The original Age of Empires II was a genre-defining game that’s still revered among PC gamers. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition introduced new graphical, audio and gameplay additions, delivered creative direction for storytelling elements of the game, setting the scene for a new generation, providing rich historical detail, and doing it all at scale.
Age of Empires II:
Definitive Edition
Client
Xbox Game Studios
Service lines
Marketing Art
Production Art
Platforms
Microsoft Windows
Release Date
November 2019
Overview
This remastered game of Age of Empires II was eagerly anticipated. The remake would enhance the source material, while also respecting it. This required strong creative direction from the developers who knew the original game intimately and Atomhawk became an extension of that team, providing consistent art support.
Approach
As lifelong fans of the game, our team approached this project with enthusiasm, setting an art style that’s distinctive, beautiful, and grounded in academically researched historical accuracy. This was an epic project with over 900 pieces of campaign artwork produced, which was led by our Vancouver studio with support from UK colleagues.
Stages
This project’s success was built on the research that happened during the pre-production phase when a new, flexible art style was developed. Next, the team embarked on user testing with the wider Age of Empires community. Once the style was set and the fans consulted, the existing artwork was updated, and new content created to complement it.
Result
High quality creative work delivered effectively, on time and with a new and exciting partnership in place. An invaluable outcome of this project was receiving AOE community approval, which is priceless. We continue to collaborate with Microsoft and Forgotten Empires on development and production of post-release content.
