In games, we tend to identify with the pieces on the board. Maybe it’s our favourite colour, maybe you always play the same character, maybe you just want to try out something new. Regardless of the reasons, it can be easy to see the pieces as our own representation in the world of the game. When there are miniatures involved, it can build a whole new level of attachment to the pawns representing our actions.
In the world of In Too Deep, our actions are actually carried out by criminals up to no good on the streets of New Dawn City. The ‘characters’ that we play are secret agents in a top secret lab, but we are able to ‘hook in’ to the minds of the criminals in the city and control their actions around the board.
To create the cool, cyberpunk criminal miniatures for the deluxe version of the game, Burnt Island Games tapped Francesco Orrù. Working from the art by Dominik Mayer, Francesco was able to create characters that captured the gritty, futuristic theme of the game.
“For me the main challenge when it comes to sculpting miniatures is always to first respect the art and style provided, and after that pose the characters in a way that it looks dynamic, giving always the idea that you are capturing a certain moment or action in the sculpt,” explained Francesco. “I was able to slightly change the designs here and there, but still kept the essence of Dominik's characters. Sometimes I had to add some extra details to the character armour or add some extra accessories, but overall my task was to respect as close as I could the art of Dominik.”
For Francesco, it was refreshing to be working with a unique theme set in the future.
“I went a long time without to work on a similar sci-fi theme, so I definitely enjoyed the process and the result we achieved together with the team! The feedback that both Helaina and Josh (Cappel) provided along the way was extremely helpful to finish and refine even further the final miniatures.”
Francesco worked on the miniatures during the early part of the year, but he was making changes and additions until just recently. There are a lot of surprises still to come during the campaign.
“The sculpting process it took a couple of months in the end (I recently finished another on couple of days ago). Most of the sculpts were made in about 2-3 months, so that we were pretty much on time with the launch,” he said. “Each miniature usually takes couple of days of work, it really depends on the complexity of each piece.”
Francesco has a method to his creative process. Having these steps helps him with each new project he begins.
“I tend to start my work posing the miniatures first if possible. There are normally two different ways of approaching a miniature I would say. You pose first and you detail after having a sort of traditional sculpting approach, or you sculpt the miniature in a symmetrical pose, detailing the piece as much as you can and when you finish with the various components you pose just at the end to give the piece that final look."
The miniatures bring In Too Deep to life in a way that puts players right in the action. To check out the campaign and see the latest reveals, check out the Kickstarter page here.