Expansion Art Support
MAKE — GUILD WARS 2
Art and concept support for a major expansion on a sub-twelve-week turnaround, ending when every embedded artist was hired by the partner.
Concept
Secrets of the Obscure is the fourth expansion to Guild Wars 2, extending the long-running high-fantasy world of Tyria.
Requirement
The partner needed support for the development and launch of an upcoming DLC release. The window was under twelve weeks, which meant onboarding artists quickly — and artists who could produce assets that sat convincingly inside an established, distinctive palette.
Approach
The studio lead and partnerships director sat down with the partner to pin down budget, scope and timeline, then built art tests matched to the proposed style and to what the internal team could already carry.
The engagement ran past its original length so the group could keep managing the offshore teams, and it closed when every embedded artist had been hired directly by the partner.
Delivery scope
- Concept art
- Character art
- Technical art
- Animation
- UI/UX design
- 3D art
- Tech art
- Prop art
- Market analysis
Results
- Dev cost 88% of plan, a 12% reduction
- Talent retention 80%
- Work output 110%
- Time to kickoff under 2 weeks
- Time to produce under 1 week
- Budget variance −12%
Delivered inside twelve weeks. Every artist hired by the partner.
Tell us what the production problem is
Describe the problem and we will scope the smallest useful engagement.