Homeworld is a name that needs little introduction to fans of real-time strategy. But, like the films of Hitchcock or the music of Led Zeppelin, Homeworld was more than a genre milestone; it was a defining point in video games with an influence that can still be felt nearly two decades after it’s original release.
As the Art Director for Homeworld and Homeworld 2, and now the CEO of Blackbird Interactive – the studio behind Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak – few people are as intimately familiar with the series as Rob Cunningham.
Tell us about the inspirations behind your work and some of the design elements that define the series. In short, what would Homeworld never be Homeworld without?
Rob Cunningham: Homeworld was the first ‘truly’ 3D RTS, so Aaron Kambeitz and I wanted to make the most of the innovative orbital/zoom camera design and create a world where the ships and environment really felt real and very huge. For the ships themselves, articulating a believable scale was a big objective and a huge challenge given the technical limitations of the time. So, the art of the series was heavily inspired by the incredible sci-fi artwork of Peter Elson, Chris Foss, John Harris and others.
“We were drawn to the simple forms and bold colour schemes […] the logic-driven design of the ships, right down to the heavy use of painted decals and tight industrial functional details, it made them feel so real and well scaled to each other…”
We were drawn to the simple forms and bold colour schemes these artists were playing with. The logic-driven design of the ships, right down to the heavy use of painted decals and tight industrial functional details, it made them feel so real and well scaled to each other as the player zoomed out to …read more
Source:: GOG – Good Old Games
