INDIANA JONES

In the entire history of pop culture Indiana Jones is certainly one of the top franchises we all loved and, as creatives, dreamed of working on one day. Too many childhood memories of exotic adventures, dangerous desert chases, scary suspended bridges and closing doorstones passed through at the last second, to not have grown emotionally attached.
As soon as we heard from our old partners at MachineGames distant talks of an Indiana Jones game, we jumped on it with both feet. And after 3 years of work Treehouse Ninjas contributed to an approximate 30% of the visual worldbuilding of the game. We couldn't be prouder or more grateful for having been such an important part of the revival of such a legendary brand, especially given the praise it received everywhere.

A bit like it happened for us with Cyberpunk 2077, on this project we carved the opportunity for something we are always very keen on: being able to take charge over entire areas of the game, keeping in mind how important it is to have a fullfilling variety of locations in style, architecture and mood, specifically for the growth and constant engagement of our team.

Treehouse Ninjas' contribution to the game starts after the intro and tutorial section, when Indy arrives in Rome, at Castel Sant' Angelo, where we had the opportunity to take over the environment art, starting from the castle's main architecture to its bastions, the various courtyards, and also the panoramic vista over 1937 Rome, which surrounds the game area. The castle's interiors were also included on THN's menu, all the way to Passetto di Borgo which takes Indy to the core of the Vatican.

Several areas of the Vatican were also developed by us at THN, most prominently the Sistine Chapel with its surrounding complex of chambers and corridors. Some of these areas were quite challenging to gather references from as they're usually private to the Vatican residents, which prompted MachineGames and us to organize a trip to Rome for some of our artists, for gathering photo reference where permission was granted.

In the final section of the Vatican, we got in charge of S.Peter's Basilica's cupola section, leading up to the zeppelin, of which we developed the interiors. Then Indy travels to Egypt, where THN was involved only for minor support tasks around the Giza excavation site.
The next challenge for Treehouse Ninjas was to recreate 1937 Shanghai during the dramatic bombing by the Japanese airforce. The section consists in a fast-paced flying chase where Indy tries to escape the attacks from the Japanese airplanes. This happens above and throughout Shanghai city and harbour. To make this possible we tackled the challenge procedurally, modularizing the architecture, both colonial/european and traditional/chinese, to then drive the city assembly via a system of splines accurately placed according to the historic maps of Shanghai.

In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle a lot happens in Thailand, specifically around the Sukhothai province, and in fact a lot of Treehouse Ninjas' work went into that part of the game. First, the Khaimuk Saksit Hotel was a big responsibility because important gameplay and crucial cutscenes happen there, both in its interiors and in its exteriors.
Following the hotel, THN was heavily involved across the Sukhothai temples and tombs, which also included other minor locations as part of side quests and investigations. Some of the major locations we got in charge of were the Demon's Tomb and the Wat Mahathat temples with their iconic exteriors, and their underground chambers and catacombs; having a prominent role in the Sukhothai section, and serving also as major landmarks in the jungle.

The Wat Si Sawai temple is another example of THN's work in the Sukhothai region.
In many cases the interior sections of the temples featured puzzles and dynamic elements of the environment, like complex rock and wood mechanisms, levers, tracks, hydraulic systems, pipes and wooden clockwork-like cogs that would blend with the architecture and tell a consistent story about the civilization that built those temples a long time before.

Dream/nightmare sequences are so interesting to work on: after being stung by a poisonous artifact Indy goes into a phsycho-trip dreaming about being in a 'jungled-up' Marshall College and meeting some of the main characters of the story, facing his fears and anxieties, in what we hope is a memorable section of the game.
The final chapters of the story take Indy to Iraq, at the Ziggurat excavation site where the Nazis are digging in search for the Ark, and then down to the majestic Nephilim Caves. This location involved quite a lot of brickwork and ancient brickstone structures modularization to create both the core of the Ziggurat itself and all the surrounding pieces revealed by the archeological excavation. In a way, the previous work done for the Sukhothai temples helped being effective here as the approach was similar, even if on a different architectural style.

Passed the Nephilim Caves, Treehouse Ninjas faced another huge responsibility: the story MacGuffin, Noah's Ark itself. Starting from the concept art provided to us by MachineGames we tackled this giant asset/vehicle which was also a location by itself. An asset/vehicle because it's a static element of the cave's landscape during the reveal scene, plus it's moved along by the Nazis and later put in the water, but most importantly it's an environment as its deck is the setting for the final boss fight.
As always when an item of this size is seen both from the distance in a full view and from inside (or onboard in this case), multiple versions are necessary. The full-view was developed prioritizing the cinematic reveal and the transportation sequence, prioritizing the hull and front. The onboard was worked out with the deck in mind, with a more modular approach, accommodating for closeups on the wooden planks, cinematic character framing and the final fight's dynamics.

As it turned out, players around the world loved the game, it was praised as a fun and engaging adventure, in full harmony with the vibes of the classic Indiana Jones movies from the eighties.
It was a long project that kept us busy for 3 years, since we rolled into The Order of Giants DLC with no discontinuity, revisiting the Vatican and expanding over it - among our responsibilities were the Casina di Pio plus its gardens, the Secret Armor Room and the Serpent Puzzle Chamber, with their surrounding connection areas.
The whole Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a fantastic opportunity and experience for the entire THN team; once again we could succesfully contribute to the environment art of a great game, and to the making of a product we hope will be remembered as a classic.

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