TheArtOfHorizonZeroDawnArtbook PDF
TheArtOfHorizonZeroDawnArtbook PDF
TheArtOfHorizonZeroDawnArtbook PDF
I
Guerrilla Games' artists took some liberties with
A
loy is motherless in a tribe that worships
the literal practicality of the costumes, but great
motherhood, and so she is considered an
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effort was spent ensuring that the construction
outcast. Her guardian, however, raised her in the Nora
of the costume was believable and consistent.
traditions, teaching her to adopt their crafting and
hunting techniques. Given her outsider's perspective,
Aloy invents new ways of doing and making things.
She has an individualistic streak that is expressed
in her unique appearance, even when clothed in
tribal garb. Her outfits are designed purely for agility
and protection; no heavy plate armor,just practical
hunting gear that speaks to her personality. From
a concept point of view, the outfits include lots of
iconography and decorations designed to accentuate
graceful movement. Color choices are vibrant, with
flowing surfaces and loose hanging items for abundant
secondary motion.
"These are just a small selection of the experimental illustrations used
to develop Aloy's hair. Guerrilla carefully considered how the shape and
motion of the hair, combined with gestures and visage, could be used to
accentuate Aloy's expressiveness." llya Golitsyn, Senior Concept Artist
NORA I ALOY 17
A
great deal of thought has been given to Aloy's personality
and philosophy, which in turn influences how she looks and
behaves. The Nora have formed their own beliefs regarding the fate
of the world and how the machines came to be. Aloy's sharp insight
and rational mind, compounded with her outsider status, often pulls
her into conflict with those who hold such beliefs.
in terms of tools and access to materials. Across Aloys world there are
commonalities in design and construction practices, levels of technological
development, and use of tools and materials. Decoration varies between
tribes, however, allowing for objects like Aloy's bow to look unique.
23
A
s Aloy is an outsider, with no fixed place in any tribe, it makes
sense for her to customize her look as she moves through the
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world of Horizon Zero Dawn. Her wide range of costumes not only has
a gameplay function, with each one providing unique abilities when
worn, but also helps foster an understanding of Aloy as a character.
Although every outfit is unique and representative of a tribe, there is
still a distinct silhouette t?at preserves Aloy's visual identity. It includes zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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repeatirig elements such as the skirts and bags, along with motifs that
are uniquely Aloy; su'ch as her hair.
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W
ith authenticity among the key design principles, the weapons
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Horizon Zero Dawn needed to look and operate in a
believable fashion. The fun part for Guerrilla was to imagine how
humans might go about constructing them, given that each tribe only
has a limited level of technological understanding. For each weapon, the
artists dreamed up designs that had not been done before. Some have
a strategic one-off purpose, such as those blasted from the machines
during battle. Smaller bits and pieces, though, can be used to build and
craft a better armory.
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O CHARACTERS
I n the matriarchal Nora society,women are valued higher than men for their physical and
intellectual flexibility.The Nora believe a women's even temperament makes her better suited to
be a leader, one that's more conducive to long-term stability. Hence, the most splendid character is
the elderly Matriarch, a grandmoeher worthy of the greatest honor. Matriarchs not only take care of
their own bloodline, but manage the welfare of their settlement as a whole - 'super mothers'.
A woman's capability to create new life has greatly inspired Nora spiritual sensibility,resulting in the
worship of an All-Mother' deity. Beyond the ruling circle of High Matriarchs, leadership positions
are almost always held by women, including martial leaders such as the War-Chief.Since the Nora
are a devout and spiritual people, they do not dress exclusivelyin practical garb, but adorn their
clothes with iconography and trinkets designed to bestow the blessing and favor of the All-Mother.
hunt machines for parts which they then use to create armor, weapons and tools.
Given the risks involved, machine-derived equipment is treasured by the owner,
NORA LOCATIONS 35
\
T his impressive gateway [ right J is covered in Nora symbolism
- in this case signs representing their goddess, the All-
Mother. It leads to a sheltered area called the Embrace, where
the Nora train their young hunters and raise their children. The
Nora are very protective of their own people, building massive
fortifications around settlements; enormous walls on the frontiers
of Nora territory.They are quite xenophobic, expressed through
their suspicion toward outlanders. Indeed, prior to events in zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Horizon Zero Dawn, it was forbidden for anyone other than Nora
to enter their territory; intruders would be killed on sight. To the
left of the main image, the interior is a sacred location. However,
the Nora do not gather at designated buildings to worship the
All-Mother, choosing to express their beliefs during their day-to-
day lives instead.
•
seasons and the major cycles of machine behavior, as well as to celebrate
the miracle of childbirth. Even,: birthdaY. is a sigi:iificant event, althougl:i
celebrating the blessed mother as opP.osed to their fortunate offsP,ring.
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ilhe children bring gifts to their mothers, not the other waY. around,
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Balconies. said to be characteristic of the
region, are worked into various iterations to see how
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LEFT: Traders converse in the shade, perhaps sharing
philosophical views in addition to comparing the prices
of goods. Under the rule of the new Sun-King, cultural
exchangein Meridian has become every bit as important
to its development as the wealth that it has acquired.
Every product of Meridian is the result of
Composed of stylized machine feathers, the star with eight rays [occasionally seen with four or five rays] is a
representation of the Sun god of the Carja religion. It can be found everywhere in Meridian, from pavement mosaics and
door ornamentation to the High Priest's gowns and the Sun-Kinq's symbols of power.
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Q SHADOW CARJA
T he exiles of the Carja civil war, the hardline Shadow Carja, mainly consist of the deposed Sun-
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King's military, priests, and old aristocracy. Itamen, the young son of the late king, is held captive
by the Shadow Carja, who use him as a figurehead. They have taken refuge in the summer residence of
the Carja kings, Sunfall, an imposing fortification now surrounded by rugged refugee camps. One of the
key locations found within Sunfall is a second Sun Ring, a huge arena for gladiatorial games and religious
rituals. When the Mad Sun- King invoked brutal religious rituals from the distant past, thousands of
captives and dissenters were forced to battle machines to the death in ritual combat inside the Sun Ring.
H ere we see Itarnen, son of the overthrown mad kingJahadin,
and his mother, the dowager queen Nasadi, both pawns in
Helis and Bahavas's dangerous game. They preside over the Shadow
Carja who, having been driven from their ancestral lands, now cling
fervently to tradition. Shadow Carja iconography is aggressive,
especially when it comes to armor and military uniforms. Dress
varies wildly with class: the military and elites have access to fine or
exotic materials through raiding and hoarding, but such access pales
in comparison to their cousins in Meridian, so their dress remains
relatively austere. Priests still employ ornamentation, but in a far less
ostentatious way than that of the Sun Carja.
SHADOW CARJA 73
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LEFT: Vanasha is a handmaiden to Dowager Queen
Nasadi, mother to the pretender Sun-King ltamen.
I I
ACTERS
T he Oseram Vanguard are a member of the elite
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military force that helped Sun- King Avad win the
civil war and capture Meridian. They are exceptional
smiths, trappers and traders. The Oseram are hardy and
burly people, and strong-willed whether large or slender.
While women are said to be as influential as the men in
general leadership, overall Oseram government is male-
dominated; women are welcomed and heard during debate,
but their place is considered to be in the village,while men handle
hunting, excavation and trade.
"The biggest challenge in designing Oseram
armor was to have them use a lot of forged
metal elements, without making it look too
much like typical medieval armor. We ended
up using more primitive ways to connect rough
metal pieces to a leather base, more knots and
ropes rather than buckles and chain mail."
llya Golitsyn
•
Oseram armor derives from their blacksmithing roots. Warriors first wore leather smocks into battle. Over time,
work robes were reinforced: aprons turned into cuirasses, smelting masks into helmets, blacksmithing gloves into
spiked gauntlets.
• •• .
. . •
Oseram villages are remarkable for their lack of grandeur. Even those
that have existed for hundreds of years retain the rustic look of frontier
outposts and forts. Rugged exteriors reflect values of functionality over
ostentation. Villages are independent political entities with clearly defined
territorial holdings. In theory they would come to each other's defense
when attacked by an external enemy, but in practice the impregnability of
the villages has rendered this a moot point.
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ne can clearly see the variety of Oseram architecture and
crafting capability by contrasting the beehive hut [ aboveJ, used
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as temporary housing around logging sites, with the impressive Clan
Mansion [left]. The latter's balustrade framing the roof terrace, long
flights of steps, food storage facilities and copper-encased chimneys
make it seem more like a castle than an abode. Again we see the metal
bindings and a distinctive domed theme. Every last ounce of!ocal
resource has been stacked, strapped and riveted to rise out of the rock.
T
he Oseram are tinkerers - they constantly seek to improve the
functionality of their gear. Often, they try to combine multiple
functions into a single item. Sometimes this leads to less practical but
more entertaining results, which is just as welcome. The Oseram like
to surprise and impress other people with their gadgets.
~·
The Oseram use metal anchors to clasp stone
building blocks in place. Though the cultural preference is
for simplicity, clever designs suggest pride in their work.
•
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A
visual guide was shared among all members of the creative team to instruct them
on the 'Oseramification' of different objects and structures. Regardless of whether
the job entailed designing props like mechanical hammers, or locking down elements
of tribal motifs, the visual guide would ensure that it belonged in the Oseram culture.
The mechanical hammer in question would have to show wear and tear, for example,
to imply hardiness even after heavy usage. Basic weapons have a certain flair to their
design, hinting at the intelligence behind the gruff Oseram facade. Icons are said to be
heraldic, after a history of warring clans requiring identification. Non-heraldic designs
are composed almost entirely of circles and squares.
• I• •
' CHARACTERS
~
D
'ark and foreboding, the Bandits are at their most
frightening when they appear to be playful. Dressed to
intimidate, they use scraps of machine plates as crudely assembled
armor and decoration, creating a gruesome silhouette that
mimics the spike motif seen in their environments.
materials from the mechanical beasts, which the Bandits use to fortify
their camps.
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BANDITS LOCATIONS lOi
l CULTURE
andit society is lawless and ruthless, and the materials and props
B that make up the Bandit settings are designed to reflect this.
Valuables are kept in lock-ups to prevent greedy fingers from
gaining access, as gang members are notoriously undisciplined,
according to the designers at Guerrilla. These objects also
represent the unorganized, organic style of
Bandit construction.
as opposed to smashing.
A CHARACTERS
T he Banuk are skilled warriors but even better hunters.
The spear is their weapon of choice, and they obsess
about finding sharper points (frequently from filing machine
parts) and crafting stronger, more decorative shafts. They are
particularly skilled at using spears to hit junctures between ·
machine armor plates, damaging or incapacitating their prey.
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he individual's will to survive is the key tenet of Banuk life. A
Banuk always strives to prove his or her worth, and there is
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great satisfaction in being the best hunter, the best fighter, the best
guide, the best climber, or even the best at starting fires. Someone
who combines all of these skills into a rugged, heroic survivalist is
considered a paragon. There is no formal training for hunters and
warriors; young men and women learn by watching and doing, usually
from their parents. Everything is sink-or-swim: A true Banuk is honed
by the ordeal of survival, and if they don't cut it, others will look to
someone who can. The best hunter leads, male or female, and the
other hunters are expected to acknowledge that their skills are inferior
unless they can prove otherwise.
"Developing the Banuk was a chance to go a
bit more tribal, compared to the aesthetics
photography of the region as it exists in our time was highlighted by Guerrilla's concept artists as both dangerous and beautiful. The Banuk heartland
appears as a resource-rich, mystical environment. Its geothermal properties inspire all the rich color schemes for Banuk Shaman artists. Monolithic
natural formations are decorated with bright symbols that serve as landmarks.
116 THE ART OF rf-orli~ts ZERO 01\WN"
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"This image was made to give you a feeling of what daily life is like for a Banuk hunter.
The struggle f6r heat, a captured machine ready to be transported to the camp,
domesticated machines that help in the hunt, dressed up to the need of the hunter. This
is a very early concept of a Banuk scene, where we suggest they have the ability to ride on -
machines. Later on it was removed, and machine riding was limited to J\loy. Still, among
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all the tribes of Horizon Zero Dawn, they are the closest to gaining any sort of control over
machines, though they move in this airection almost blindfolded, through sheer trial and
error," Luc de Haan.
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many aspects of their culture. They decorate themselves with parts and
fluids harvested from their hunts, decorating not only their clothes and
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As nomads, the Banuk have few permanent structures, though
they have been known to construct shelters and outposts from the metal
skeletons of huge machines brought down by their hunters. Such places
consist of little more than communal sleeping rooms and watering holes.
T he Eclipse soldiers dress ceremoniously to give a mystical impression.
Their foes are intended to tremble at the sight of such strong and
determined warriors. Many of their number are famed for their individual
exploits, and are encouraged to adopt distinctive attire on the battlefield. This
warlike motif appears in the use of ejected bullet casings from ancient war
machines, which they work into totems and rosaries, as well as their masks,
which they used to hide their identity.
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"The Eclipse are a group of religious fanatics that are
excavating ancient war machines to use for their own
purposes. The challenge was to reflect this description in their
designs, while also making sure that their outfits, buildings and
artifacts were sufficiently different from those of other tribes. It
seemed fitting to make the Eclipse structures rectangular, feeble
and constructed in a rush, while also incorporating some of the
bounties they dig up:' Erik van Helvoirt, Concept Artist
ECLIPSE 13:
"After working on our fauna-oriented organic machines, it was a fresh challenge to
take a step back and think about our approach to the design of the war machines.
We brought them back to the technology level and design aesthetics of our current
era, and then augmented them to something people haven't seen before, capturing
their raw power and destructive nature. This created a natural contrast between
both machine factions.·· Roy Postma
CREAtU
I
To..reflect this naturalistic approach, Guerrilla tried to have as many machines work and
relate together as possible. The artists were quick to adopt highly optimized shapes and
forms for the machines, to suggest different roles and functions for each type. Other aspects
of designs took longer to crystalize, as a delicate balance needed to be struck
a es and advanced mechanical elements.
F or the machine designs, Guerrilla's artists realized that any real-
life animal, past or present, could be used as a reference. They
weren't bound by the actual scale of the creatures; small designs could
be adapted into bigger versions, and vice versa. Animals were chosen
based on requirements from the design side and experimentation
with what would fit. This led to the creation of a unique machine
ecology,which in turn led to one of the major mysteries in the game:
the reason for their existence.
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LEFT: "We gave every machine in
Horizon Zero Dawn a key function
46 rf-orii~~
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"The Stalker is an ambush predator that uses cloaking and traps to catch its prey off-guard. As with the other machines, we looked at real-life animals
and tried to incorporate their characteristics into the design. In this case, the base is formed by the maned wolf - it has long legs that make it seem zyxwvutsrqponm
very fast
and agile. The hexagonal plating on the side acts as a cloaking device, and gives it a high-tech look." Erik van Helvoirt
MACHINES zyxwvu
141
FO F CTION
I
n designing the Tallneck, one of the toughest challenges was to come up with a
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purpose for its graceful aesthetic. Essentially an enormous, mobile focus point
for the player, the Tallneck requires a lot of space to move around it. This makes
the machine less suitable to certain environments. As such, it took a while for
the idea of the Tallneck to 'click'. The initial concept was well-liked, but finalizing
it required approval from a lot of different stakeholders, who all had different
demands and restrictions for the machine.
A single sketch drove the concept
of the Tallneck, which has been
through many iterations since that
earliest design. The core idea of a
communication disc replacing the
head of a giraffe has stuck with the
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SECRET LIVES
OF &ACHINES
I
t took a while for Guerrilla to settle on a specific look that worked
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for all machines. The Watcher, for instance, went through one
of the longest design trajectories of any machine in zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfe
Horizon Zero
Dawn. Initially based on a small bipedal dinosaur, his appearance
kept changing and evolving throughout the project. However, there
was a sense of personality in the appearance, poses and movements
of the Watcher that made zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSR
him a team favorite. Unsurprisingly,
the machines that made it into the final game all had similarly
recognizable personalities.
it is no less breathtaking than exr.ected. Gazing ur.on these structures with . '
for the first time, she realizes that there is truth to the stories her r.eor.le tell about the Old
Ones. From afar the ruins apr.ear majestic, though the towers resemble nothing so mudi as
ilher. have a magnetic hold on Alor.'s curiosinr, and r.l
. ' . ' . . .
machines still stirs somewhere within. Benear tall rher. disapr.ear into clouds,
BELOW: Aloy stands alone in what might once have been a busy thoroughfare, the overgrown setting a far cry from the bustle of burger stands, ticket
booths and fast food restaurants. She would have no concept of this, and we are encouraged to leave such imagery behind.
been jolly and comforting in its day. Consigned to the dim, distant past, our need to consume coffee and cake seems strange.
RUINS zyxwvu
167
- ORGANIC DEGRADATION
O
ne of the problems with creating sci-f imagery that's intended to look prehistoric, is
that almost nothing has symmetry.Gazing upon something that's decrepit, we expect
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the unevenness; the broken, saggingand lopsided. Such models almost need to be sculpted,
rather than mathematicallyrendered. Texture artists also face a colossal challenge to show
the patchiness of the weather-worn effects.If the player spots repeated patterns, the illusion
is broken. This is why such scenes are rarely attempted to zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihg
the degree seen in Horizon Zero
Dawn. Sorrowful shapes are deliberately imposed on the structures, while light and shadow
A cross section of the ancient city reveals are used to describe detail in sepulchral hues. It all appears chillingly real.
mysterious structures below.
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nowhere, and sui:iports that have long since broken down. F.ra1lty rs evident
throughout these concepts, evoi<ing pity for those that once felt so comfortable and saf I I
these structures. As daylight streams through the window frames and reveals sections of collai:ised
like the trees that surround these broi<en have come to pay their
RUINS 17:
Living waters and an imagined hillside breeze make this scene
feel refreshing, like it was intended for players to breathe in
its beauty. Much like gameplay pacing and story pacing, visual
pacing is important to keep an adventurous spirit alive and
eager to face the next challenge.
'We designed different vehicles and drones for our pre-apocalyptic vision of the future. These are now rusted wrecks scattered
throughout the world, giving tbe players a glimpse of the futuristic things that are now in Aloy's past." Lloyd Allan
\
RUINS 1-
"While designing the Cauldrc
~ ISBN: 9781785653636
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ago a cataclysm destroyed