Conference
2017 TGDF Notes: The Art Direction of Detention
Speaker | Red Candle Games | Hans Chen
Hans Chen graduated from the Department of Industrial and Commercial Design at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. He is a co-founder of Red Candle Games and works on game art, visual design, and company design work. Before Red Candle, he worked as a freelancer and studied human-computer interaction. His background covers illustration, graphic design, animation, image processing, soundtrack work, and interactive installations.
─ Excerpted from TGDF official
These are personal notes and may not fully represent the original speaker’s intent.
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- 2017 TGDF Notes: The Art Direction of Detention
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Game case: Detention
Game type
Campus horror built around Taiwanese cultural and historical elements.
Style established
Early Detention style explorations:
The team tested campus imagery, horror tone, and distinctive visual motifs.
Character style:
Story theme and historical context shaped the art direction. Theme affects art; art reinforces theme.
- Distinctive: fresh, memorable, and recognizable.
- Atmosphere: horror, oppression, and emotional resonance.
- Production constraints: current technology and team capacity.
Process
Art design
Focus: remove unnecessary UI
Spatial memory
Because the game has no map, each space needs memorable visual anchors.
Chapters and Topics
Game color thumbnails
Unique portrait style
Attribution
Please credit ARKAI Studio and link back to this article when quoting or reposting.