Stainless is an independent game studio based in England, on the Isle of Wight. Their diverse teams love crafting new worlds, and have done so for nearly three decades.
With clients including Disney, Mattel, Warner Bros. and Rockstar, The Stainless portfolio includes a diverse suite of titles, with many games based on famous brands and IPs. They have created games in most genres and are a world leader in Collectible Card Games, Driving/Simulation tech, Open-World titles, Arcade and Board games.
I had the privilege of working with Stainless over the course of a few months while we developed an unannounced title for Sophiaverse. I worked closely with their artists to create the team of heroes that would be guided and mentored by Sophia. The character’s purposes and style went through a number of refinements as the game design evolved, and it was my job to ensure that their studio captured the essence and intrigue of Sophiaverse.
I developed the initial concepts, for a team of wheeled robot misfits. Upon deciding to move more toward hacker-style puzzling we pivoted to bold, graphic realism. And finally, we distilled the aesthetic down to a highly-stylized, Saturday morning cartoon appeal that better fit the idea that the game would take place in an alternate dimension.
I was primarily responsible for directing Character creation during this time but was called upon to consult and review environment and prop design and suggest improvements.
Hero Concepts V.1
Elliot
Oreo
MAXi
Darius
Hero Concepts V.2
The Runner (Front)
The Runner (Back)
The Fighter (Front)
The Fighter (Back)
The Hacker (Front)
The Hacker (Back)
Evolution of The Opposition
The Sentinel
Hero Concepts V.3
For the V.3 designs, we decided to pivot to a more whimsical, highly-stylized anime-inspired aesthetic in order to complement the unfolding narrative and underlying game design. My V.1 and V.2 concepts were taken by the Stainless art team and I stepped into an Art Direction role while their team took over the bulk of the illustration work. Sketches were produced and submitted to me for approval and I would push the designs up notch by notch, creating variants until we ended up with a healthy and diverse line up. Below is a glimpse of this process.
It was a genuine pleasure working with the stainless team and I wish them all the best in the years and decades ahead
