Alien: Rogue Incursion's art director shares the "rookie mistake" he never made again

Alien: Rogue Incursion is shaping up to be one of the year's best VR games. We've taken a look at how developer Survios is crafting the Alien-accurate game for Quest 3, PSVR 2 and Steam VR earlier this month, but Studio Art Director Tate Mosesian has also shared an insight into game development that everyone can learn from, the 'rookie mistake' he never made again.

Game development can be harsh, it's not uncommon for artists to spend four or five years on a game that never releases. For Tate, a recognition that artists fit into the development team, a need to understand when to roll back on the blue sky ideas, is vital to success in the industry. History is awash with beautiful games that never had release dates or undersold.

Balancing art and ideas in Alien: Rogue Incursion

“That's the humbling part," reflects Tate. "You can create something that is visually stellar, something that is just stunning and beautiful, but if the game isn't there, no one's going to play it, and your work is never going to get seen."

He tells me how early in his career he didn't place as much importance on the other aspects of game development - design, tech and "the game as a holistic thing," he recalls. "Which was just a rookie mistake. Understanding my place as an artist, the role that I play, I am here to make the game, if a game exists better through the visuals [that's good], but I will never make a game strictly through visuals."

He adds: "There have been games that have just been beautiful, stunning, that never seemed to get a fan base for whatever reason, and they never got another chance to to make another one, which is sad, but it is business, so you can't take too many risks.”

For Alien: Rogue Incursion this meant understanding the limitations but also the advantages of developing a game in VR. The game looks, frankly, beautiful and ekes out some striking lighting and atmospheric effects from Unreal Engine 5. It's full of era-accurate Alien details and design.

Yet Tate reflects on ideas and concepts that haven't yet made it to the game because of time and budget resources, such as the idea of referencing the end of Aliens and enabling players to strap multiple weapons and grenade launches together for a 'super weapon'.

"You have to determine where you have to put your bang for the buck," I think the pun is intended, as Tate laughs. "Those things take engineering time and design time and tweaking and massaging to make sure that it actually elevates the experience [and] it doesn't inhibit or take away from it."

The game has a rigorous physics model that controls the action, so I would expect the make-shift weapon to simply shake apart as you pull the virtual trigger. Again, Tate laughs at the idea.

It's also not the end of the idea, for any James Cameron fans who love the power-up moment from Aliens' closing scenes. "I don't know, maybe if there's an opportunity to try it, yeah, it would be cool," says Tate.

For more, read how Alien: Rogue Incursion is making use of Unreal Engine 5. The game releases 19 December, visit the Survios website for more details.