Selecting my next game (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
May
Since it takes a while to produce a new artwork – It usually takes between 2-6 weeks worth of production time – and there are bazillions of videogames available full of inspiring environments I need some criteria to narrow some things down.
What’s my personal connection to this game?
This might sound like an open door, but I think part of the success behind the first Metroid Prime map is the amount of passion I have for that specific game and that it shines through and resonates with people that share in that passion. So if I find a game uninteresting it’s not going to work. Generally I tend to gravitate towards games with a good amount of imagination and fantasy, intuitive action and stylish flair. It can be violent, it can be cutesy – as long as it meets those criteria. So, basically if it’s more ‘realistic’, it’s less likely to engage me.
Would an illustrated map add anything of artistic importance to the material already available?
There is this thing called ‘intrinsic artistic value’ , which means an artwork has to add something to the source material to give it its value. For example – a lot of 2D Super Mario games already have an excellent in-game overworld map. It would feel pointless to try to make another one. Also, as much as I like simulation and strategy games like Civilization and Cities Skylines, they are already borderline map generators in itself. So that’s not going to work too well either.
Taking these two things into account I can narrow down to a laundry list of games that I’d like to give this treatment. Some of them might never see the daylight, while others are nearing completion behind the curtains. Then there’s the last criteria, which is also the most important.
Does the idea come on a silver platter?
Just go for it! The best options usually get handed to you at the right time, in the right situation. Metroid Prime was lightning in a bottle, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the big seller that came out just a few months after that. By the time I was done with those and felt like making another one Mario Kart 8 Deluxe released a DLC package containing a circuit called Amsterdam Drift.
Amsterdam has been my hometown for twenty years now, and I’ve made several (non-game) illustrated maps of different parts of the city throughout the years. This felt like a perfect opportunity to honor that part of my personal history while expanding on this video game map artistic trail I was on.
