Here you can see a few early examples of our visual development of the enemies for Synapse. The art style is quite unique in its nature, and our primary artistic goal was to craft a world that felt completely different, something you've never seen before.
Characters, of course, play a crucial role in the world-building process. To give them a distinctive and unsettling quality, we drew inspiration from various art fields and let our imagination run wild! This allowed us to understand where the desired balance between familiar and unknown is, and how to move forward in further solidifying the art style.
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Synapse is a mix of heart-pounding action, striking visuals, eye-tracking wizardry, telekinesis, and beautifully mysterious audio, all amped up by the powerful new PlayStation VR2 headset.
Being the Art Director on Synapse was both challenging and very exciting. The main idea was to make the whole game almost exclusively black and white, with electrifying neon pops, creating an immersive world that would feel holistic and impactful without the use of colour. It was a brave move from the get-go, and I'm thrilled to say we pulled it off as Synapse became the most downloaded VR title of July 2023, and was also featured in a PlayStation VR2 promo video!
It was my first go at art directing, and I couldn't have done it without the support of our lovely, tight-knit, and super talented team. They brought their A-game, and we made magic together!