Summary
Game Rant can share an exclusive look atOther Worlds, an upcoming artbook bySubnautica: Below Zeroconcept artist Alex Ries. The book will soon be available to pre-order viaKickstarter.
Alex Ries is a Melbourne, Australia-based concept artist who has been working on video games since the late 2000s. His two most recent projects were thecritically acclaimed survival gameSubnautica: Below Zeroand turn-based strategyMoonbreaker, both of which were developed by San Francisco studio Unknown Worlds Entertainment.
The Australian artist is now publishing an artbook in collaboration with Iron Circus Comics. TitledOther Worlds: The Art of Alex Ries, the book promises over 300 pages' worth of Ries’s designs. Game Rant can exclusively share an excerpt fromOther Worlds, which includes eight pages ofMoonbreakerconcept art. These reveal how some of the game’s many designs—including The Sage, Charioteer, and Bastion Veros—came to be. All of them are accompanied by author commentary, providing some additional context on Ries’s creative process.
Alex Ries Says Moonbreaker Concept Art Was an ‘Interesting’ Challenge
Ries tells Game Rant that the turn-based strategy presented an “interesting” challenge for his artistic chops, not least becauseMoonbreaker’stabletop gaming miniature aestheticrequired completely different designs than his previous project,Subnautica: Below Zero. “It was interesting to stretch my creative muscles depicting technology and the ethereal otherworldly environments that were a part ofMoonbreaker’s pre-production,” he explained. The sci-fi fantasy tone of the game ultimately guided him to author a variety of original designs, many of which sculpt inorganic materials into decisively organic shapes, as is the case with, e.g., the alien Bastion Veros and the crab-like Biotank.
This book is the culmination of decades of work, passing through traditional illustration, concept art and even sculpture.
Overall, Ries sounds more than pleased with how hiswork onMoonbreakerturned out, having labeled some of the resulting designs as his “personal favorite concepts to date.“Other Worldswill include concept art from many of his other projects as well, with the artist describing it as “the culmination of decades of work, passing through traditional illustration, concept art and even sculpture.” The way he curated its contents was by focusing on his creative breakthroughs in both professional and personal life. The end result of this approach is the kind of book that Ries says he always adored as a child, one filled with “creatures, machines, and life from other worlds,” hence the title.
Subnautica: Below Zero
WHERE TO PLAY
Return to planet 4546B. Submerge yourself in an all-new, sub-zero expedition in an arctic region of Planet 4546B. Arriving with little more than your wits and some survival equipment, you set out to investigate what happened to your sister…Alterra left in a hurry after a mysterious incident. Abandoned research stations dot the region. What happened to the scientists who lived and worked here? Logs, items, and data banks scattered among the debris paint a new picture of the incident. With limited resources, you must improvise to survive on your own.Swim beneath the blue-lit, arching expanses of Twisty Bridges, where something undiscovered lurks around every corner. Become mesmerized by the glittering, mammoth crystals of the Crystal Caverns. Clamber up snow covered peaks and venture into the icy caves of Glacial Basin. Maneuver between erupting Thermal Vents to discover ancient alien artifacts. Below Zero presents entirely new environments for you to survive, study, and explore.
