Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4522
November 2009 15 Gaming n n n n was beautiful. I wish we could have main- tained that the whole way through." While both Martel and Cozzens wouldn't exactly describe the technology behind Borderlands as pushing the envelope, they do point out that a lot of effort went into creating some of the visual tricks required to execute the game's style. "ough you might have seen some of these various components utilized in other games, it's the magic mix of all these systems together and how creative we were with them that have given us our unique results," says Cozzens. Today, when a person describes a game as "stylized," most players think of cell shading, where the palette is truncated with a limited number of colors and shades, Cozzens says. "at is not us. We have more precision in our lighting, we have a more diverse color palette, and we are somewhere between be- ing cell-shaded and realistic. ere is a real- ism to our aesthetic," he adds. On one level, all the materials look hand-painted, but on another they are rendered with a realistic lighting model, and the shading, lighting, and shadows are realistic. Without question, the look differentiates Borderlands from the many other titles now on store shelves. "Our game was not feel- ing like it was as unique as we had wanted it to be. We wanted to create something that felt generationally agnostic in a way," Martel says. Because CG can age quickly, an art style like Borderland's can hold its own for a longer period of time. "Once we implemented the style change, it was so inspirational that it drove game design to new heights and allowed us to try new ideas. It created so much momentum The concept-art style of the game was accomplished with a dark outline around each asset, while inside, inked markings sit atop hand-painted textures.