Eco Peaks: Insects, Arachnids and Myriapods, Oh My!
In Eco, you may have noticed songbirds and butterflies. Those two species were a first step to add atmosphere, but we aim to fill the biomes of Eco with a proper suite of insect and bird life in the coming months.
Invertebrates and those that eat them are a foundational part of any eco-system, so we’ve known for a long time that we wanted far more representation of them in Eco.
The health of insect populations will be linked to physical insects and birds that you see in the world around you as you explore. Each biome will have unique invertebrates and indicator species, and in a similar way this system will extend to birds, lizards, and owls.
Bugs and Critters Crawling this Way
This week, I am working on a Hercules Beetle, and a Tarantula.
The way the pipeline starts out is with planning. What invertebrates belong where, what will they add to our game, and how they will be made.
First step is a 3D blockout. Our game is hand-painted and low poly. So we build the models in Maya with heavy tri restrictions (a technique to help unify the style of Eco).
Next up: textures!
We hand-paint all the textures you see. It takes a little longer and a bit more effort and skill, but it’s one of the reasons our game looks so unique and alive.
Finally, we add some animations onto them to bring them to life.
More to come
These are just a few of the critters you’ll be seeing in the upcoming patches to Eco, so keep an eye out and be sure to join us in DISCORD !