How should a modern accessible RTS game look like?
Hey Unreal Devs,
One of the first design questions for Smelogs Playground was “How should a modern accessible RTS (real-time strategy) game look like?”
And what it shouldn’t look like regarding artstyle, setting, and the overall aesthetic of the game world.
For us, it was clear that we wanted a setting and style that is fun and approachable for everyone. That’s why historical war settings and gory elements are not something we want to include. We also wanted something that feels uplifting, colorful, while being distinct in its style and settings to other RTS games.
This basically describes a peaceful setting/world which is a bit counterintuitive for an RTS game. So we thought about how the game could work in an all-natural setting first and slowly evolved towards the rocky creatures. Since we needed buildings stone buildings and the Aztec architecture were a perfect match as setting and references. Since it shouldn’t represent an actual historical/real-world location, we decided to make it a bit more mystical/fantasy with a floating island on its own world inspired by ancient Aztec ruins.
Conclusion
Artstyle: Stylized aesthetics with hand-painted textures.
Setting: Mystical Aztec world in the clouds.
Concept / Reference
We saw this concept by Annalena Weber which looked exactly like what we were looking for. And she was available and keen to work with us on the concepts for the environment, the Smelogs (Units/Buildings).
We used this concept as the main environment reference.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/NB3Ld
Annalena had some great suggestions to tie the whole environment together and added some interesting and unique elements to it. Like the wire/root-like crystals that cover the area.
(Reference Image from the Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia)
She created then two Concepts one of the floating island and one for the playing field, the Playground, which we will cover in its own Behind the Design post.
Atmosphere
Besides the fauna, the whole atmosphere has to match. So we first created a mood board on Pinterest. We then used it as a reference for the environment, sky, atmosphere, and the overall color scheme of Smelogs Playground.
You can check the mood board here 
https://pin.it/611Y2ey
Things we wanted to include in the final world composition were clouds, rivers, waterfalls, and white swallows.
Endnotes
If you have any questions or are interested in the game, let us know on our Discord about what we should post next.