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Hordes.io - Art Direction of a no-budget Indie Browser MMORPG

Hordes.io is an indie browser MMO, developed by one person(dek), with me doing the Art Direction and Asset Creation as the game transitioned from its alpha stage to open beta.

My tasks were broad and touched on almost all visual aspects of the game, from UI work, logo Design (finalized by dek), concepting, visual development, ideation of environments and content, lots of playtesting and feedback-loops, planning and execution of the game's maps(together with the team), creation of the prop assets and their textures and a ton of communication, reflection and micro decisions.

Screenshot taken directly from the Browser

Screenshot taken directly from the Browser

Hordes.io Open Beta - Trailer

Shortly after Release, the game was featured by a big youtuber

Example of Various Sceneries build with a very limited set of assets and textures.

Example of Various Sceneries build with a very limited set of assets and textures.

In each scene, I had to prioritize performance and playability, while making sure the environments feel organic, alive and interesting

In each scene, I had to prioritize performance and playability, while making sure the environments feel organic, alive and interesting

For each area, we tried to make the environment match the feeling we wanted the fights to evoke

For each area, we tried to make the environment match the feeling we wanted the fights to evoke

With the game featuring several maps, to keep the build size low, we kept the assets and merely swapped the texture atlas, with only a few bespoke assets per biome.

With the game featuring several maps, to keep the build size low, we kept the assets and merely swapped the texture atlas, with only a few bespoke assets per biome.

Day and Night Cycles help bring some life to the environment, but also the challenge to make areas interesting in each circumstance.

Day and Night Cycles help bring some life to the environment, but also the challenge to make areas interesting in each circumstance.

I built and endless amount of test-areas, in order to find the essential assets we needed, to build interesting, yet diverse environments, with the minimum amount of assets.

I built and endless amount of test-areas, in order to find the essential assets we needed, to build interesting, yet diverse environments, with the minimum amount of assets.

Thanks to advanced mapping tools, we could combine multiple assets into little scenes, to tell rudimentary stories with the environment

Thanks to advanced mapping tools, we could combine multiple assets into little scenes, to tell rudimentary stories with the environment

This was the view I built the environments from, with countless playtests, to always check each change from the players perspective

This was the view I built the environments from, with countless playtests, to always check each change from the players perspective

This is an example of early stage concepts for a ruin we wanted to have ingame

This is an example of early stage concepts for a ruin we wanted to have ingame

And here, the assets can be seen in use. We managed to find countless interesting ways to use these assets to build a big variety of environments, without it feeling repetitive.

And here, the assets can be seen in use. We managed to find countless interesting ways to use these assets to build a big variety of environments, without it feeling repetitive.

Not all assets that I concepted, we ended up using. In this case, we figured out that the assets were too specific for just one biome. We ended up reducing the number of assets tremendously, to ensure top performance, even on low-end devices.

Not all assets that I concepted, we ended up using. In this case, we figured out that the assets were too specific for just one biome. We ended up reducing the number of assets tremendously, to ensure top performance, even on low-end devices.

This is an example how the assets could have been used.

This is an example how the assets could have been used.

This is also an unused version of modular assets for the town. At first, the plan was to have a full map dedicated for the main city of one of the two main factions. We ended up scrapping this idea and ended up building a small town/outpost.

This is also an unused version of modular assets for the town. At first, the plan was to have a full map dedicated for the main city of one of the two main factions. We ended up scrapping this idea and ended up building a small town/outpost.

In the early stages, I used Unity to test out early stage modular assets and approached for the style

In the early stages, I used Unity to test out early stage modular assets and approached for the style

A big necessity for the game was to be able to re-use as many 3d assets as possible, so texture swapping between maps was a focus and we ended up testing lots of assets for their versatility.

A big necessity for the game was to be able to re-use as many 3d assets as possible, so texture swapping between maps was a focus and we ended up testing lots of assets for their versatility.

Among other tasks, I also created some Icons for Items.

Among other tasks, I also created some Icons for Items.

A lot of time was spent on planning the map's gameplay, geography and scenery distribution, in addition to the player's flow through the map.

A lot of time was spent on planning the map's gameplay, geography and scenery distribution, in addition to the player's flow through the map.

An incredibly fun part of my work was the creation of foliage assets for various biomes.

An incredibly fun part of my work was the creation of foliage assets for various biomes.

For some biomes, I created crazy concepts, with the focus on strong color and shape differences between maps, to give the player a stark contrast between maps.

For some biomes, I created crazy concepts, with the focus on strong color and shape differences between maps, to give the player a stark contrast between maps.

The creation fo maps underwent many, many stages. From idea to concept, to building the rough geography and flow, several passes of props and decoration up to placement of mob groups and bosses. With a tremendous amount of playtesting done inbetween.

The creation fo maps underwent many, many stages. From idea to concept, to building the rough geography and flow, several passes of props and decoration up to placement of mob groups and bosses. With a tremendous amount of playtesting done inbetween.

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