Crafting a Paranormal Noir Aesthetic

Kate Pasmore, Lead Artist:

By the time I was welcomed onto the game team as an artist, the idea of a paranormal noir aesthetic had already been established. However, the visual representation of this idea still varied within the concept art. As the main artist, I used the previous concept art as inspiration while working to find a cohesive style. 

As I studied the character concept art, I noticed the difference between some two-toned black & white characters from other gray-scale characters. Since the environments are so important in this game, for investigative purposes, I decided that gray-scale would allow for more easily readable detail, as well as to help the characters stand out from the background. 

I was also heavily influenced by Chris Lyu’s art, who had already made a few environments for the game. Her pieces had a strong use of black that I felt added mystery and seriousness to the atmosphere. We continued with this idea, while making sure that clues and other objects were clear enough to investigate. 

As for the characters, all but Vivian had at least one piece of concept art that I considered as I worked them into the final style. I particularly love Ilana’s initial design, created by Autumn Almeida, which quickly made Ilana my favorite character. Since the game is in first person, she does not visually appear often, but I am glad that she does make an appearance in the game. For her and all of the other living characters, I decided that shading them to look somewhat 3D would bring life to the characters and the game overall. 

When time came to design Vivian’s spirit and the true shadows, I saw the opportunity to exaggerate stylistically, both to express the characters’ personalities visually and add some creepiness to the game. While the entire game is clearly noir, it is the shadows that carry the paranormal aesthetic. Although the use of color alone could make them stand out, I played around with the shape language to communicate the importance of the paranormal aspect through their expression.

I particularly enjoyed the challenge of communicating the visuals almost exclusively in black and white, since it is an important strength of the game and not common for game artists. This entire experience has been great, from working with the team to connecting to the story through art. Seeing the art within the game for the first time got me particularly excited to see the completed game, aside from the fact that the mystery itself is intriguing. I have loved watching this game develop and grow as every element has come together to create its full form.