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EVE ECHOES · 2021–2024

The poetry of porcelain.
The scale of space.

Bringing an Eastern visual identity into a science-fiction universe—through form, material, sound, and a mobile-ready production system.

Art Director / Visual Systems Lead · NetEase Games

Faction designCultural translationMobile renderingVisual leadership
EVE Echoes — featured project artwork

THE BRIEF

A familiar universe.
A new emotional register.

Developed by NetEase with CCP Games in Iceland, EVE Echoes adapted a large science-fiction MMO universe for mobile. My responsibilities spanned art direction, faction design, mobile rendering, environments, UX, and team leadership. The Blue-and-White faction became a focused exploration of how cultural heritage could contribute a new feeling to that universe.

01 · THE WIDER WORLD

A universe is more
than a single ship.

The work connected faction identity with the broader experience: ships, characters, planetary environments, interface hierarchy, and campaign presentation. A consistent production language had to support both the scale of space and the constraints of a mobile screen.

02 · THE BLUE-AND-WHITE IDEA

What if space
could feel poetic?

Chinese porcelain offered more than an ornamental pattern. Its history suggested exchange, beauty, purity, and movement across cultures. We used that emotional foundation to propose a faction that could feel elegant and contemplative within a universe defined by vast scale and conflict.

Blue-and-white porcelain references established the material and cultural starting point.

White · Origin

A light base that gives form clarity and a sense of purity.

Cobalt · Flow

Blue carries movement and intelligence across the surface.

Red · Identity

Seal-like accents add a concentrated human and emotional signal.

Gold · Hope

Rim details introduce a sense of sanctity and aspiration.

03 · FROM CRAFT TO SPACECRAFT

Translate the logic.
Not just the pattern.

We chose water-wave forms rather than simply applying Tang floral or cloud motifs. The waves could suggest both flowing glaze and starlight in motion. Mapping them at the scale of a spacecraft called for restraint: the pattern had to support the ship’s form, not overwhelm its silhouette.

Reference and ship-development boards connect cultural research with the emerging faction language.
Blue-and-white ship designs translate flowing patterns into large-scale three-dimensional forms.
Broader ship-design development shows the detail and structural language of the EVE Echoes world.

04 · ATMOSPHERE & SOUND

Quiet beauty.
In a violent universe.

Ink-painting references extended the idea into cosmic atmosphere: mist, brush-like movement, and the tension between fragile porcelain and warfare. Sound brought another layer of warmth. Guqin, xiao, and pipa were combined with cosmic ambience so the cultural direction could be felt beyond the image.

The Blue-and-White visual world brings porcelain, atmospheric space, and ship form into a single composition.
A cultural reference becomes a world when sight, sound, and emotion speak together.

05 · MAKING THE DIRECTION REPEATABLE

Art direction has to
survive production.

A compelling visual idea needs systems that can deliver it consistently. I set direction for rendering quality within mobile limits, procedural environment look development, materials, and planetary scenes. Visual references and production guidance aligned disciplines while scheduling and cost decisions kept the work practical.

Visual guidelines and development material helped align the production around a coherent world.
  • Directed the overall visual language and faction development, including the Eastern Blue-and-White concept.
  • Aligned mobile rendering goals with technical limits and production quality.
  • Guided procedural environments, materials, and planetary look development.
  • Contributed UX direction so information hierarchy supported the game world.
  • Recruited and mentored multidisciplinary teams, with responsibility for schedule, cost, and quality.

06 · RESPONSE & REFLECTION

A new way to belong
in an established universe.

The original case study records positive player and media responses to the faction’s cultural and visual direction. The collected feedback below is qualitative evidence of reception, not a quantified business result. For me, the project demonstrated how cultural translation can expand the emotional range of an established IP.

A selection of community responses collected in the original EVE Echoes case study.

The aim was a shared emotional experience: something grounded in one cultural tradition, yet open to recognition and wonder from players elsewhere.

Artworks and results shown here are collaborative project work. Role descriptions and project figures are adapted from my original portfolio. EVE Echoes and related IP belong to their respective rights holders.

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Enlarged project artwork