Solving for Horror with Art

We were creating creatures that were meant to evoke terror in the players.   We knew our creatures were humans changed by a virus into a monstrous evolved form.    I wanted visuals that supported and matched the language in our creatures.

For the world, I wanted to take that theme ( evolution ) and create a parallel language we could apply to the environment.    I found a technology called Generative Design, which is an AI algorithm for optimizing and strengthening man-designed items via evolving iterative loops.    The technology would use this evolutionary process and create something new and alien looking.   In this way, it mirrored our mutation theme perfectly.    

Since the visuals were so foreign looking, it served to further isolate the player - thus meeting our horror pillar goal.

After I narrowed the visual "look" of the language using reference examples, I had the concept team apply it to our world props.   We settled on a cagey look that gave our props an industrial feel that supported our prison setting.