A feature on Gamasutra looks at the creative role of concept artists in gaming in the context of the new Into the Pixel art exhibition.

It’s somewhat startling how much influence concept artists have over the finished product.

“I was given free rein to create the world, so I dug deep, absorbed myself into my drawing and came up with the piñata idea, which really fueled the project,” Ryan Stevenson of Rare told Gamasutra. “As the only concept artist working on the game, it turned into an obsession and I designed every visual aspect of the Piñata universe—down to the pebbles and twigs.”

The article also contains some interesting musings on video games as an artform from the artists who would know best.