I was the Head of Game Development at Rooster Teeth where I managed and directed the games team serving as Art Director and Creative Director for all our products. We shipped several games (digital & tabletop) but my proudest work was on Vicious Circle.
Story synopsis: A rowdy gang of mercenaries take on dirty jobs around the VICIOUS CIRCLE, a massive black hole on the outer rim of space spewing a steady stream of Nuggets; mysterious alien crystals more valuable than your whole planet and everything on it. Like an intergalactic boom-town, the entire region is buzzing with a seedy mix of megacorps, pirates and scoundrels all fighting over the loot.
With an extremely tight budget and schedule, I built a talented team of developers and together we shipped an awesome indie game with a truly unique tone and aesthetic.
As Creative Director it was my job to create a “franchise” that could not only work as a game but also expand into an animated series or feature film. I had an absolute blast creating a colorful cast of characters and a vast, gritty world for them to explore. I explored several art direction styles, but eventually landed on a combination of Retro Futurism and Space Age design with inspiration from 50-60s sci-fi pulp comics.
As with any creative production, it is a TEAM effort where everyone has a hand in everyone else’s work. We were an extremely collaborative group always bouncing ideas off each other and trying to find the best idea for the game’s unique design. My voice was in just about every creative decision we made, but I could not have done it without the amazing team that surrounded me. So, before we get to the visual goodies, I'd like to give credit to my amazing art team below. I'm only sharing a small subset of the massive art collection that went into the final product so please go check out their amazing work at the portfolio links below.
Joshua Guglielmo - Senior Concept Artist
http://www.arcanechroma.com/
http://www.arcanechroma.com/
Ramond Torres – Environment Artist
https://www.artstation.com/ramondtorres
https://www.artstation.com/ramondtorres
Bryan Shannon – Environment Artist
https://www.artstation.com/gula
https://www.artstation.com/gula
J.P. Self – Senior Animator
https://www.artstation.com/jpselfanimator
https://www.artstation.com/jpselfanimator
Chase Shields – Senior Animator
http://www.chaseshields.com/
http://www.chaseshields.com/
Eddie Munoz – Senior Character Artist
https://www.artstation.com/ed209
https://www.artstation.com/ed209
Josh Whitmire – Senior Character Artist
https://www.artstation.com/joshwhitmire
https://www.artstation.com/joshwhitmire
Clifton Stokes - VFX Artist
https://www.artstation.com/cliffstokes
https://www.artstation.com/cliffstokes
Nicholas Silveira – Lead Technical Artist
https://www.artstation.com/nicholas_silveira
https://www.artstation.com/nicholas_silveira