Bugnauts! is a 3D third-person action game that mixes accessible 3D projectile gameplay with environmental education. Players play as Chloe, a young aspiring entomologist who must use her bug net to defeat the giant Phantom Bugs that have overtaken the island she calls home. The game balances playful combat and discovery of the world.
My Role
Art Producer
Tools
Google Suite, ClickUp, Unreal Engine 5, Maya, Perforce
Timeline
7 months
What I did
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Communicate the objective of the game and interface with all disciplines to amass the art priorities
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Plan out all art pipelines, keep dependencies to a minimum, constantly update schedule according to fluctuations
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Manage growing team of 9 artists through weekly meetings, asset lists and tasks delegation
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Stand in as temporary Art Director to create art bible and lead the game’s artistic vision
My Process
1. Plan & Communicate
Through regular and extensive discussions with my creative director and team, I laid out every art asset required for the entire game, broke them up into each sphere of art, and planned out an 8-month production schedule for all artists. I take into account stretch goals and make room for unexpected changes as much as possible. I also check in with every artist weekly to see how they are doing, how I can best support their work and what time frame and workflow suits them best.
2. ClickUp
I also check in with every artist weekly to see how they are doing, how I can best support their work and what time frame and workflow suits them best. Our production team uses ClickUp to assign and manage all tasks by sprints.
3. Art Bible Creation
As we did not have an Art Director for the first 4 months, I took initiative to help create the first iterations of the Art Bible. During this period of exploration, I made sure to identify the key beats of the story and gameplay. Then I reflected in both the Art Bible and a separate Pipeline Doc how we as artists can achieve those goals.
4. Concept Board
Using a Miro Board, I laid out a concept board where all artists could share references and feedback, which greatly aided our Art Director in establishing style guides later on. I also share this concept board with the rest of the team regularly to ensure everyone is clean and in agreement of our artistic goals.