Cú Chulainn Game Assets

The nature of this project was to create an extensive series of in-game assets and concept art for a would-be retro-style video game. Having had success with adapting folklore and myth into illustration in the past, I decided to focus my efforts on the tales of Cú Chulainn, a Celtic demigod and folk hero whose tragic adventure makes up the bulk of the epic known as the Ulster Cycle. An early first century example of many of today’s dark fantasy tropes, it made for the perfect backdrop of an imagined “Metroidvania” style rpg-platformer.

Besides being a skilled warrior and loyal guardian of his homeland, Cú Chulainn’s most iconic feature is his “Warp-Spasm” transformation. When enraged, Cú Chulainn’s muscles twist and his bones break as his strength builds past what his own body is even able to handle, until what bursts forth is an unrecognizable mass of sinewan rage. Knowing this, I designed Cú Chulainn’s base form to be small and thin in stature, so the contrasting strength of his more beastial form could be greater highlighted. For the Warp-Spasm itself, I went with an inky silhouette so I could freely and mysteriously distort his limbs and features in service of his actions.

Though previously a product of hardware limitations, the surge of nostalgic indie video games in the past decade has elevated pixel art into a field all its own. Working with it this semester has been a challenge and a blast, as the strict square grid and low resolution prevents the use of linework and organic shapes as I knew them, resulting in a warped, almost cross-eyed feeling at times. It became about manipulating pixel building blocks into something that averages into the appearance of a form, not dissimilar from the captured light rays of the Impressionists, or perhaps more accurately the splotchy squares of Chuck Close. At the same time, designing both characters and poses with the express purpose of broadcasting several actions to an imaginary player blurred the line between what I know about character design and user-interface design, and forced me to expand what I know about figures in motion.