The Cyprus-based game studio Nekki has been around for a while now, and is probably best known for the Shadow Fight series of martial arts games on mobile. But SPINE is the studio’s first attempt at a AAA PC and console title, and what’s more, the developers are going all-in with a transmedia approach that includes tie-in comics, board games, merchandise and even a movie and TV series.
So how do you go about creating a brand-new franchise from scratch? Art director Alexander Nemov and lead character artist Olga Ivanova explain about the design processes that have gone into creating SPINE, how inter-team coordination has been key to creating a cohesive world, and how Unreal Engine 5 has been a boon to this small team.
