PHANTOM: COVERT OPS - Private Military Contractors
As the most highly trained main faction in the game, barring Specialists, these soldiers needed to look highly mobile, professional, menacing, and a clear step up from the Militia faced so far.
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They needed to be wearing state of the art (mid/late 90s) equipment, and display a distinct silhouette. This enables players to easily discern their enemy, their likely behaviours and adjust tactics accordingly.
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Their faces are mostly hidden behind masks and goggles, balaclavas, and helmets. They wear their webbing assembly close to the body in much the same way as Special Forces. Generally, pouches, pistols and knives are worn high up on the body with minimal extras around the waist. Extra pouches, holsters etc are strapped to the thigh, helping to break the silhouette.
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Colour and tonal contrast was important, makes them legible from a far, marking them out as the Antagonist's Elite. Splashes of contrasting colour, insignia formed part of the uniforms higher fidelity details, for those up-close and personal encounters.
There are multiple tiers of armoured PMC's, denoted by their additional plates and increased silhouette.
Higher protective collars and re-enforced masks protect them against even the most accurate of headshots.
More accurate and deadly, the PMC's were always alert and poised for combat.
Semi-armoured, often taking more hits to subdue. The pure stealth options tend to prevail when encountering PMC's.
Early exploration for the PMC soldier.
We sought to create a menacing and highly mobile enemy that was also visually distinguishable and legible for gameplay language.
The contrasting armour material offers a large surface, easily legible from afar.
The final design for the PMC’s ended up bringing our favourite elements together, combining a highly trained and lethal look, whilst creating a silhouette and surface that communicates the enemies gameplay characteristics.
It was important to achieve a fidelity and form that was as relevant up close as it was from a far.
Legibility was key, so the design and details were carefully selected to serve the subject matter as well as gameplay language.