TF2 Digital Jedi

I have seen a number of articles referencing a CGSociety featured article discussing the art direction in TF2. The style keeps the game light and fun while still maintaining an extremely high level of teamplay action.

Released in 1996, the original game ”Team Fortress” was a team-based multiplayer ”Quake” mod developed by three Australian college students. ”Team Fortress” popularized the notion of class-based multiplayer gaming, in which each player chooses to adopt an explicit role, usually defined by unique weapons and abilities.

Since it was a mod developed by a small team of students, the original ”Team Fortress” had no real art direction beyond the look defined by ”Quake”. In 1998, the ”Team Fortress” mod team was hired by Valve and produced the next incarnation of the franchise in the form of ”Team Fortress Classic” using the technology of the ”Half-Life” engine. Again, the team chose a modern realistic military style, but combined it with a saturated cartoon color scheme.