For a game like Baldur''s Gate or Diablo, the backgrounds are beautifully detailed Isometric landscapes. My question is this: How does one go about making backgrounds like those? What are the steps involved in making stunning backgrounds that are usable in games (from conceptualization to production to polishing...etc.)?

I believe that the graphics for Diablo are rendered with some graphics program like 3D Studio Max. So you''ll need someone who can come up with the ideas, and then someone who can illustrate these ideas on paper, and then someone who can model them with some 3D rendering program. (All of these guys can of course be the same person, just make sure they don''t talk to each other ). As always it is an iterative process where you start by building a prototype and then polish it until it is accepted.

I have heard that the graphics for Baldur''s Gate are drawn by hand, but I''m not sure.

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[Edited by - Saruman on January 1, 2007 3:48:58 AM]