General:Creating ESO: The Ogrim

The original article was posted here on April 9, 2013.

The last thing many adventurers see is the fist of the brutish ogrim crashing down on them. Read on to learn more about this tough Daedra and how we brought it to life in The Elder Scrolls Online.

You probably remember the ogrim if you played The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. We've brought this Daedra, along with many others you'll recognize, into the world of The Elder Scrolls Online. We'd like to take you behind the scenes for a closer look at how creatures like the ogrim go from concept to ferocious in-game opponents.

When creating the ogrim, we first looked at the Morrowind model and existing lore from The Elder Scrolls games. This helped us get a feel for the creature and gave us a great starting place for bringing it into ESO. As with any art that goes into the game, the ogrim began life in the concept phase. Concept artists drew up several thumbnails—quick, small sketches—with lots of ideas for visual direction. Once the Art Team settled on a direction, more images were created: color studies and several different, more detailed concepts were developed to be used as reference by Figure Artists. Below, you can see some concept art for the ogrim.

After the concept stage was completed and the artists were happy with the results, Figure Artists began creating the ogrim model you'll see in-game. Using the concept art to guide them and inform how it should look, they created the lower-resolution model first to get the basic shape and structure just right. This part of implementation is similar to a sketch—it's the rough outline for the creature. After that, the details were filled out in the higher-resolution version; finer facial details, parts of the skin like spikes and bumps, and similar features were added. Then, to top it off, Texture Artists painted the model, adding color and the finishing touches to the creature. You can see the current in-game model for the ogrim below.

For the ogrim (and all of our other creatures and NPCs), it was important to make sure it fit in with the world. It didn't just need to look good on its own; it needed to fit into the environment and look appropriate alongside player characters and other enemy creatures. The artists paid close attention to this throughout the process and always work to ensure that every piece of art works with the game's overall style; consistent visuals help us create and maintain immersion.

Even though the ogrim model was complete, there was still plenty of work to be done. Animators "rigged" the creature, providing it with a skeleton and framework for animations. With that completed, we had all the groundwork needed to get it in the game. At this point, we were really able to develop the ogrim's personality. An important part of any enemy's personality is its look, but its behaviors, animations, sounds, and effects really bring it to life. Our Monster Team worked closely with Animators, Effects Artists, and Audio to make sure that you won't forget an encounter with the ogrim in ESO! You can see a short video featuring the ogrim as it currently appears in-game below:

(The video can be found here)