Loki (R&D Project)

Loki began as a way to unite the strands of an Atomhawk R&D initiative under one prevailing theme. A team with a diversity of skillsets, creative perspectives, and professional experience, would come together as a cohesive whole, making Loki their mutual focus. As a starting point, Principal Concept Artist Mauro Cerati provided the Loki team with the project’s initial art direction, work that had real clarity, but with absolute flexibility built in. His intention was to provide a space where the team could experiment both with their own creative output and within their collaborative relationships. Mauro said:

“Our people were producing exceptional internal portfolio art – really good stuff, but it felt like there was a bit of a disconnect occasionally— we were trying to keep this one truly cohesive. I felt we could come together with a single project that we could all participate in. That way, everything speaks together.”

Mauro drew inspiration from the visual language of an electrocardiogram (ECG). Within Loki, this irregularly spiked motif tracks the path to Valhalla, as he explained: “This path visually represents the heartbeat slowing down—the thin line between life and death.”

Usually, Mauro is found working on environment and props. Loki presented an opportunity for him to exercise his leadership skills, art direction, and create a vision that would inspire this new project team.

Beginning with this concept of a faltering heartbeat, he produced concept sketches, aligning the warrior journey with the final moments before the afterlife. By weaving the ECG motif into Loki’s environments, Mauro established an evocative through-line that underscores the seismic transition between mortality and mythical eternity. That vision became Loki’s north star; one simple visual statement that would propel and shape all future design decisions.

Visual development has always been a strength at Atomhawk, but the Loki project team amplified this capability with a prototype built in Unreal Engine. In large part this was driven by Mauro’s determination to see his team’s 3D assets running in real time.

“I thought it’d be cool to gather them and create a small demo—just to show how the game could look,” he says. The resulting prototype delivered a tangible glimpse of Loki’s potential—bridging the gap between concept art and playable product.

Above all, the Loki project team embodies this ethos: empowering artists to explore and take calculated risks, within a supportive framework. By championing projects like this, Atomhawk hones our skills, masters new tools, and sparks the type of creative culture that makes us love coming to work every day. For Mauro, harnessing their energy and drive, while staying true to the cornerstone idea was vital:

“Momentum and vision are the key factors in a project. There will never be a ‘perfect painting’ or a ‘perfect game,’ but as long as everything serves that core vision, you end up with something cohesive—and you actually finish it.”

Let’s look at a breakdown of the gameplay and concepting elements required to weave Loki into a cohesive, magical whole. How and why did this collaborative approach work so well?

Gameplay was a top consideration for Loki, informing everything from environment designs to creature encounters. Multiple visual cues—lanterns, rings, auroras, lost souls—are woven together into interactive gameplay elements that hinge on musical performance.

Travis Anderson, a Senior Concept Artist took the lead on conceptualizing everything from guiding lights to speed boats. His contribution illustrates how Loki’s mythic journey can become an engaging, rhythm-based player experience.

When he created his ‘living waves and lanterns’ concept, he imagined a Greek mythology-inspired waterway to the afterlife, complete with floating lanterns to guide lost souls. Players align with or ‘collect’ these lanterns in time with the music, turning them into interactive markers in a rhythm-based navigation system.

The ‘speed-boost rings’ concept transforms the large, ring-like structures glimpsed in Mauro’s key art into dynamic, interactive gates. Players must achieve the correct musical notes or sequences in order to pass through, earning a speed or progress boost as they do so.

The image above on the left is Travis’s ‘aurora borealis paths’ concept . It remodels simple navigation lines as a mesmerizing play of lights, mimicking the real-world northern lights.

In the middle is the ‘rock band-style note tracking’ concept. Setting up a split interface: a harp cutaway on one side, and note tracks on the other—very much like a rhythm game.

On the right is the ‘world-tree branching’ concept, here Travis took inspiration from Yggdrasil, the Norse mythology’s tree of life. As the correct notes are inputted, the foliage grows.

Asher Ben Alpay is a Concept Artist who often tackles environment design work. For Loki, Asher pivoted smoothly. Given the creative freedom to innovate and experiment as he tested the limits of multiplayer gameplay, Asher found real joy in Loki’s setting, the genre, and the process of creation itself. Asher says on deciding the chosen game mode, called ‘deliver the souls’:

“In this mode, players race to deliver the most souls to the afterlife while avoiding obstacles and hitting musical notes in sync to propel their boats. The player who delivers most souls at the end is the winner.”

A real-time view of all competitors ups the tension, as everyone can see who’s forging ahead and who’s struggling.

Loki required dramatic, detail-rich set dressing, much of which was designed by Hilary Purnamasari, Intermediate Concept Artist. For Hilary, Loki presented an opportunity to do what she loves; refine her skills while working on environment design and destructible props. The bridge she designed for the Valkyrie settlement was a favourite project. Hilary explained why:

“I personally like that design most. I wanted to achieve a rough, tribal vibe, so I combined straight lines like tree trunks and architectural elements, with organic ones and makeshift beams, breaking up any rigid, man-made look.”

Locating the bridge over water also introduced a ‘breakability element,’ as the players’ boats could come crashing through, heightening both the gameplay potential and the lived-in feel of the Valkyrie settlement.

Hilary added visual interest and hinted at a culture capable of flight, which in turn reinforces the Valkyrie world’s connection to air and sky. The stilted bridges, houses and raised structures break away from an otherwise flat layout, adding dimension and verticality.

Sprinkling in remnants of shattered boats throughout the environment, Hilary aimed to imply earlier thwarted challengers who had braved Valhalla’s chasms and failed. She says: “There’s a lot of crashed boats. I spent time just exploring different scenarios that may have led to them being smashed up.”

For the buildings that make up the Valkyrie village, Hilary combined Viking architectural detailing with a Valkyrie silhouette that had been created by Adam Lee, fellow Intermediate Concept Artist. Tying everything together, she added organic beams and wing-like shapes that mirror Adam’s original Valkyrie designs. She says:

“It’s all inspired by the Valkyrie silhouette, and everything has to marry together.” Through these features, Hilary aimed to show “a community that can fly… one that’s connected to the world of birds. I enjoyed it a lot. I knew what I was being asked to do but I had the freedom to experiment. Mauro gave us a brief—references, key themes, emotional tone—so we knew what was expected but gave us space for our own creativity.”

Everyone pitched in for Loki. These sketches by Felix Bernard, Associate Art Manager, weren’t only about following the brief or hitting deadlines—they were about diving into the process for the joy of it. When you’re free to experiment and explore, the work might take on a life of its own, providing another layer to everything we’ve done with Loki.

“For me, sketching is all about intentional practice and honest enjoyment,” said Felix. “When you let go of strict expectations, you might unlock whole new avenues of creativity.”

Asher answered the challenge of the harp boat, refining the watercraft’s tuning mechanism and building on an established design. Beginning with a series of sketches, he moved into 3D modelling, then finished the task with paint-overs in Photoshop. Asher says:

“My responsibility was just part of the boat—the tuning device for the strings. I tried echoing some of the shapes from the back portion of the boat.”

The way in which the central Valkyrie illustration was created encapsulates the collaborative spirit that came to define Loki as a whole. Adam Lee began this process, by creating the initial design for the Valkyrie. Then, Senior Concept Artist Lauren Nichols crafted the illustration, while Russell Jones, Lead Concept Artist, lent the piece tweaks and final polish.

“Originally, the idea started with a more armoured Valkyrie,” Adam explains, “but we tried to change that and make it more graceful.”

Inspired by how some birds perch their wings across their chests, Adam folded the Valkyrie’s wings to make her silhouette feel poised and regal. He also played with seasonal color variations, like birds migrating, so her abilities and palette could shift with the changing weather.

Tying it all together are Pagan-inspired tattoos that glow when she channels magic, along with subtle ‘root’ elements hinting at a deeper connection to the earth. In Adam’s words, “We tried to add that witchcraft vibe, so the tattoos power up when she’s casting.”

Together, the Siren and the Underwater Hydra provide a dual-threat dynamic. Devised by Adam, the Siren distracts and entices the player’s boat while an Underwater Hydra lurks below, ready to strike at every misstep.

“The Siren’s going to lure the boat in, almost like a prey into a trap,” Adam explains, “it’s flashy, it catches your eye, then the Hydra uses the Siren as bait.”

On land, the player’s boat journey to Valhalla is enabled by two rugged and majestic mountain goats, designed by Brendan Krause, Senior Concept Artist, and Russell Jones. Toothgrinder and Toothgnarler are muscular beasts with physicality and powers.

“We had this idea of a mountain goat sort of creature, but I started combining that with a few other animals. The shoulders of a bull and the head and horns of a mountain goat give the animal those heroic proportions. The horns were a really big part of the silhouette and how this creature would be recognized,” Brendan said.

Speaking about the collaborative effort that brought the designs to life, Brendan highlighted Russell’s final painting work:

“I brought them to a certain level of finish, but it was great to see the work that Russell did on the final painting—he really just took them to the next level. It was a great team effort, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Whether painting a fresh piece or refining someone else’s sketch, each team member kept the overarching vision front and center. Every tweak, revision, or brand-new concept drove Loki forward as a singular initiative.