They were able to help us get all of the finer details right, such as the iconography and improvised decals on the vehicles. To create the new assets and textures, we collected as much reference imagery as we could find online, but we were also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to consult with our contacts at ICRC.
In terms of new assets, IDAP is composed of branded character outfits, and a range of wheeled and propelled vehicles. The wings and the white embody the purity of IDAP's ideals, while the orange color is of course easily recognizable in conflict zones, and serves as a tribute to the country where the DLC was developed (and the original codename for the project). As you can see above, the IDAP logo clearly represents the organization's mission via the holding hands, which can be interpreted as a symbol of help and relief. Of course every organization needs a logo, and especially for an NGO, that needs to be something that is instantly recognizable. Our new artist in Amsterdam, Stefan Verbeek (some of you might know him from reddit), accepted this challenge. Although IDAP is fictional, in terms of its visual representation, we still wanted to make it look authentic and believable. This humanitarian organization is very much inspired by similar real-world NGO's, such as the ICRC. One of the key new additions in the Laws of War DLC is the IDAP faction (International Development & Aid Project - a name and corresponding acronym we settled on after plenty of iterations, seen in the image below). For reference, the photo below on the left shows what assets were originally on the list, while the photo on the right shows what it ultimately became. The reason being that we felt they were simply too important not to include in the package. Once this became more clear, and also while the mini-campaign and Showcases scenarios started to come together, we ended up making many more assets and variants than on our original wishlist. However, at that time we had not yet completely settled on the exact theme of the DLC. With all those considerations in mind, we reached a final wishlist, and it was time to flex our artistic muscles properly! Then we had to prioritize our wishes based on our available resources, and by anticipating the potential risks and costs involved with developing certain assets.
During the pre-production phase, we started by establishing a wishlist of key new assets that we wanted in the package. In terms of the scope of the project, our original goal was to make the Laws of War DLC stand somewhere in between Arma 3 Karts and Arma 3 Helicopters DLC.
In addition, our colleagues in the Bohemia Interactive's Thailand office were on hand to help with many of the 'props'. Our Art team consisted of two in-house artists in the Amsterdam office, and several splendid 3D and Technical Artists in our Mníšek pod Brdy office in the Czech Republic. LAWS OF ARTįirst, let me establish the ORBAT (Order of Battle), or in this case ORBART, for the Laws of War project. In this OPREP, we'll specifically focus on the art side of things, and talk about the new assets and discuss how they were created. Now I have the honor to tell you a little bit more about what our team has created for you. Over the past year or so I've been one of the people responsible for the new assets in the Arma 3 Laws of War DLC. My name is Pavel Valič, and I'm an Artist at Bohemia Interactive's relatively new office in the Netherlands. Hi folks, and welcome to this very ARTistic OPerational REPort. OPSUM: Laws of Art: examining the IDAP faction and its assets