Client: Microsoft | Artsource
Software: 3DS Max, Photoshop
Circa: 2003|2004
Details
I was brought onto Forza Motorsport shortly after pre-production in the role of a Senior Environment Artist. Under the guidance and vision of the track lead, Gavin Vaden, I worked on modeling and texturing everything from terrain and foliage to architecture and props for three tracks, Road Atlanta, Maple Valley and Rio De Janeiro.A good portion of my contract was spent working on the Rio De Janeiro track, as I had experience working on real world cities on my previous racing title, Project Gotham Racing.
Combining aerial imagery from Microsoft’s Terraserver and reference photographs taken on-site, I was able to recreate a good portion of the city in great detail while remaining true to the overall scale of the city and its architecture. I was also responsible for modeling and texturing several track-side props and barriers used throughout the game, maximizing assets, making sure they were reusable with minimal texture adjustments to make it unique for that particular track..
During my time on the team I had also created several production tutorials and techniques which I had shared with the team during a “tutorial Friday” that I had initiated with the art director at the time.
Facts
Road Atlanta Track was a featured cover story in the April 2004 issue of Popular Science.
Awards
Editors Choice 2004
Top 3 Racers of E3 2004
Best Racing Game of E3 – Runner-up
-IGN (9.5)Gold Editors Choice Award
Best Racing Game of E3 2004
-TeamXBox (9.8)Editor’s Choice
Best Driving Game of E3 2004 Finalist
-GameSpot (9.2)Best Racing Game of E3 2004 Nominee
-1UP (A+)Editors Choice
E3 2004 Game Critics Awards - Best Racing Game Nominee
-Gamespy (9.1)
Critic Reviews
As nice as the cars look, the real feather in Forza’s cap may come in the game’s racing environments. Real-time lighting and shadows are shown off to great effect on tree-lined courses like Maple Valley… it all results in a stunning graphical achievement….
-GameSpot (9.2)Ah Rio…The track environments are both technically accurate and aesthetically pleasing.
-GameSpot (9.2)Actually, even without a high level of graphics pleasure, Forza is still better than Gran Turismo 4…
-Gamespy (9.1)When you first start playing Forza, it’s easy to believe that the tracks–not the cars–are the real star of the game. Every track in Forza looks gorgeous, with loads of roadside detail… (it) just put Gran Turismo 4′s low-res tracks to shame.
-G4TV (5/5)
Rankings and Statistics
Metacritic (92)
GameRankings (92.96%)
GameStats (9.0)
MobyRank (93)
