Yibing
Chen
Game Designer & Level Designer
Digital art
Including projects, in-game implementations, game pitches, and practice pieces.
2D Illustrations
All painted in Photoshop.
3D Modeling
Modeled in Maya, textured in Substance Painter.
Practices
Model of the patrol dog for High Above the Ground project
Ember Point: Pickaxe Model
More on the game: [Ember Point]
In-game shots (WIP)
I blocked out a low-poly model in Maya based on the concept art and sent the first pass to our combat designer for testing. Based on the combat test, I shrunk the hammer size, elongated the handle, and removed the side hold to give a clearer view of the combat animations. When texturing, I added an emissive part near the hammer's end. It helps players identify the weapon/striking distance in a dark environment. It also serves as a visual "initiator" of the swinging VFX.
Fishermen Will Cry Assets
More on the game: [Anchors Deep]
This was the original concept of the fish god, a player-controlled character, stepping onto the plank at the beginning of this game. I wanted a large lighthouse to guide the player; the fish body with legs and arms would add to the humorous aspect. However, because this is a combat-focused game, and this type of body model would hinder the combat movements, we eventually discarded this idea and resorted to a more humanoid body (as shown in the video under the Games tab).
Character Design
High Above the Ground
Game Pitch | Character and World Building
This is a game concept I originally developed for 2D Art for Games. After the course ended, I continued this project and am still developing it. The game is set in a fictional world where countries and cultures around the world have all adapted to steampunk technology. As the world moves forward, conflicts between those who choose advanced machinery and those who hold on to the traditional way -- "the old ones" -- emerge. The three main characters -- 0942, Oscar, and The Traveler -- come from different backgrounds have to figure out their paths amid the rising conflicts.
In this project, I developed the image of three main characters, the story arch, and the world setting. You can learn more about the development process here.
Pitch Document (first draft)
(The document can take a moment to load)
Early Sketches
I first brainstormed and flushed out many sketches of what this steampunk world looks like, especially after people from around the world integrated steampunk technology into their culture. Some examples I considered were Cossacks on machine horses, spider-like magnet transportation machines in industrial heavy cities, prosthetics, and transportation. One major asset I sketched was the mechanical patrol dogs. Since cities are getting rid of living animals for a "safer" environment, these dogs step in; they also play an important role in the story. In the meantime, I sketched out some outlines of the city and its landmark, a clock tower.
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I then developed the main characters: 0942 who is the police, Oscar who is an "old one", and The Traveler who comes from the far east. All three of them represent a different class and point of view. 0942 is stubborn and rigid, and she sees things from within the system and rules; Oscar is from the opposite side, "the old ones", yet he is naive and does not quite understand the class and faction conflicts (as he keeps a hamster and a cat as pets). The Traveler comes from outside of the city, and he brings more of an ambiguous view to the other two characters. I centered the conflicts within and around the characters and their classes, and such conflicts are the core of the story.
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Revisions in Photoshop
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3D Development
3D adaptation of the patrol dog (more images under the 3D modeling section)
Ember Point: Gravitus and Enviorment Paintover
More on the game and design process: [Ember Point]
My first iteration mainly explores the idea of space suit. The shoulder and chest plates emphasize Gravitus' combat abilities. The facemask shows both the environmental hazard and his reserved personality -- and it reduced the workload of modeling the face. I wanted Gravitus' suit in light colors to contrast with the dark environment.
Since Ember Point is a combat-focused game, my second iteration dived into Gravitus' "ex-military" identity. I added more straps, utility belt, and pockets to imitate combat uniforms while keeping the space suit base. I kept the cape for it emphasized his rogue-like nature and changed the shoulder plate to triangle shaped.
Minor changes and exploration
After deciding on going with the second iteration, I explored more color schemes and minor clothing detail changes. I then drew the character sheet with all the finalized elements. I specifically wanted Gravitus' cape to look like it was burned to further emphasize he is on a rogue mission.
Modeled by Finn Connolly
Commissioned Snowboard Design
I was commissioned by a Chinese snowboard brand to design a snowboard with children as its target audience. I chose a soft and cute style and rounded up everything. The theme is travel, thus I drew two cars driving towards the snowy mountain where snowboards will be put to use; the zig-zagging road is alluding to the brand's logo.
Besides the snowboard, I also designed a set of promotional materials for the product, specifically for the brand's Taobao page. Below are other products with my promotional design (I only design layout, not the products below).
Different iterations