Crafting the imaginative, evolving environments of Guild Wars 2 "affords us so much creativity"

Creating environments for a game like Guild Wars 2, a online massively multiplayer role-playing game prone to evolution, change and dramatic story beats can be daunting. It can throw up some unique artistic and technical challenges.

Set in the vibrant, war-torn world of Tyria, Guild Wars 2 offers a vast and varies mix of fantasy styles, where every region is unique. Branching narratives and set-piece events can change the world over time. If you want to read more about the art of Guild Wars 2, read my interview with Guild Wars 2 art director Aaron Coberly and my deep dive with creature and character lead artist Adam Hogseth.

To understand how these environments come to life, I spoke with Tami Foote, lead environment artist and art manager at ArenaNet. She explains the practical challenges and inspirations that define working on a long-running game like Guild Wars 2.

World building in Guild Wars 2

The environments of Guild Wars 2 are grounded in classic art principles. According to Tami, art theory isn’t just about making things look beautiful but it also shapes how players move through the world.

"In traditional 2D art, you’re guiding the eye. In 3D spaces, you’re guiding the player," she notes. The environment art team leans heavily on these fundamentals to ensure every area not only looks coherent but also feels intuitive to explore.

While artists on the team may sketch rough layouts on paper, the core visual direction begins with the concept art department, whose work acts as both inspiration and blueprint.

Tami describes the process as "a concert where every department plays an integral role". Concept, design, narrative and gameplay teams are all interwoven and included in the creative process to design an environment. The result is a cohesive experience where aesthetics serve both form and function.

Creating expansive, fantastical realms on an ageing game engine is no small feat. Just as I discovered how the creature artists looked to iconic game Shadow of the Colossus for inspiration in how to render stylised fur, the environment team also needs to think creatively to work with the game's 12-year-old tech.

"We're working on an older engine," Tami acknowledges, "and so we’re constantly having to simulate things with the tools we have". This often means working within tight technical constraints. (Guild Wars is a persistent online game so its core engine can't simply be replaced.)

Yet the team doesn't see limitations as barriers, they see them as creative challenges. "If it doesn’t look good, we abandon it and find another solution," says Tami.

Despite these constraints, ArenaNet’s proprietary world-building tools have steadily evolved. Tasks like texture painting, prop placement, terrain sculpting and lighting all happen within this custom software.

As the game’s minimum system specs have increased over the years, the team has been able to push the visual fidelity of newer maps far beyond what was possible at launch. (As an example of the game's longevity, this year will be the 20^th Anniversary of the Guild Wars franchise, Guild Wars 2 is in its 12^th year this year, and sees the release of a new Anniversary Masterpiece Collection.)

Tami reflects proudly on the journey: "Looking at the maps we had when we initially released Guild Wars 2, and then looking at what we’ve been able to do now – it’s kind of impressive."

Diversity is the secret ingredient

While concept art sets the tone, inspiration comes from everywhere. "We draw from real life – from nature and hikes we go on, movies, TV shows and other games,” Tami says.

These real-world observations feed the team’s creativity and help shape environments that feel both fantastical and believable, places where players want to spend time.

This diversity of influences is reflected in the range of settings within Guild Wars 2, from verdant jungles to sun-scorched deserts and icy alpine peaks.

"Some games might just be battlefield after battlefield," Tami points out. "But we have such different areas, very different races and classes, that enable us to create different spaces. The sky’s the limit in terms of the environments we can build. Our technology is really the only limiting factor."

Environment artists at AreaNet don’t work in isolation. In fact, they’re among some of the most cross-functional roles in the development process, constantly collaborating with designers and narrative teams to ensure each map hits the right emotional and gameplay beats.

A typical day for an environment artist involves being "in the map", which intails laying out terrain, placing props, adjusting lighting and refining the mood.

As Tami notes, "We're dictating and directing how the map is going to go, taking into consideration aesthetics, design, narrative and everything else it needs to hit.”

Environments are built around gameplay needs such as boss encounters, major points of interest and narrative pacing. These are planned early in pre-production, and as development progresses, each area goes through rounds of feedback, play-testing and reviews to ensure alignment with each department's goals.

It’s not always a linear path. Sometimes a promising visual concept has to be reinterpreted because of technical constraints or time limitations. Guild Wars 2 is renowned for its painterly and imaginative concept art, established by the likes of Kekai Kotaki, Daniel Dociu, Theo Prins, Ruan Jia and Jamie Ro.

"We might get an amazing piece of concept art, but it's just impossible to execute under our current limitations," Tami admits. "So we reinterpret it the best we can."

The importance of art fundamentals

One of the defining features of Guild Wars 2’s environmental art is its timelessness. Rather than chasing trends, and because it's created on older tech, the team has consciously chosen to "lean into art fundamentals" instead of "gadgets, tricks, or the latest fads".

Tami believes this approach helps the game maintain its visual identity over time, telling me: "Good art is good art, and that’ll stand the test of time."

That’s not to say there aren’t places she'd love to revisit. Maps designed before the introduction of mounts in 2017 pose particular challenges. "None of those maps were designed to be seen with players flying around in them," she laughs.

Today’s tech and player movement have changed how maps must be conceived and built, from layout to performance optimisation the current team needs to consider so much about how an environment is experience.

For Tami, certain locations still shine, years later. She names the Sylvari – a plant-like humanoid species – environments as personal favourites: "It’s fanciful, ethereal, magical.”

The coastal area of Lion’s Arch, too, stands out for its lively, almost celebratory atmosphere, shares Tami. "It kind of reminds me of a party," she laughs.

Despite the complexity and constant balancing act, especially in her dual role as both lead environment artist and art manager, Tami remains passionate about the process. Though her days are now filled with meetings and management responsibilities, the joy of watching a world come together never fades.

"There are these little happy moments," she says. "When you start getting the lighting in, the boss encounters, the narrative content, and you realise, ‘Okay, it’s working. We’re delivering'."

Building the worlds of Guild Wars 2 is part art, part engineering, part storytelling; and all collaboration. From pencil sketch to final polish, each map is a carefully orchestrated creation, shaped by artistic fundamentals and moulded within real-world limitations. It’s a process that continues to evolve, just like Tyria itself.

As Tami puts it: "Our game affords us so much creativity. It's always something different. And that, in and of itself, makes it fun and unique to work on."

Inspired by the work of Tami Foote and the Guild Wars 2 art team? Then read our guides to the best digital art software and best drawing tablets, and start creating your own worlds.