Star Wars Rivals
ROLE
Art Direction, Designer, Rulebooks
PUBLISHER
Funko Games
Light side or dark side, Sith or Jedi, good or evil, Imperial or Rebel…one must choose. Star Wars offers no neutrality in the battle for the galaxy and at its core makes one choose an allegiance (and with that an adversary). In a world where extremes live side by side and the forces of good and evil have constantly waged for ages, everything is at stake. The ruins and scars in the landscape show the power of polarizing forces and offer a glimpse of the struggle.
In Star Wars Rivals, one chooses a side, the light side or the dark side. Who will be standing in the end: the Light dueling for peace or the Dark seeking total control over the galaxy? To be the victor one must gain the influence, trust, and allegiance of the people at key locations around the galaxy. Winning duels, using the force, and one's skill will help cement their legacy and tilt the battle to their favor.
Star Wars takes place in a lived world where buildings and artifacts show the years of wear and tear from the elements, armor has markings and imperfections from past skirmishes, and paint has worn off areas of ships and components. This is what I wanted to bring forth in the look of this game. Though it takes place in the future, it is also a very real and tangible future where the technology feels very scavenged and pieced together. Things are angular and multi-faceted, shapes are iconic, unique, and bold.
Location Cards
Each game your characters will visit various iconic locations throughout the galaxy. These also represent the main way characters score points by having the most influence at the location each round.
Character Cards
Character cards, both light side and dark side, in Rivals are double sides. The front shows the characters name, tags, and starting influence. On the back we wanted to show off the full sketched inspired art of the characters.
Action Cards
Each character is paired with three actions cards which may come up during the game. Each has a quote from or about the character as well as a unique image of the character. The art and abilities themselves help elevate the theme and bring you into the Star Wars galaxy.
Custom Lettering & Numerals
For Star Wars Rivals, I created the custom lettering in the logo as well as the numerals used throughout the game. The angular forms and notched characteristics helped emphasize the game aesthetic.
Some Of My Process
Here is a little bit of my process into how Star Wars Rivals came together. The game concept of light verse dark was already a theme we were exploring for the gameplay. With that in mind i developed many sketches for what the front of box could look like knowing we wanted to display the characters on the front.
Behind the Scenes
This behind-the-scenes video features some of the Funko Games production team showcasing the making of the game. I will note that I was laid off before the video was made so I was unfortunately not part of it but the rest of the team I worked directly with is.