Loftia : a new cozy solarpunk MMO

Work Type:

Remote - Qloud Games

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Software:

‍Photoshop, Blender3D, Unreal Engine 5, Clip Studio Paint, Miro/Figma

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Tasks:

Concept Art, Game Art, Level Design, Level Art/Environment art, Art Direction (shared), consulting for game industry.

"Drawing inspiration from beloved cozy games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, along with classic MMOs, we've crafted a new, solarpunk world where you can build your new home, and work together with others toward a brighter, more sustainable future." Loftia.gg

DISCLAIMER : The art shown here is very early concept art publicly shown. Concept arts here are highly speculatives and do not confirm any game design decisions or visuals that will end up ingame. It's research!

I started on Loftia on June 2022. The team was then working on the WebGL version of the game with a very different vision from what we know today.

I was brought as concept artist but ended up expanding my responsibilities toward game industry consulting, art direction that I shared with Felysia Chew, and basic tasks of game and level design as well as art.

This helped bring Loftia to Kickstarter whic succeeded way beyond our wildest hopes at 1,271,661 USD from the originally set 150,000 USD.

The team having grown from 7 people to almost 30, I am nowworking mostly as a concept artist where I can let my imagination run wild.

Loftia encompasses two dreams of mine: working on an MMO since I started playing World of Warcraft back in 2004, and working on a project that makes sense to me. Impactful, which can help and inspire people. Even better, Loftia's theme is Solarpunk and tackles ecology themes!

Here I'll try to give you a sneak peek at how I tackle concept art for Loftia.

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CONCEPT ART ON LOFTIA

It's no surprise if I tell you news are grim. Everywhere we are assaulted by anger, sadness, guilt. Whether we learn about wars, epidemics, catastrophic events, extremisms and climate change... These stories are everywhere. These news, though important, are painting a post apocalyptical world. A world where everything dies, where no escape is possible, no solution viable. Hope is literally non-existent. We end up fearing everything. From strangers that could harm us to touching metro bars in case they transmit some diseases.

But there is another side of the coin, a hopeful one.

People all around the world are looking for solutions. New, technological ones but also digging into our past and revealing old wisdom. Kindness is found in many interactions. This is what I want to depict in the concepts I share for Loftia. Some of those are inspired by abandonned technology, by very early prototypes, by technology so niche it is unknown from the public. Some concepts are inspired by nature and its incredible ways to deal with the environment.

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THE BAKERY

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@loftia.gg Welcome to Loftia’s eco-friendly bakery! A cozy, two-story bakery that’s abundant with all your favourite treats from around the world, baked by the sun. ☀️ We want to include many diverse cultural cuisines, as well as staple bakery treats, so let us know what kind of breads, pastries and cakes we should include on the menu! 🍰 What’s cool about our bakery is that it utilises a solar oven, which works by harnessing the sun's rays through a reflective surface and then concentrating that sunlight onto a dark-colored cooking vessel. The absorbed sunlight is then converted into heat energy, raising the temperature inside the oven to bake without the need for electricity - making it a really eco-friendly cooking method! ♻️ As the player, you’ll also be able to contribute to the bakery by donating your harvested crops or leftover ingredients to the baker (who might make some interesting seasonal goodies every now and then). This will support Loftia’s circular economy, and ultimately promote sustainability and reduced food wastage. 😊 We’re so happy with how this 3D model of the bakery turned out, and hope you do too. The little croissant handle is just adorable 🥺 and we can’t wait to show you the interior! As always, thank you for supporting Loftia and our development journey! Make sure to join our cozy community on Discord, and sign up to our mailing list for Kickstarter updates! Link in bio 🥰 #gametok #gaming #videogames #gamingcommunity #pcgames #mmorpg #thesims #animalcrossing #cozygamecommunity #cozygames #solarpunk #sustainability #solarenergy #gamedev #indiegame #wholesomedirect #bakery #3dart #unrealengine #unity3d #3dgames ♬ Coffee Lounge - Bequem

The study cafe, one of the interiors I helped putting up together in-game. Concept Art by Felysia Chew, the whole art crew worked together on this place.

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THE TECH DISTRICT

The tech district is a particularly interesting part of the city. I envision many drones and robots wandering around. Many experiments happening like miniature wind turbines, vegetation walls but also more futuristic ones like air purifying algae or weather modifying drones and holograms. The streets and buildings would be filled with aquarium tanks in order to keep the district cool from the high energy use. Such water, being heated by the energy consumption would be at the right temperature to help fish conservation and studies.

When it comes to certain complex technologies, we can also count on our ecology consultants to guide us and explain how things work. Like we did for the portable batteries (hemp based and salt water based, both in current early research and development phase).

THE GUILD HALL

One of the firsts concepts of the guild halls. A place for players to gather in communities. I wanted for those places to be about connection and cozyness.

The aquarium at the center of the room would be connected to the Tech district, bringing in fishes while cooling down the energy systems of the hall. Players would be able to dive into the tank to do a number of quests or connect with other parts of the city as a way to fast travel. Other than that they could also handle the (non alcoholic) bar and the kitchen in order to serve other players from their community. (Everything here is highly speculative)

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We need more wholesome games and projects. We need culture to give hope, to show bright alternatives exists, instead of bringing us down to the depths of hopelessness. But dear Sam says it better :

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