turf Battles Hooded Gunman, The Neocron 2 Runes of Magic Twelve Sky Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted NEO Shifters RuneScape Twelve Sky 2 Illyriad Neverwinter Nights (AOL game) Rusty Hearts Twin Skies Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative Neverwinter Ryzom Uncharted Waters Online Jumpgate: Evolution Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds Salem Urban Dead Kal Online Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent Sangokushi Online Underlight Knight Online Omerta (video game) Secret of the Solstice Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Pardus Secret World, The Vindictus LaTale Parallel Kingdom Seal Online Voyage Century Online Legend of Ares, The Perfect World Sentou Gakuen Vendetta Online Legend of Mir 2, The Perpetuum[2][3] Scions of Fateor Yulgang Wakfu Legend of Mir 3, The Phantasy Star Online 2 Shadowbane Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Legends of Future Past Phoenix Dynasty Online Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes LEGO Universe Pirates of the Burning Sea Sho Online Wonderland Online Lineage Pirates of the Caribbean Online Shot-Online Wizard101 Lineage II PlaneShift Silkroad Online With Your Destiny(Supreme Destiny) Lineage III Planetarion Soul of the Ultimate Nation WonderKing Online Little Space Heroes Priston Tale Spiral Knights World of Darkness Lord of the Rings Online Priston Tale 2 Star Trek Online World of the Living Dead: Resurrection Love Poptropica Star Wars Galaxies World of Warcraft Lunia: Record of Lunia War Puppet Guardian Star Wars: The Old Republic Wurm Online Mabinogi Puzzle Pirates Stargate Worlds Yogurting Magical Land Ragnarok Online StarQuest Online Yulgang(Scions of Fate) MapleStory Ragnarok Online 2 Survival Project Zhengtu Matrix Online, The Ran Online Tabula Rasa Zu Onlinea Meridian 59 Realm of the Mad God Tale in the Desert, A Metin 2 Realm Online, The Tales of Eternia Online Minions of Mirth Regnum Online Tales of Pirates Mortal Online Requiem: Memento Mori Tantra Online Monato Esprit RF Online The Exiled Realm of Arborea MU Online Rift Terra Myth War Online Roblox Chronicles of Spellborn, The Mythos Rohan: Blood Feud Tibia Mytheon Roma Victor Toontown Online Myst Online ROSE Online Trickster Online Creating a Revolutionary Prototype Three Crucial Points • Develop an excellent idea • Do what you can with what you have • Always be moving forward An Excellent Idea in Development • Make a tool set, “Landmark” to build Destructible, Dynamic Environments • Give the tool – Landmark- to players • Harness the creativity of players as co-developers • Utilize that creativity to make EverQuest Next Landmark in a Nutshell My Attitude PowerPoint
Previous Prototype Aligned On Grid Modularity Metaphors Comparisons help everyone to visualize possibilities A Modular World
Shapes Materials Props Embrace the Blocks! Pitching Geometric Art Style
Different can be good • Optimist – Sets a new standard – Sets the game apart – Gives Brand Identity
• Aggressive Optimist – It’s not going to work any other way! Defining the Style
• Couldn’t establish concept art without style rules
• Couldn’t establish the style rules without concept art Do What You Can With What You Have Create a Rule Set: the Shape Library
• Small set of blocks • Thinking about UI and the player experience Using the Shape Library • Used older concept art • Built according to our new ruleset with Google SketchUp • Concept artist painted directly over “block concept” Defining the Art Style
• The team started to see the possibilities Block Based Concept Art
•Caricaturizing the shapes Block Based Concept Art Continues
•Caricaturizing the scene Caricaturizing Other games Put it in an Engine… Any engine More Challenging Builds Block Based Concept Art Continues Block Based Concept Art Continues
•Testing the boundaries looking for more opportunities Prepping for a First Client Prototype Freeport
• Concept Art Freeport
• Polygonal Models, Materials, Lighting Freeport
• Tiling Materials Freeport
• Block Concept FIRST CLIENT! Remember…it’s a Prototype! February 16, 2012
• What could be better? February 23, 2012 March 01 2012 March 08 2012 March 16, 2012 May 1, 2012 May 10, 2012 June June Destruction: Breaking Freeport
Now not only could we build, we could destroy!
…And so could players! Destruction: Breaking Freeport
Team Creations Jeff Jonas- Character/Environment Art Laurie Fuller- 2d Art Michelle Shade- FX Art Patrick Ho- Character Art Cory Rohlfs- Character Art Evaluation of progress… PolygonalVoxel Freeport Freeport Evaluation of progress… Next Goal- January 2013 Tackling Natural, Procedurally Generated Voxel Terrain August 2013: Movement
What We Learned To make something revolutionary 1. Develop a good idea 2. Do what you can with what you have 3. Always be moving forward Did we succeed? You decide. Player Creations… We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us. -Winston Churchill
Questions?