As the release date on October 21 approaches, Platinum Studio, which participated in the development of "Ninja Dragon Sword 4", revealed the details of the game development in a development blog.Art Director Tomoko Nishii wrote an article introducing the role of concept art in development and its use in "Ninja Dragon Sword 4", and shared several concept design drawings. Let's take a look!
Nishii talks about the concept art of games being divided into three types: imagery, design sketches and overlays.Imagery is used to “build a common vision for the overall atmosphere”, design sketches are used for character and background creation, and over-painting is used to “optimize the appearance of created resources and pictures.”
She explained that although the final form of these concept diagrams is often adjusted, it provides a key reference for the entire team during the production process and has a heavy responsibility.Some concept arts also need to pass the "White Box Test" to play visual effects to coordinate enemy layout and interactive areas.The blog shows the comparison between white box pictures and fine design pictures in the same area.
Regarding the red special effects when players launch their ultimate moves, Nishii explained that the production process includes setting the action process, determining the lens angle, drawing keyframes, adding overlays and decorations, and then handing them over to the VFX team to install them into the game.
Concept design drawing:
