Introducing Substrata, the hypothetical video game from the creative visionaries of Darksiders.
Stephen Oakley was one of the 80 artists involved
Late last year, the studio behind the Darksiders game franchise, Vigil Games, closed. It was a massive blow to the many full-time creatives there, but as the saying goes, as one door closes, another opens.
Substrata was conceived by concept artist Paul Richards as a way to reunite his fellow artists from Vigil Games. The project resulted in 80 brilliant concept artists working together, all for a never-to-be-made game, releasing a stunning art book along the way.
Many world renowned concept artists worked on Substrata for free
"The group is already steeped in dark fantasy, so this was the best way to get them excited," says Paul, who wanted the project to enable artists to experiment with twisted concepts that would scare conventional publishers.
All proceeds from the art book will go to charity
"We wanted all of the things you're not supposed to do, with an open-ended design brief where people could choose from an array of game-driven content. Some decided to deliver on one aspect, while others conducted a more thorough exploration of their own universe."
The 240-page art book has been published through UDON Entertainment, and features concept art, character designs and illustrations from over 80 top game artists from around the world.
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Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he's not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.
