Hades’ vivid look is the result of distinct kinds of art working together: character design, environments, 3D work, and animation all help make the Underworld feel like a place rather than a backdrop. A 2020 development-art gallery offers a glimpse of that range, from early sketches to the portraits shown during dialogue—and credits several of the artists behind it.
What the Hades art gallery reveals
Hades is Supergiant Games’ rogue-like dungeon crawler, centered on fighting a way out of the Underworld of Greek myth. The studio’s official game page introduces that premise; a gallery published by Kotaku on October 22, 2020 shows some of the visual development behind it.
The gallery’s material came from Supergiant and spans more than finished in-game scenes. It includes early sketches as well as character portraits used in dialogue sequences. Those portraits matter to the game’s presentation: conversations become visual encounters with the Underworld’s inhabitants, not just text between runs. The gallery makes it possible to see some of the work behind that effect without suggesting that it documents every asset or stage of production.
The credited artists and their different roles
Kotaku identifies three contributors alongside the artwork it presents. Their credited roles point to different parts of the visual whole, not a claim that any one artist created all of Hades’ imagery.
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| Contributor | Role identified by Kotaku | What the credit helps explain |
|---|---|---|
| Jen Zee | Art director | The gallery associates Zee with art direction; that role is distinct from making every individual character, environment, or model. |
| Joanne Tran | Environmental artist | The credit highlights environment-focused work within the broader visual direction. |
| Paige Carter | 3D artist | The credit highlights 3D work as one part of the game’s visual production. |
The gallery groups artwork under the artists’ names, making the collaborative nature of game art visible. It is a useful corrective to the shorthand of treating a game’s look as the product of one person: direction, environments, 3D assets, portraits, and animation have different needs, even when they contribute to a coherent style.
How color and presentation draw players into the Underworld
The gallery’s colorful development work echoes the finished game’s strong, saturated visual identity. An independent discussion at Point & Think reads the art direction through elements such as comic-book influence, high-contrast shadow, and saturated color. Those are the essay’s interpretations of what appears on screen, not a formal statement of Supergiant’s design intent.
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Presentation also extends beyond static illustrations. In a statement reproduced by Kotaku, Supergiant described the opportunity in interface animation this way: “Even the simple act of opening a menu screen in a game is an opportunity for that game to draw you into its world.” The point is that the world-building does not stop when combat pauses; menus and transitions can sustain the game’s atmosphere too.
Recognition for Hades’ visual achievement
The BAFTA 2021 Games Awards record lists Hades as the Artistic Achievement winner and names Jen Zee. It is formal recognition of the game’s artistic achievement and Zee’s credited role, not evidence that she alone produced every visual element. Read alongside the gallery’s separate environmental and 3D credits, the award sits within a broader collaborative effort.
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Where to see the artwork
For a direct look at the development pieces, visit Kotaku’s “The Art Of Hades” gallery. For Supergiant’s own description of the game, see its official Hades page. The DualShockers feature associated with the supplied title is attributed to Rachael Fiddis and dated October 23, 2020, but its exact page is not available here; Kotaku’s gallery is separate coverage and should not be mistaken for that article.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Over 200 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and conceptual pieces
- Length: 7.75in / 20cm, Depth: 2in / 5cm, Width: 6in / 15cm
- By Hans Werner Holzwarth
- Hardcover
- 696 pages
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