We’re back with our latest production process blog! This week, the Rockwater Art Team detail how they recreated Alma’s House for The Queen’s Gambit Chess!
Rebuilding Alma’s Home for Mobile
Alma’s living room is a pivotal interior in the show. It plays a huge role in shaping Beth on her journey to the very top of international chess. With its unmistakably mid-century decor, we consider it one of the most iconic and instantly recognisable sets in the series. For our Rockwater Art Team, it was absolutely paramount that we recreated it faithfully for mobile.
We decided to recreate this space home for the game as it was when we first meet Alma in the show; a pristine space that screams the early 1960s American Dream.
“Production designer Uli Hanisch’s work made redesigning Alma’s Home for the game a real treat for our art team. In the series, this interior set is incredibly detailed and uses a tonne of mid-century pieces to perfectly capture that moment in time.
Our team studied it frame-by-frame in order to recreate it as faithfully as we possibly could. It was important to us that players experienced being immersed in this space - one that becomes pivotal to Beth’s upbringing.” - Matt Beech, Rockwater Artist
The Details: Bringing Alma’s Home to Life
Our Rockwater artists wanted to build in as much detail as they could to ensure that the space felt truly lived in. Here’s a closer look at some of the aspects of the art direction that make the game version of Alma’s Lounge feel just like its TV counterpart.
The Chessboard
The chessboard found here is a replica of the very one Beth uses early on in the show. It’s balanced delicately on the sofa, supported and levelled by some of her many books on chess theory.
This is the player’s perspective of the environment. As mentioned in a previous blog, ensuring a high level of visual fidelity here, while keeping other areas lean was key in hitting performance targets and fighting against the limitations of low-end mobile hardware.
“Wherever we can, we have used reference shots and set photos to recreate props using as much detail as possible. In this environment, the placement of the chessboard was key. It’s the exact board she uses, propped up on the chess books she studies. Once she settles in, Alma’s living room is this rare place where Beth feels most comfortable and at home. We wanted to reflect that comfort with the playing position.” - Matt Beech, Rockwater Artist
Mid-century Design Features
From the grand emerald green couch to the art deco mantlepiece, Alma’s living room is full to the brim with extravagant mid-century furnishings.
The outside world seen through the window here is another clever trick we used to keep performance impact low. The view beyond the window is faked using pixel depth offset.
“Our aim was to try and achieve what the show did and ensure that players were immersed in The Queen’s Gambit world at every turn. Everything in this room, from the TV trolley to that incredible piano, was carefully modelled to create that immersive experience.” - Jake Parrott, Rockwater 3D Artist
We carefully placed little nods to the wider narrative of the show wherever we could, so long as they supported that immersion. Here, a copy of Chess Focus features Benny Watts; his star is rising.
Up Next on Ripstone's ArtStation
Thanks again for joining us on the Ripstone ArtStation! Itchin' for more insight into how we translated The Queen's Gambit Chess to Android & iOS? Take a look at some of our previous articles to discover more:
The Queen's Gambit Chess: Methuen Home Environment Deep Dive
The Queen’s Gambit Chess: Crafting Beth Harmon - A Character Production Deep Dive
Next week we’ll be zooming in on what makes each and every one of the game's many chessboards unique!