While AAA studios push the boundaries of photorealism, some indie developers are finding that modern tech can unlock more handcrafted approaches to making games. Räfven is an upcoming adventure game with strange creatures and environmental puzzles. Its unique atmosphere is enhanced by the fact that all of the artwork physically exists.
The Swedish Indie developer Räfven Studios is crafting scenes and characters using clay, foam and foraged materials, particularly leaves. While some think their handcrafted game development process will be too slow, Gothenburg-based art director and sculptor Ewelina Hedlund disagrees.
Räfven began life as part of Ewelina bachelor’s thesis at architecture school. “I wanted to explore how general principles of architecture can be used in game design,” she explains. “For me, the core of architecture is about creating a feeling and guiding an experience for another person through the use of space. This is a principle I think game design uses as well, I’m personally drawn to games that give me a feeling and tell a story.”
She started the project around a year ago, taking time off from her studies to make models and to learn Blender and Unity to start building the world. When she started trying to learn to program, she decided it was time to build a team.
Now she's working with four people. There's lead programmer Felicia from YRGO, animator and UI artist Hedvig from The Game Assembly and programmer Daniel. They've recently been joined by a sound and music designer, William, as an intern from Audio Production Academy.
Part of the decision to work with physical media stemmed from Ewelina's existing skill set. She was used to making physical models for architectural projects and prefers crafting with her hands over creating things digitally.
“It gave me more freedom to experiment and made me feel more present,” she says. “I like how handcrafted models never turn out exactly as you expect; the medium, be it clay or foam, always behaves a little differently, giving each model a unique look. Sometimes a mistake turns out more beautiful than the original idea.”
Another big influence was her love of nature. Working this way means there's still a reason to get outdoors.
“My main inspiration has always been nature,” Ewelina says. “Almost all my characters have some part of them made from leaves or clay I’ve found in nature, and I always get my ideas from walking outside, preferably in a forest with lots of mushrooms!
“It creates space for my brain to become quiet and present, giving me back the creativity that might otherwise be drained in city environments”.
Since nature was a big inspiration, Ewelina wanted to include nature directly in the game. That's most apparent in the use of leaves to create some of the game assets: preferably fall leaves but also sometimes evergreens in winter. For some of the characters, Ewelina has also used pieces of bark to create texture.
“Especially during autumn, the colours in Sweden are fantastic, deep red leaves and all different shades of orange cover the trees and bushes,” Ewelina enthuses.“They make perfect hair for my main character Björk, or feathers for my owl guardian.”
“The fun part of using natural materials is becoming more curious about what nature has to offer,” she adds. “I recently found a secluded beach area that had a lot of blue clay, and it works very well for bigger models which can have a rougher style. Using materials you find yourself can feel very fulfilling and closer to the world we live in.”
When it comes to cultural references, Ewelina was also inspired by her love of stop-motion movies, such as Laika Studios' Coraline, and the strange beauty and striking colour palette of David Lynch's Twin Peaks.
“Ever since I saw Coraline by Laika, I dreamed of working with them,” she admits. “It feels like the coolest job ever, to make handcrafted models, work with professionals and make these deeply alive films”.
As for video games, Ewelina singles out Shadow of the Colossus on PS2 as a title that left a big impression for its poetry and melancholy.
But the most direct influence on Räfven came from fellow Swedish game devs Moonhood Studios, who are also based in Gothenburg. It was their work for The Midnight Walk that inspired Ewelina to “go all the way” and commit to making a game with assets that are made by hand, painted by hand, and then photoscanned to bring them into the game development software Unity.
As for the suggestion that Räfven Studios' handcrafted way of working, will take too long, Ewelina strongly disagrees.
“For me personally, this is the fastest approach. I’m most skilled at making models by hand, so it’s easier for me. And if I were to try to replicate the same aesthetic digitally, it would take a lot more time. I want the models to look like they’re made of clay, foam, wire, cement, and nature. I want you to see the fingerprints and the handpainted texture, I think that’s what gives the game its charm and personality.”
Moonhood have the same opinion, saying that to achieve a handmade look, the fastest way is to actually make the models by hand.
Ewelina sees personal benefits too, particularly for such a small team. “Sitting eight hours at a computer usually left me drained, with headaches and stiffness. If part of my job is to search for materials outside and take time each day to sculpt, use my hands, and get away from the screen, I feel more creative and more energized.”
That doesn't mean the process hasn't been a challenge. Since some of the materials can be very thin, like leaves, it can take a few attempts to get a good scan.
The pay off is in the unique visual style that handcrafted models give. The team at Räfven has noticed a revival of interest in handcraft art as the use of AI has become more ubiquitous. We've seen the same trend in the reactions to work in other fields too – even in a French supermarket chain's viral Christmas advert. The glowing reviews of The Midnight Walk reviews back that the idea that the same phenomenon applies to video games.
“Just like how the arts and crafts movement grew during the industrialisation of cities, I believe handcrafted media will become increasingly important in an age where AI is taking up more space,” Ewelina thinks. “People want to see things made by real people.”
Räfven Studios hopes to release a demo of Räfven by the end of March. They expect the whole game to take about two years to make.
For more game design inspiration, see our regular Indie Game Dev Insider series of features.
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