Interview of Rey Zhong

Talking about this brings up a crucial point — despite being referred to as the ninth art, game art is fundamentally commercial. Unlike pure art industries, most of us 3D artists in the gaming industry play a role more akin to product production than creating artwork for personal expression. For those in art mediums that encourage individual expression, this might be a disappointing realization.

My experiences, starting in my junior year at college with 343 Industries on "Halo: Infinite" and later joining Turn 10 Studios for "Forza Motorsport," gradually made me aware of this reality. Game art often serves gameplay, sometimes requiring compromises for the sake of player experience. If personal creation is the embodiment of complete self-expression, then commercial game art involves constantly considering the needs of players and other comprehensive factors to produce fitting work. Let me share the story of my involvement in designing and placing vegetation for all 20 tracks in "Forza Motorsport," specifically the Overgrowth vegetation.

This is, by far, the largest project I've been involved in. Here, I must express my gratitude to the entire team, including Tuan, Cindy, David, Zhengyu, and others for their assistance and guidance. You are truly fantastic teammates. I was notified around August 2022 that the art direction required the addition of lush vegetation to adorn the surroundings of the race tracks. To adapt to the natural landscapes of various tracks worldwide, a dedicated design was necessary. Hence, under the guidance of senior scene artist Tuan, who had just joined the company two months prior, I started experimenting with the design based on the features of our in-house engine. Turn and David asked me to use SpeedTree to create some vegetation to assess if the quality met the requirements. Although I had never used SpeedTree before, with Tuan's patient guidance, I quickly learned, and in just one afternoon, I produced the first set of vegetation.

A week later, I received notice that I would be creating various types of lush vegetation for all tracks. However, a few months later, Tuan and several other artists responsible for vegetation left the company. This meant that I not only had to handle the vegetation outside the tracks but also needed to address low grass on the track shoulders and assist with vegetation optimization. Taking over these responsibilities was challenging at first. There were times when I genuinely didn't know where to start. It was then that I gradually realized how important communication and time management skills are for a competent game artist. I learned how to coordinate when the project schedule went awry, how to repair optimization errors, and how to rearrange a project that was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. I even created some brushes to expedite efficiency.

Gradually, I managed to handle everything. I felt like I was transforming from a whimsical artist into a methodical engineer. I spent a total of 14 months on the layout and design of vegetation for all tracks. However, in the final months leading up to the release, I completed them. Sometimes, I joke with my colleagues, saying, "Players will only notice those beautiful flowers and grass when they crash into the barrier after bending due to a mistake." Yes, a commercial AAA game is the result of a large team's long-term production over several years, where individual contributions often seem insignificant. We are tiny screws. But even so, after both games I contributed to were released, I felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment. Perhaps the only side effect is that after the game is released, I cannot experience the freshness as players do, haha.