Dark Forest Magic

Dark Forest Magic is the second of my three portfolio pieces created during my time at The Game Assembly, developed over approximately four weeks half-time.

For this project, I set out to create a VFX ability set of two, inspired by games like Lost Ark and Diablo IV. I wanted to explore the process of designing effects for an imagined game character — thinking about what kind of abilities the character might have and how to visually represent them in an impactful way.

The result is a combination of two attacks: one mid-strength ability designed to strike and hold the opponent in place, the other a more explosive and dramatic ultimate ability — both tied together through a consistent visual language inspired by a dark forest fantasy theme.

All elements in these effects were created from scratch specifically for this project. A big part of my focus was on color composition, timing, and making the VFX feel satisfying and readable in a gameplay context.

Huge thanks to Tobias at Remedy for his insightful feedback during the process, and of course to my family for their constant support and input!