The Insider - Slitherine Editorial
Field of Glory: Kingdoms is coming soon and we are going to give you a sneak peek on one of the most important elements of the game: its Illustrations.
To do that, we have interviewed Iván Cáceres, creator of more than 900 realistic illustrations for Field of Glory: Kingdoms.
Hi Iván, can you introduce yourself?
Iván Cáceres: I'm Iván Cáceres, I'm an illustrator from the Canary Islands, Spain, and I work as a 2D designer at Slitherine. Previously I have worked as an historical board game designer & illustrator. I have been working in the historical board game industry since 2017, the year I published my first game, after this I have worked on more than 30 wargames as an artist. I have been a big wargaming fan for 30 years.
Did you have previous experience on Medieval games?
Iván Cáceres: This is my first video game, but it is not my first medieval-themed work. I have previously worked on four other medieval board wargames:
Granada: Last Stand of the Moors - 1482-1492
The Charge of the 3 Kings: Navas de Tolosa 1212
Tanto Monta: The Rise of Ferdinand and Isabella
Almoravid: Reconquest and Riposte in Spain 1085-1086
Although they are all medieval, they all deal with different periods or events. I tried to give each one a distinctive character based on the period or place in which they take place.
What were the biggest challenges in Kingdoms Art?
Iván Cáceres: The period covered by the game is between 1054 and 1274 AD. It is a very early period in which iconography is not as abundant as in periods closer to the renaissance, so the documentation process sometimes becomes complicated.
On the other hand, the most arduous work came from the large number of portraits required for the game. The realistic style chosen for these made it a time-consuming task, so I had help from some of the other artists in the company to complete some of the sets. The game currently has 902 different portraits, done one by one.
Are you curious to see how Field of Glory: Kingdoms portraits are made? have a look to this one minute video:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Is the Historical accuracy important?
Iván Cáceres: I know the importance fans place on historical accuracy, so I take it very seriously. First-hand references are ideal, but my primary source of information is the internet (specialized forums) and books. The rise of historical reenactment has also been a great help, providing a lot of rigorously researched material in many cases.
Which were your inspiration sources for Kingdoms art?
Iván Cáceres: The Romanesque that characterized the early medieval period has an advantage in that it has a very particular style, with spirituality at its core. Public libraries have many manuscripts of the period available to the public on their websites which are an excellent source of royalty-free images.
The main source of inspiration for the images in the game were "Los Beatos", a series of manuscripts based on the works of Beato de Liébana, a monk who lived in Spain in the 8th century, and which share a very graphic, colorful and visually powerful style.
Were there visual Interactions with other FOG series games?
Iván Cáceres: The visual look and feel of this game builds on that of its predecessor FoG:Empires. A dark-toned UI has been maintained, but the look has been updated with the use of more "organic" textures (wood, cloth, metal), which brings it closer to the FoG:Medieval series so we can say that it contains elements of both.
To do that, we have interviewed Iván Cáceres, creator of more than 900 realistic illustrations for Field of Glory: Kingdoms.
Hi Iván, can you introduce yourself?
Iván Cáceres: I'm Iván Cáceres, I'm an illustrator from the Canary Islands, Spain, and I work as a 2D designer at Slitherine. Previously I have worked as an historical board game designer & illustrator. I have been working in the historical board game industry since 2017, the year I published my first game, after this I have worked on more than 30 wargames as an artist. I have been a big wargaming fan for 30 years.
Did you have previous experience on Medieval games?
Iván Cáceres: This is my first video game, but it is not my first medieval-themed work. I have previously worked on four other medieval board wargames:
Granada: Last Stand of the Moors - 1482-1492
The Charge of the 3 Kings: Navas de Tolosa 1212
Tanto Monta: The Rise of Ferdinand and Isabella
Almoravid: Reconquest and Riposte in Spain 1085-1086
Although they are all medieval, they all deal with different periods or events. I tried to give each one a distinctive character based on the period or place in which they take place.
What were the biggest challenges in Kingdoms Art?
Iván Cáceres: The period covered by the game is between 1054 and 1274 AD. It is a very early period in which iconography is not as abundant as in periods closer to the renaissance, so the documentation process sometimes becomes complicated.
On the other hand, the most arduous work came from the large number of portraits required for the game. The realistic style chosen for these made it a time-consuming task, so I had help from some of the other artists in the company to complete some of the sets. The game currently has 902 different portraits, done one by one.
Are you curious to see how Field of Glory: Kingdoms portraits are made? have a look to this one minute video:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Is the Historical accuracy important?
Iván Cáceres: I know the importance fans place on historical accuracy, so I take it very seriously. First-hand references are ideal, but my primary source of information is the internet (specialized forums) and books. The rise of historical reenactment has also been a great help, providing a lot of rigorously researched material in many cases.
Which were your inspiration sources for Kingdoms art?
Iván Cáceres: The Romanesque that characterized the early medieval period has an advantage in that it has a very particular style, with spirituality at its core. Public libraries have many manuscripts of the period available to the public on their websites which are an excellent source of royalty-free images.
The main source of inspiration for the images in the game were "Los Beatos", a series of manuscripts based on the works of Beato de Liébana, a monk who lived in Spain in the 8th century, and which share a very graphic, colorful and visually powerful style.
Were there visual Interactions with other FOG series games?
Iván Cáceres: The visual look and feel of this game builds on that of its predecessor FoG:Empires. A dark-toned UI has been maintained, but the look has been updated with the use of more "organic" textures (wood, cloth, metal), which brings it closer to the FoG:Medieval series so we can say that it contains elements of both.
Your dynasty is made up of your direct family plus a few major nobles. For example, take your uncle Agdi - he will probably not perform well in warfare, but he would make a decent administrator in one of your provinces.
Vassals too play an important role in the game, with players able to participate in multi-choice events with intriguing results and rewards. However, overextending their domain can result in a loss of Authority. 