When I first saw Andrew Crawshaw's job advert for an artist to work on a metal detecting game in the English countryside, I knew I had to contact him. I'm in love with the Yorkshire landscape where I live, so I jumped at the chance to bring some of this love to the game.
Vintage British Railway travel posters were a big influence on The Magnificent Trufflepigs art style. I used atmosphere, lighting and post processing to achieve the layered look seen in the posters as you look to the horizon in our 3D environment.
Environmental storytelling is very important for a narrative game. I added to the storytelling wherever I could, whether by the placement of small details throughout the landscape or patterns of wear and tear on the items you find with the metal detector. Reference for the farm was gathered on walks near home, and many of the found items are based on real possessions.
We wanted the sun to travel across the sky during each day, so the lighting is all dynamic. The set-up for the sky changes day to day along with the story, reflecting the character Beth's mood.
The elements in the main landscape are all simplified and idealised, and in contrast to this I made the found items more detailed and realistic. There is a combination of objects that use more realistic PBR materials alongside a flatter looking more cartoon-like foliage style. The environment itself is like a character in our game, so it was important to inject motion and life into it with leaf particles falling from the trees, butterflies and birds, and the windmills spinning in the background.


Being the lone artist working on the game was challenging, but it was fun to wear all the art hats - modelling, sculpting, texturing, set dressing, particle effects, UI design, 2D graphic design, lighting and editing shaders. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to bring my version of a slice of Yorkshire to the world.