Matt Mocarski is art director for the studio and he talks up his passion. Also released is a full shot of the debut trailer for Carbine and NCsoft's new MMO project.
It's a future fantasy setting with a hand-crafted visual style. The studio says "players will see both fantasy and sci-fi elements in our world and our gameplay". It's had some inspirations like Disney's Atlantis and even from comics like Hellboy and Battle Chasers.
"We knew that our game was for adults," art director Matt Mocarski blogged, "so we studied shows like Naruto and Full Metal Alchemist to see how they balanced a unique visual style with stories that had both humour and drama."
"We paint all of our textures from scratch," he revealed. "We try not to use any photo reference in our assets. We make sure everything has a strong silhouette with really strong personality. Everything from a mountain to a chair should be an expression of character whether that's a specific mood or the history of the asset."
"We believe our art style has an element that is missing from a lot of games on the market, and that's a sense of fun," he continued.
"I love looking at our art. It tells a story. It screams, Come out and play!' I'm happy when I run around our world. It feels magical - like anything is possible. I often find myself running around the world for hours just to be there."
The new MMO from Carbine and NCsoft will unveil next week at Gamescom.