Child of Light, the Japanese-style role-playing game from Ubisoft Montreal, runs on Ubisoft's UbiArt Framework, and in a recent developer diary, the game's developers explained how the engine lets them turn concept art into in-game graphics.
Child of Light focuses on a young girl named Aurora, who awakens in the magical realm of Lemuria and must make her way back home to her father, an Austrian duke. There's a gorgeous painterly look to Child of Light, and according to Ubisoft Montreal, that was intentional — it ties in with the game's fairy tale inspiration.
"We really put forward the watercolor effect. We wanted to give the impression of being awake in an underwater dream," said art director Thomas Rollus.
Thanks to the UbiArt Framework, which Ubisoft Montpellier used for Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, the developers have a relatively simple art pipeline for Child of Light.
"The concept art is the game art; we just cut it up, and it's in the game that afternoon," said lead programmer Brianna Code.
Child of Light is set for release April 30 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. For more, check out our preview from the PS4's launch week in mid-November.