A Monster's Expedition (Through Puzzling Exhibitions) is an open world puzzle game by Draknek & Friends. The game was designed to be an entry point to the genre for puzzle game novices. As such, I wanted the visual style to be colorful, calming, and approachable. Additionally, since this was a launch title for Apple Arcade, the look had to be something that was ultra-readable on small screens while also being optimized enough to run on mobile hardware. We landed on a look that featured soft, rounded forms, bright colors, and a clear visual heirarchy free of high frequency details. I managed two other modelers - Quinn Spence and Troy Kallis - to assist me in making the hundreds of exhibits found in the game.

An in-game shot from A Monster's Expedition. I love how clean and devoid of clutter this game ended up being.

An in-game shot of the arctic biome.

An in-game shot a vaguely Mediterranean biome. This one features the Kraken, which is an exhibit in the outdoor museum the game takes place in.

An in-game shot of the tropical biome.

The train from Cosmic Express - another Draknek title - is the exhibit on this island.

Mockups I created early during my time on A Monster's Expedition.

The game originally featured a different protagonist. This image shows the visual design process for her.

Storyboards, napkin sketches, drawovers; the meat of art direction.

Key art for the Apple Arcade version of A Monster's Expedition.

The album art for the game's OST, masterfully composed by Eli Rainsberry.

An asset view for the game's player character, the Monster.

Most of the exibits from A Monster's Expedition, including some that were cut for various reasons.