WoW: Shadowlands - Revendreth
On Shadowlands, I started the first day of pre-production and was responsible for conceptualizing and pitching the theme, setting, and look for a new zone. Inspired by gothic horror and Transylvania, Revendreth is an enormous castle realm of looming keeps and gothic villages. It is home to vampires, ghosts, gargoyles, hulking giants, little Igor dudes, and other creepy crawlies.
As Zone Supervisor, I was responsible for the organization, construction, and implementation of the zone. That included meeting with stakeholders and 30+ people directly involved in the zone from environment art, concept art, character art, quest design, game design, narrative, and production. I was responsible for creating the visual style of the zone and its biomes, creating the 2D map, 3D blockout, castle construction, and critical path. I partnered with quest design and the narrative team to come up with the story beats, content flow, and characters of the zone. Then, 4 other level designers and myself finished the zone by sculpting and painting all of the terrain, building all of the POIs, and placing every art asset in the zone.
Revendreth was an incredibly ambitious zone with its large structures and verticality and it pushed the WoW engine to its absolute limit. It took an entire team of super talented artists, designers, and engineers to see it through and I am immensely proud to have been a part of it.
Revendreth World Building Team
Level Designers:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Gaqk5a
https://www.artstation.com/igerdes
https://www.artstation.com/daara87
https://www.artstation.com/vcortis
Artists:
https://www.artstation.com/pixelatedkiwi
https://www.artstation.com/lolkevinyoung
https://www.artstation.com/jessicadinh
https://www.artstation.com/matsmyrvold
https://www.artstation.com/kukoowl
https://www.artstation.com/meldyran
https://www.artstation.com/jimmylo
https://www.artstation.com/anthonygxok
Gustav Schmidt
I'm 4 years late putting this together, it's been a busy and productive 4 years :)
I made a video compilation of Revendreth including some amazing footage from IS4. Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@IS4Studio
Music by: Radion Nechaev
Revendreth is made up of 7 distinct wards. Players start in the dilapidated villages in the mist below and work their way up to the top of the castle for a final showdown.
No matter where you are, you can always see the castle raid and cathedral dungeon looming above.
The village of Darkhaven where the less powerful vampires live.
Underground crypts entrances can be found in structures throughout the zone.
Flying buttresses of the Cathedral Ward.
Statues of the vampire lord can be found throughout the zone, highlighting his vanity.
A second major biome in the zone is The Ember Ward. This area was desiccated by the forces of Light in an ancient war.
The vampire lord tortures prisoners in the Ember Ward by dooming them to burn in the light.
Once you reach the Ember Ward you can see that the castle is crumbling and not as opulent as it first appears.
The Forest Ward is the King's personal hunting grounds.
The forest biome was an important natural breakup to counter all of the hard surface architecture.
I wanted the player to be able to see the raid and dungeon from anywhere in the world, so careful thought was put into sightlines and framing. This is a view of the Cathedral dungeon from the Forest Ward.
A wing of the Cathedral Ward dungeon, The Halls of Atonement. It takes place outside in the zone and was a throwback to Scarlet Monastery.
The main tower of Castle Nathria serves as a raid.
Gargoyles serve as the King's guard and protect the castle.
The Castle Ward is home to the nobles closest to the vampire lord. Players can ride stage coaches for a quick ride around the zone.