Spaceship Branding and Identity in Eternity: How Design Shapes the Game
BRANDS OF ETERNITY
It’s not uncommon to enter a game of this nature and see the usual serial numbers printed on the side of massive hulls or the vibrant colors painted across the wings of military fighters cutting through the backdrop of space. While going through the same process in Eternity, we decided to put a bit more effort behind these visual decisions and develop some level of identity for these spaceships. Beyond the serial numbers and vibrant colors that make up most of the visual identity of these vessels, some brands carry a legacy, a loyal crew, and an adamant purpose toward the main goal.
COLORS AND MEANINGS
One key aspect that we had to consider was the colors our vessels would sport in-game. With a predominantly dark environment, bright or light colors are essential for these small but important elements to pop out from the vast dark space behind.
Another aspect to consider was the use of color for visual distinction for each vessel category. The choice of colors would tap into existing concepts between the shade itself and the visual association with the spaceship’s purpose. For instance, mining ships would be mostly covered in yellows to represent gold.
This color coding is present, not only on the spaceships but also in elements in the user interface directly associated with their categories.
BRANDS = CHARACTERS
As mentioned before, we wanted to make a bit more effort to work on the spaceship’s visual representation on screen. With that in mind, we went ahead and started a brief branding process of various brands for each spaceship category.
These brands would carry names, colors, and shapes, each distinct from one another. Not only would this provide a bit more personality to each vessel but also offers the opportunity to create “characters” to provide some lore to the game. Similar to what happens in games such as the “Borderlands” series with their weapon manufacturing companies, advertising and even represented on screen by NPCs.
TINY VISUALS. HEAVY MEANING.
For a game such as Eternity, it would be logical to think of this level of consideration toward the visual aspect of each spaceship as irrelevant or redundant. The thought crossed our minds along the process. However, we felt that in a game in which the player’s representation on screen is – in some cases, literally – eclipsed by all the floating astral bodies, the story that pulls the player into the game is told elsewhere. Perhaps an abandoned space station provides some relevant information about the company of an existing vessel in the player’s fleet. Maybe, amidst a scene of devastation, a derelict vessel in surprisingly good condition was produced by a particular company, forever cementing that same company with reliability.
CARRYING THE BRANDS
Following the same thinking process behind the color choice for each spaceship category, the brand names had to also carry a conceptual relation to the purpose of the vessel.
This would also carry with it another branding consideration. Below is an example of the logistics ships which, even though their brand would be of course more prevalent, also had to carry the name of the other brands that use logistic spaceships to move cargo.
Another branding exercise is present in the military category in which, besides the brands of weapon manufacturers are the markings of rank of each spaceship, which conceptually would imply a universal language as part of a common ground in the battlefield.
AN ONGOING CONCEPT
As mentioned before, this process would be easily dismissed as purely optional in the context of a game such as Eternity. However, the storytelling started well before the ships moved across the screen. Though small, these tiny elements carry not only the visual identity of the spaceships but also validate, as a whole, the story we want to tell the player.
May your ships fly true and shiny
Spaceship Branding and Identity in Eternity: How Design Shapes the Game
BRANDS OF ETERNITY
It’s not uncommon to enter a game of this nature and see the usual serial numbers printed on the side of massive hulls or the vibrant colors painted across the wings of military fighters cutting through the backdrop of space. While going through the same process in Eternity, we decided to put a bit more effort behind these visual decisions and develop some level of identity for these spaceships. Beyond the serial numbers and vibrant colors that make up most of the visual identity of these vessels, some brands carry a legacy, a loyal crew, and an adamant purpose toward the main goal.
COLORS AND MEANINGS
One key aspect that we had to consider was the colors our vessels would sport in-game. With a predominantly dark environment, bright or light colors are essential for these small but important elements to pop out from the vast dark space behind.
Another aspect to consider was the use of color for visual distinction for each vessel category. The choice of colors would tap into existing concepts between the shade itself and the visual association with the spaceship’s purpose. For instance, mining ships would be mostly covered in yellows to represent gold.
This color coding is present, not only on the spaceships but also in elements in the user interface directly associated with their categories.
BRANDS = CHARACTERS
As mentioned before, we wanted to make a bit more effort to work on the spaceship’s visual representation on screen. With that in mind, we went ahead and started a brief branding process of various brands for each spaceship category.
These brands would carry names, colors, and shapes, each distinct from one another. Not only would this provide a bit more personality to each vessel but also offers the opportunity to create “characters” to provide some lore to the game. Similar to what happens in games such as the “Borderlands” series with their weapon manufacturing companies, advertising and even represented on screen by NPCs.
TINY VISUALS. HEAVY MEANING.
For a game such as Eternity, it would be logical to think of this level of consideration toward the visual aspect of each spaceship as irrelevant or redundant. The thought crossed our minds along the process. However, we felt that in a game in which the player’s representation on screen is – in some cases, literally – eclipsed by all the floating astral bodies, the story that pulls the player into the game is told elsewhere. Perhaps an abandoned space station provides some relevant information about the company of an existing vessel in the player’s fleet. Maybe, amidst a scene of devastation, a derelict vessel in surprisingly good condition was produced by a particular company, forever cementing that same company with reliability.
CARRYING THE BRANDS
Following the same thinking process behind the color choice for each spaceship category, the brand names had to also carry a conceptual relation to the purpose of the vessel.
This would also carry with it another branding consideration. Below is an example of the logistics ships which, even though their brand would be of course more prevalent, also had to carry the name of the other brands that use logistic spaceships to move cargo.
Another branding exercise is present in the military category in which, besides the brands of weapon manufacturers are the markings of rank of each spaceship, which conceptually would imply a universal language as part of a common ground in the battlefield.
AN ONGOING CONCEPT
As mentioned before, this process would be easily dismissed as purely optional in the context of a game such as Eternity. However, the storytelling started well before the ships moved across the screen. Though small, these tiny elements carry not only the visual identity of the spaceships but also validate, as a whole, the story we want to tell the player.
May your ships fly true and shiny