Bloom 🌷
Bloom is a serene journey of growth and renewal, where you restore desolate planets by spreading musical flowers and solving tactile puzzles. Explore, find your voice, and spread life through creativity and sound 🎶✨
Bloom was made in 6 weeks during DADIU (The National Academy of Digital, Interactive Entertainment), a collaboration between Danish educational institutions that simulates the development process of a game studio. As Art Director, I lead Bloom's visual design and guided a department of 3D artists within a team of 14 students from art, design, sound, film, and tech backgrounds.
Roles: Art Direction ∙ 3D Art ∙ Tech Art
Bloom's visual style reflects its quiet, emotional core - a story about connection, growth, and renewal told without dialogue or explicit narrative. The player is meant to aesthetically feel what the game is about, with art and sound intertwining to guide their journey.
Soft pastel tones evoke calm, inviting players to leisurely explore the planets - while solving puzzles uncovers vibrant flowers, marking moments of discovery and change. As they overcome challenges the world blooms, harmonizes with their song, and leads them on a path of growth and renewal.
Flowers & Planets
The planet's flora was designed to visually signify zones through shape and color, aiding the player's orientation and navigation. Their extravagant nature contrasts with that of the reserved character - echoing flirtation and an invitation to come out of their shell, peering into the unknown. They draw inspiration from self documented references, including plants I observed at the Copenhagen Botanical Gardens.
Character Design
The character's naked translucency conveys vulnerability and innocence, contrasting with the bold flowers. Enlarged eyes, ears, and nose suggest keen observation 👀 while an absent mouth reflects their reserved nature. That is, until they sing! To give them their distinct glow ✨ I used a thickness map texture, emulating a subsurface scattering effect.
2D concept art
Character sings
Final 3D model + material
Visual Guides
Guides and concept art for environment design, animations, and interactions, which I created to guide artists and support designers exploring the level design.
Credits
Art Direction, 3D Art, Tech Art: Mati Kalter
Audio Design: Karl Birk Andersen
3D Art: Stefany í Túni
3D Art: Bowie Romer Jørgensen
Composition: Johan Feierskov
Game Design: Caroline Sofie Hansen
Game Design: Milas Ray Manley Norman
Game Direction: Anneli Søgård-Høyer
Production: Zedrick Villegas-Evans
Lead Programming: Julian Szachowicz
Programming: Bruce Esplago
Programming: Emil Vilandt Rasmussen
Programming: Jingyan Wang
Programming: Nikolaj Meineche
Audio Design: Karl Birk Andersen
3D Art: Stefany í Túni
3D Art: Bowie Romer Jørgensen
Composition: Johan Feierskov
Game Design: Caroline Sofie Hansen
Game Design: Milas Ray Manley Norman
Game Direction: Anneli Søgård-Høyer
Production: Zedrick Villegas-Evans
Lead Programming: Julian Szachowicz
Programming: Bruce Esplago
Programming: Emil Vilandt Rasmussen
Programming: Jingyan Wang
Programming: Nikolaj Meineche
