Interviews!

Exciting new CIC exclusive! For the next several days we'll be putting up responses to questions asked to Secret Ops team members. Today: WC Artist Sean Murphy (Just guess what he designed...).

What exactly is involved in creating a new spacecraft?

First step is to determine what the craft is needed for in the game - a bomber will be different from a spacecraft carrier or a fighter or a freighter. Then we begin sketches to try to come up with some initial approaches - very general ideas that will be the foundation of the design. From there we modify and tweak the look through several progressive sketches, eventually settling on something we all hopefully agree on. We then begin building the ship, a process which usually sees some final modifications and polishes to the design. And voila!

Is there any particular inspiration for your WC art?

I particularly try to create a real-world look to the art I create, to make it look like something that would logically evolve from the way things are designed and built today. I look at construction equipment, modern military craft (not just airplanes, but tanks, helicopters, even things like hovercraft), and the like. If I had to pick one movie that most closely approximated the WC feel it would be Aliens.

Have you ever designed things that don't quite make it into the final game?

All the time.