Ark Studios is a video game company that I work with. I was originally brought on to the team as a voice actor. Over time, I've helped create many of their design elements and pieces. The team is currently working on Branching Sickness, a Halo-inspired horror game.
Logo Designs
Company Logo
Ark Studios is a new company and as such needed a new logo. The Project Lead informed me that the logo should be futuristic, military-like and simple in design. Any other choices were left open for me to decide.
I brainstormed before coming to the current logo. I wanted something that gives a bit of a nod to video games while including all the notes the Project Lead requested. The logo is a triangle, pointed upwards to inspire always moving forward. It also looks similar to a player character's marker on a minimap. I added the small winglets to help give it a military feel, like a patch on a uniform or plane insignia. Finally, I used a strong sans serif to round out the copy.
Game Logo
I was tasked with creating an alternate logo for Ark Studios' upcoming video game Branching Sickness. It was planned to be used should any issues arise with their existing logo and its usage. The design request asked that the new logo be reminiscent of Halo, strong sci-fi vibes and a touch of horror.
My first goal was to figure out what went in to making a logo 'feel like Halo.' I went through many of the games and found that many of the human logos involve birds. I knew that would a strong starting point. After experimenting with poses and angles, I found that a side view allowed for easy recognizability and expressiveness. Since this is for a horror game, I knew making the imagery sharp would be very beneficial in creating a grittier visual. Once the bird was complete, I set out finding a way to incorporate elements from the game.
In Halo, there is an enemy known as 'the Flood.' The Flood are parasitic, tendril-y lifeforms that attack without restraint. Since they are the primary antagonist of Branching Sickness, I knew I had to find a way to incorporate them into the logo. I decided to incorporate the Flood as a threat. The bird is being enveloped by these tendril forms, consumed just like characters in the game.
Lastly was the logo text. I wanted to the text to be inspired by the Forerunners, an ancient advanced civilization from the game. Their architecture often consists of angles instead of curves, and I focused on that feature. Finally, spaces were added in the larger letters to further mimic the Forerunner's style. The spaces were made to be equidistant to the logo's spacing.
Animation & Video Editing
In-Game HUD Animation
An animation that I created for the in-game Heads-Up Display. Shortly after a crash, the player would see this play before getting them into the game. I was told by the team to create an animation that included adding all the HUD elements one by one. I opted to include some faux code running to help give the impression that the HUD is running and getting all operations ready. It's meant to harken back to 80s sci-fi, a key inspiration for the game. Created with After Effects.
Game Trailer
I also helped edit together this trailer for the game. While the visuals and music were not made by me, I compiled all the pieces and helped the team compile all their separate pieces. The main focus was to set the scene pieces to the music, slowly revealing more and more of the picture before finally showing the whole scene in a dramatic reveal. Created using Premiere Pro.