Art Tribute - Bastien Lecouffe Deharme

Welcome! Some years ago I did a 'side-post' to show off some art from a mobile game I used to enjoy playing until the studio called it a day. That particular game was called Hellfire and it had really good orb-flick mechanic that meant you had a proper interactive experience with it. And it had some very decent art to collect <post link here>. I think it lasted about 3 years. At the same time I started Hellfire, I chose Legend of the Cryptids as another game that satisfied my art cravings. 

(I've been an art book collector, mostly sci-fi, since my teens. Think of the book basement of Forbidden Planet in London).

Anyway, LoC will be celebrating 12 years next month. How it keeps going is a wonder, it must have a serious supporter to sustain it given it's much dimished player base*. But old players come back, usually moaning about lost accounts and having to start over. It has got into quite a bad habit of recycling art for its cards - just update the stats, adjust the name, sorted! But new art is still being commissioned, but those are really limited to the paying player base that, thankfully, keep the game afloat. In just under 12 years of playing, I think I bought gems once. I get by as a free-to-player, doing just enough to get fresher cards, and every now and then I get in some trading. 

*What happens to games when they die? What about all the art assets that were made for it? I think there are serious considerations about preserving art from a game like LoC. Once the servers stop for a game that relies on servers, a mobile game is just vapourware.

As the post title suggests already, I am really into getting examples of Deharme's art created for LoC. Let's have a look at an example of his work that got me really enthusistic about his style...

{Fiora of Cursed Blades}

I want this as a high-quality print to frame and hang. This particular artwork was so well regarded by a publisher of glossy coffee-table art books it made the cover of one issue (I forget what it was called - d'-something? d'artiste?). 

Not going to finish this post in good time so will leave it here for the moment, and follow up with a part 2. Legend of the Cryptids is still available for Apple devices and from Google Play. 

~J~