Mafia II Digital Deluxe Artbook.pdf

5/21/2018 Mafia II Digital Deluxe Artbook.pdf

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THE ART OF


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THE ART OF


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Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Empire Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Early Front End Design . . . . . . 56

In-Game Brands and Ads . . . . . 62

Pin-Ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Concept Art and Renders . . . . . 84

19982010 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., and its subsidiaries. Mafia II developed by 2K Czech. 2K Czech, the 2K Czech logo, 2K

Games, the 2K Games logo, Illusion Engine, Mafia, Mafia II, the Mafia II logo and Take-Two Interactive Software are all trademarks and/

or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

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When developing Vito and Joe, the main characters inMafia II, we tried to steer clear of the stereotypical

video game character. We wanted our characters to bebelievable, to seem real. We wanted the way they look to expresstheir personality, while retaining the style of the period. Weresearched movies, fashion magazines, books, and thousandsof photographs from the period to capture typical hairstyles,clothes, accessories and physical features that would be reflectiveof an Italian-American immigrant in the 40s and 50s.

The main characters appearance changed several timesthroughout the development process. Minor changes can beactually be seen on some of the early marketing pieces.


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The Tommy gun is the most iconic prop of mafia moviesand a must for our game. The fifty bullets that churn out

of its magazine can turn any opponent into a human sieve.

Of course, there are plenty of other weapons to sample. Theshotgun becomes imperative in close combat. Others willlove the rifle for its firing range, accuracy and power. Sincethe game takes place in a post-war era, the black market forwar weapons was bloomingyou can get your hands onWehrmacht equipment as well.


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Instead of modeling Empire Bay after a specific Americancity, we were inspired by iconic American towns of the 40s

and 50s, combining them into a unique urban settings with its

own narrow alleys and reaching skyscrapers. To capture thelook and feel of this period we spent weeks in New York andChicago researching architecture, neighborhoods and otherdetails. We wanted the feel of a real mafia neighborhood andspent time where the police do not frequent and there are nosightseeing tours. When finished, we were stocked with anarsenal of photos which inspired the design of Empire Bay.The city also changes its face in various weather and timeconditions. Just when you think you know it well, night fallsand the city is new again


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The automotive industry underwent revolutionarychanges between the 30s and 50sboth visually and

technologically. The car designs in Mafia II echo the typical

vehicle features of this period and show this evolution, fromsomewhat bulky and clunky machines to fast, sleek andfuturistic muscle cars. Besides reproducing the stylistic shapes,chrome, grills and bumpers it was important for us to make thecars a credible part of Empire Bay. Some of them are squeakyclean, others worn and dirty. Some are brand new, others bearmarks of fender-benders or are nearly totaled just as youwould see in a real city.


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Designing a simple interface is anything but simple.We worked on countless iterations before we found one we

were happy with. To capture the look and feel of the periodwe considered incorporating the elements of newspaper, cinema,

phone booth and the TV screen. The final design is one we allloved. We found the cityscape to be both dramatic and inviting.Monumental skyscrapers accompanied with cinematic music setthe right mood to embark on a journey in Empire Bay.


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One of the biggest artistic challengesin Mafia II was to show the

transition of time from the 1940s tothe 1950s. Empire Bay contains severalelements that help convey this. Someare more apparent: the depressing snow-covered WWII era America turns intoa Technicolor continent that bursts withenergy and rocknroll. Some are moresubtle: The 40s ads are more austere andmuted where the 50s ads are brighter,use neon and evoke the birth of cool.We were very conscious of creatingbranding that was indicative of the t imeperiod, and then using that as a vehicleto promote the passage of t ime.

The process of creating the in-gameadvertising was very similar to any real-life advertising campaign. They werebased off of briefs that outlined suchthings as the location within Empire Baythe ads would be seen and key pointsabout the brands. We then researchedadvertisements from the era to get anaccurate feel for the time period. We alsolooked at books and magazines aboutlife in New York City in the 40s and 50s,keeping in mind historical events - namelyWWII. We looked at design trends fromthese eras as well, including color palettesand typeface references, clothing, fabricand architecture.


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One of the more challenging parts of depicting a believableworld required us to research loads of contemporary

smut. Yes, thats right, were talking about pin-up girls. Theconstant adjusting of shapely curves, increasing transparency

of silk blouses, shortening of skirts is just plain hard work,but we were up to the challenge. We hope that you find theresult worth the sweat and sacrifice.


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Designing a game requires hundreds, if not thousands ofsketches, drawings and concept art. While this much

of anything can become a chore, what we designed was donewith passion. One of our many inspirations was 40s and 50s

movie posters. We worked to emulate their style throughfictional Mafia II movie posters. Most incorporate the maincharacters Joe and Vito, as well as a few other in-gamecharacters. We loved the posters so much, they made it intothe game as unlockables at the end of each mission.


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Mafia II Digital Deluxe Artbook.pdf

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