An Elden Ring in unsettling lands

The Environment
of the Month

FromSoftware, ***spectacular exercise or* *artistry***

Video Game

In 2022 Bandai Namco Entertainment presented this long, challenging and beautiful game developed by FromSoftware and released on February 2022. The game achieved the Game of the Year title in the Game Awards 2022 which was presented in Los Angeles (United States) on 8th of December 2022.

Source: FromSoftware although presented by Bandai Namco as Publisher
Title: Elden Ring
Origin: Tokio (Japan)
Directed by: Hidetaka Miyazaki
Written by: Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin R. Martin
Release Date: 25th of February 2022
WEB: FromSoftware, Inc.

This month we relive the environments of this incredible game from which it was hard for me to discard places or choose shots since it is constantly changing and each stage deserves its section.

The game describes an epic story that jumps from fight to fight with demigods and soldiers who attack determinedly, brutally and frantically using very dynamic and well-crafted movements that give the characters a special dimension.

In this post, we frequent the territories of the demigods to notice the unsettling environments that reveal an exhausting job on the part of the environments and characters artists, since the variety of enemies and spaces we found on this journey is surprisingly high.

Before leaving you some examples from all around the game, we include some of the artists responsible for this successful job who often remain behind the curtain and I consider that they are part of the success of this title, I also think that it could not only help to know the authors and their portfolio but also the tools they used for this purpose to help in some way to see the current preferences of artists involved in triple-A games.

Some of the artists selected for the job…

Keita Okada ArtStation – keita okada

Digital Sculptor (Tokyo, Japan) that was in charge of creating many of the enemies you can find in this title. Please have a look at his portfolio and you will understand why he was the man for the job…

Software: ZBRUSH

Marcos Domenech ArtStation – Marcos Domenech

Environment/Prop Artist (Malmo, Sweden) He worked in the creation of several assets from the game, directly involved in the development of the pipeline and workflows to create large props and environment assets.

Software: ZBRUSH + MAYA + Substance Suit.

Wil Xan Phuah ArtStation – Wil Xan Phuah

Digital Sculptor (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) He was involved with High-res model, In-game model and Texture creation.

Software: ZBRUSH + MAYA

Upsurge Studio ArtStation – Upsurge Studios

Founder/Level Designer @ Upsurge Studios (Ex Fromsoftware) (Melbourne, Australia) Elden Ring: Stormveil Castle

Software: ZBRUSH + 3DSMAX + Substance Suit.

Passion Republic Studio ArtStation – Passion Republic

3D Modeling Assets: Character Outfits and Creatures

Software: ZBRUSH + MAYA + Substance Suit + Marmoset

Tetsuya Chiba ArtStation – Tetsuya Chiba

Character Artist (Tokyo, Japan) He created the modeling, textures, materials, Hair/Fur, and rigging for the main characters in the in-house portion of the project, and added details for almost all the other characters for the cinematic trailer.

Software: ZBRUSH + 3DSMAX + MAYA + Marvelous Designer + Substance Suit + Ornatrix + VRay

Scenes from the Gameplay

Please have a peek at the results from the gameplay of thousands of hours of work dedicated to making this possible.

The transparent, spectacular and glowing tree, the Erdtree is present all along the game. It is a lantern in the cold and restless Lands Between. It is an imponent resource used to build the ambient light, the mod, and the history as it triggers a mixture of feelings all along the game and a disturbing necessity to know more about this source of life.

The caves and catacombs are very present in this game, helping to increase anxiety and fear in a land where life also goes underground. I love the transitions between golden to cold rooms mixing also well-textured rocks and pebbles with water .

Bucolic landscapes dressed by the golden tones sourced by the tree as one of the main light sources.

Warped trunks, night lights from the tree enervations and leaves… the religion-like sculptures mixed with Romanesque and gothic architectural styles, plus the chaos of the pavement with uncontrolled vegetation intrigues and injects fear into the player.

Incredible landscapes with several resources fills the scene bringing complexity and realism ready to dress the battle.

Solid, towering and spectacular castle that sets the budget of the project making us to enjoy the effort.

Nothing is easy here and the soundings of the castle and accesses are amazingly detailed.

Incredible, simply incredible…it is horrifical good to see a gutted giant in a place as suffocating as that with only one way to go…nothing is left to chance.

Amazing environment for an horror movie…how well the giant towers work with the wider peaks that challenge the balance in a way that feels so vast .

Apocalyptical mood with a cliff that defies gravity.

More examples of how well-designed are the environment in this title. An open world full of complex landscapes; this time with low fog… very picturesque.

Flooded lands, wide, robust and short trees, an imponent palace and the possibility to gallop on a horned horse… what else!.

Festival of roman arches, columns and statues that address you inside the mountain to find the horror and death…

Now is time for the gothic bridge… with ghostly trees in a frozen scene, broken by the golden light from the branches… that produces an intermediate and unpleasant feeling of a hot and cold that never mix.

Overwhelming and complex citadel with golden roofs that warn of the luster of its population that well enjoyed better times.

I feel like a father with his baby where many photos never are sufficient…

Another incredible downhill…

This resource is very smart…small palace with legs to move and a big bell underneath that tells you it is moving… what a level of imagination.

Spectacular palaces that challenge the balance in this battle to stay standing…

Golden chandeliers balancing in a pinkish dismal atmosphere.

Immense columns with their giant capitals facing the sea in a sordid environment with a war sky that makes you feel rightly the disquietude and threat.

The amazing aqueduct that feels magical dotted with light particles makes the mod very special despite being in a dangerous land.

Infinite staircase of gothic character nicely lighted by the inside chandeliers and the indecisive dusk. This scene is simply beautiful.

Spectacular ruins within a colossal cave offer a row of columns on the left that supports the idea about how great it was. The big statue leaves the gamers speechless.

Such spectacular and formidable constructions surpass and strangle the light, giving no chance for rest in this stone maze.

I am fascinated by the gloomy atmosphere of these formidable trees that scare more than the corpses that hang from their branches.

Grandiloquent image of a pygmy entering the land of the colossus.

A splendid and overloaded city that makes you feel like you are walking on the bricks of great history, even withered, left an imprint of what it was.