Saints Row Enemy Factions: Marshall
I was Art Director on Saints Row (2022) and was responsible for developing the high level art direction for the game including the enemy factions in the world.
I had the opportunity to work with some amazingly talented Associate Art Directors, Art Leads, and artists, both internal and external, to develop the concepts and ideas below to define and describe the enemy factions of the Saints.
Check out my GDC 2023 presentation "The Art Direction of Saints Row" for an overview of the style of the game. It's available in the GDC Vault!
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1029337/The-Art-Direction-of-Saints
The overall look for many enemies is Saints Row, is a mashup of concepts. For Marshall, they were paramilitary sci-fi cowboys. Marshall has extensive corporate backing and can essentially develop and build any custom weapon or vehicle they need. At the lowest end of the enemy line-up we use security guards, then move up into soldiers, and then finally into full on sci-fi cowboy 'specialists'. These higher level enemies were designed to have unique combat kits, weapons, and abilities.
We designed a variety of custom weaponry, vehicles, and locations for Marshall across the map.
Marshall Faction Brand
1. Color - Blue, White, and Green accents. Green was used for any technology (lasers, glows, etc..)
2. Shapes - Bias towards circles, then blocky shapes, then sharps
3. Metal - Stainless Steel
4. Element - Air
Factions promote one primary color that is used in exclusively for the game. This helps the Faction stand out and be immediately recognized as well as provide an opportunity for the Faction to have a high visual priority on screen. For Marshall the primary color is Blue, then white, then green (for their tech)
Marshall window toss concept. We created a series of illustrations depicting the new enemy factions to capture their style and tone. Concept by Sperasoft.
Cinematic clip featuring the Marshall enemy faction.
All the major factions in the game had high level ingredients that manifested in different ways. For the Marshall, they were blue with white and green accents, favored round shapes, had stainless steel as their metal, and air as their element.
Marshall Defense Technologies logo design. The 'M' logo design was intended to look like a classic ranch cattle brand, to help tie into the region and cowboy aesthetic.
Marshall Color Palette
Marshall Enemy Line-up. At the lowest level we have security guards, then soldiers, then our specialists the Wrangler, Gunslinger, and Gatling Gunner. On the far right is Atticus Marshall, CEO of Marshall Defense Technologies. Concepts by Sperasoft.
Simple color blocking image from early in development. Color blocking is important to Saints Row, since the tradition is color-coded enemies. Laying them out and seeing how they read as a group and defining color patterns is key. Concept by Sperasoft.
Concept of Marshall HQ. For Marshall's corporate headquarters, we designed a stylized cowboy boot skyscraper surrounded by green grass, a symbol of wealth in arid climates. (most of the rest of the city has no green grass by design)
Marshall designs and creates their own vehicles. The hoverbike was especially fun to create to get a 'horse' for their look. Concepts by Josh Norman.
Marshall VTOL concept by Josh Norman.
We created our own Marshall digital camouflage patterns. Instead of using square pixels that you see in most camo, we used circles to tie into the higher level ingredient theme.
In-game model of the standard Marshall soldier's rifle.
Marshall Gatling Gun concept by Josh Norman. This was before we included the camo pattern. Here we are heavily incorporating the use of stainless steel (Marshall signature metal ingredient)
Early concept of the Marshall single shot carbine by Josh Norman. We experimented with wood elements in some higher level weapons to highlight the cowboy aesthetic.
In-game Marshall Carbine. The final model includes the digital camoflage pattern we developed.
Marshall Charge Rifle, a high end weapon. Concept by Josh Norman.
For Marshall, we needed to design a variety of high tech equipment like these mines. Concept by Josh Norman.
For Marshall, we needed to design a variety of high tech equipment. Marshall can lock down enemy movement with energy tethers that emanate from this device. Concept by Josh Norman.
Screenshot from an early cinematic where the Boss is working for Marshall and tries to apprehend a fugitive escaping in a Marshall VTOL.
Screenshot from a Marshall 'training montage' cinematic.
Screenshot of Neenah and the Boss on a Marshall jetbike.
Marshall Wallpaper created by the Brand team.