Project Name: Video Horror Society
Studio: Hellbent Studios
Year: 2019-2024
Product Type: 80s themed Multiplayer Asymmetrical Horror.
My Role: Principle Environment Concept Artist | Senior Concept Artist | Illustrator
Budget: AA - AAA
Art Director: Emmanual Soupidis
About:
Video Horror Society is a multiplayer horror game set in the 1980s about a group of teens that travel through different VHS tapes fighting monsters. We had several funding rounds by large companies but stuck to self publishing in the end.
Art Direction:
The game's art direction captures a semi-realistic, Pixar-esque aesthetic, striking a delicate balance between photorealism and stylized simplicity. This approach aims to demonstrate that horror can be both hauntingly beautiful and engagingly whimsical, provided the gameplay evokes fear and excitement. With its film-hopping premise, Video Horror Society boasts an unparalleled variety of environments and creatures, promising an immersive experience for players.
Key Contributions:
I took on most the environment concept work on my own when I joined the team in 2019, additionally I helped out on other parts like vfx concepting, weapons skins, sticker design, t-shirts logos, front end ui, Marketing art, and even helped make or character models look best they could by pointing out some shader suggestions.
Studio: Hellbent Studios
Year: 2019-2024
Product Type: 80s themed Multiplayer Asymmetrical Horror.
My Role: Principle Environment Concept Artist | Senior Concept Artist | Illustrator
Budget: AA - AAA
Art Director: Emmanual Soupidis
About:
Video Horror Society is a multiplayer horror game set in the 1980s about a group of teens that travel through different VHS tapes fighting monsters. We had several funding rounds by large companies but stuck to self publishing in the end.
Art Direction:
The game's art direction captures a semi-realistic, Pixar-esque aesthetic, striking a delicate balance between photorealism and stylized simplicity. This approach aims to demonstrate that horror can be both hauntingly beautiful and engagingly whimsical, provided the gameplay evokes fear and excitement. With its film-hopping premise, Video Horror Society boasts an unparalleled variety of environments and creatures, promising an immersive experience for players.
Key Contributions:
I took on most the environment concept work on my own when I joined the team in 2019, additionally I helped out on other parts like vfx concepting, weapons skins, sticker design, t-shirts logos, front end ui, Marketing art, and even helped make or character models look best they could by pointing out some shader suggestions.
Environment Design
Each map in our game was inspired by different movies from the 80s and earlier, it became a fun challenge of creating something that gives the feeling of these movies but being something completely new by cross referencing other interesting ideas through an 80s filter.
The Facility
This was the first map I worked on and was inspired by classic bond movies, Blade Runner, and bits of the Andromeda Strain I looked at the production design of these films as well as architecture magazines around the era they came out and combined it all into a building with layers of storytelling. It turned out to be a really beautiful map that was like nothing you ever saw in asymmetrical horror up to this point, a great follow up twist to the initial high school map.
This was the first map I worked on and was inspired by classic bond movies, Blade Runner, and bits of the Andromeda Strain I looked at the production design of these films as well as architecture magazines around the era they came out and combined it all into a building with layers of storytelling. It turned out to be a really beautiful map that was like nothing you ever saw in asymmetrical horror up to this point, a great follow up twist to the initial high school map.
Hotel
This map took inspiration from the shining and I used my own memories of Banff, AB, and Victoria BC to ground it. We created a story around a Doll Maker, the better you know the map the more you understand him.
This map took inspiration from the shining and I used my own memories of Banff, AB, and Victoria BC to ground it. We created a story around a Doll Maker, the better you know the map the more you understand him.
Gameshow
A lot of us on the team enjoyed the film the Running Man, we made this next map based on that film mixed with American gladiator and a touch of other scifi's of the era like Robocop.
A lot of us on the team enjoyed the film the Running Man, we made this next map based on that film mixed with American gladiator and a touch of other scifi's of the era like Robocop.
Ice Station
This map was inspired by The Thing, I took direct inspiration from it but also realworld remote laboratories and stations like this.
This map was inspired by The Thing, I took direct inspiration from it but also realworld remote laboratories and stations like this.
Graveyard
This one had several inspirations, a graveyard is a classic icon for any horror film and having an intricate church and mysterious underground made it really compelling. A lot of thought went into the designs of the church.
This one had several inspirations, a graveyard is a classic icon for any horror film and having an intricate church and mysterious underground made it really compelling. A lot of thought went into the designs of the church.
Lich
I am a big fan of Big Trouble in Little China so it was a pleasure to work on a map based around it. I took inspiration from the movie but also studied famous historical Chinatowns around the world and my own here in Vancouver.
I am a big fan of Big Trouble in Little China so it was a pleasure to work on a map based around it. I took inspiration from the movie but also studied famous historical Chinatowns around the world and my own here in Vancouver.
Shipyard
This was the final map I worked on before the game got sunsetted and it never made it to release, but it was fun to do this initial concept. Taking inspiration from Lovecraft but pushed to have a bit more color than you would usually see.
This was the final map I worked on before the game got sunsetted and it never made it to release, but it was fun to do this initial concept. Taking inspiration from Lovecraft but pushed to have a bit more color than you would usually see.
Environment Process:
For environments I would typically get the map from the level designer and choose the composition myself in Unreal, sometimes adding my own lights and materials to assist with the paint over.
For environments I would typically get the map from the level designer and choose the composition myself in Unreal, sometimes adding my own lights and materials to assist with the paint over.
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Holiday Paintovers
I work really well with live service games because I love holidays and festivals so much, so doing some paint-overs of our existing maps to fit Halloween and the Winter holidays was so much fun.
Weapon | Weapon Skins
VFX and Other
Assorted other work I did on Video Horror Society. From Graphic design, UI, to concepting VFX and even concepting a working Pinball Machine.
Marketing Art
For the Summer Event we needed some art to showcase the new costume pieces on social media in a short window of time. I did some pose sketches, got some renders from the team and did some paint-overs to give it an 80s feel, then my art director put it all together.
