Behind the scene: how Onyx Studio shaped the visual world of South of Midnight

Onyx Studio is one of the brightest spots on the Serbian art outsourcing scene and has contributed to many projects, including AAA titles (we were practically jumping in our seats at the fact that they were working on the upcoming game from the creator of Bioshock – Judas).

We’re speaking of them now because they, in a sense, “won the outsourcing game” and enriched the world of the new title from Compulsion Games (acquired by Microsoft) so much that they eventually stood shoulder to shoulder with the original development team as co-developers.

The game in question is South of Midnight, a third-person action adventure set in a time and place that have received little attention in video game history – the American South. The past intertwines with fantasy, creating a visually stunning yet macabre world, and the Serbian studio is largely responsible for its creation.

We talked to Boškom Ognjevićem, CEO and Co-founder of Onyx  Studio, about the collaboration that gave the world a striking title at first glance.

SGA: Can you tell us a little about Onyx Studio – what do you do, where are you all from, how many of you are there…?

Boško: Onyx was founded in early 2020 as a 3D art production studio by my girlfriend, our business partner and me. Over the past five years, with a lot of effort and luck the three of us have managed to turn a micro-startup into an international company with offices in Belgrade, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. In addition to 3D, we have gradually added a range of other services, including co-development, which today forms the backbone of our business. Our team has a total of about a hundred full-time employees, a third of whom are in Serbia. I am incredibly proud of each and every member of the team, their work and dedication have contributed to our successful cooperation with some of the largest game publishers, such as Microsoft and Electronic Arts.

SGA: How did the collaboration with Compulsion come about?

Boško: Microsoft’s central external development team recognized us in 2021 as a small team with a lot of potential. They introduced us to Compulsion, along with several other companies, for testing to work on South of Midnight. The test was related to 3D vegetation, which was one of our specialties back then, although the style of the game was very challenging to implement for us at the time. Since most of the team was busy with other engagements, the test was done by my colleague Tamara Dragutinović and me. I am happy to say that in a very serious competition, we managed to be selected for the project that allowed us to enter a large collaboration through a small door.

SGA: What did this collaboration look like?

Boško: I often mention that we were extremely lucky to have Compulsion as our first major client. Healthy and transparent communication, an approach that allows us to complete the work we were hired for without extreme pressure and micromanagement, as well as good internal organization on the client’s side, created a working environment that is to be desired. In more than four years of cooperation, we have not had a single major crisis. Smaller problems were solved efficiently, and larger ones collectively and patiently. It is extremely rare to find a company like Compulsion, which, although a Microsoft studio, has the creative mentality of an indie house.

SGA: What did Onyx do for South of Midnight (how did it start and how far did it go)?

Boško: The initial collaboration was mostly based on creating 3D vegetation models. We were given the “simple” task of creating all the vegetation in the game, which is abundant. The gradual realization of this task opened the door for us to other areas, first lighting art, then VFX and UI engineering, and finally the complete co-development of the game, with the final results of which we are extremely satisfied. Each of our teams exceeded both our internal and client expectations, guaranteeing us a place on future Compulsion projects.

SGA: How challenging was it for you as a team from Serbia to “click” with the culture of the American South?

Boško: Very much so. We spent a good part of pre-production studying the art direction, the motifs, and the very culture that permeates every second and detail of the game. The fact that the team from Belgrade was largely responsible for working on this title didn’t help, since people from this region rarely have the opportunity to encounter motifs of the American South. However, the initial time investment paid off with interest in the long run, as our understanding of the project opened the door to co-development.

SGA: You say that this is not just any outsourcing project, but a true co-development. What is the difference and what did it mean for you?

Boško: Co-dev is a significantly deeper level of collaboration because it transforms the transactional relationship of outsourcing into a true partnership. In practice, this means that we become the “owners” of our piece of the pie and everything that goes with it, including art direction, quality control, as well as the backlog, i.e., everything that needs to be done. Internally, we believe that this type of collaboration is the future of our industry and that teams that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the client can expect more and more external interest. This attitude continues to open doors for us in the industry and we see similar results with companies with related activities in our sector.

SGA: What is your most important takeaway from this?

Boško: Patience and understanding are underappreciated virtues, and they opened doors for us at the highest level. It took several years for the collaboration to really take off, and then a few more before Compulsion gained enough trust in us to give us some control over the Midnight segment. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we’re only just beginning to lay the groundwork! 🙂

SGA: What are the future plans for Onyx Studio?

Boško: We are currently working full steam ahead on the next Battlefield release, where we have once again taken on a co-dev role, working side by side with DICE. We are honored to be the first co-dev partner that DICE has ever worked with, in their words, which is a great opportunity but also a great responsibility. We will continue to focus on what we are doing well and with any luck, maybe in a year or so, we might be encouraged to start working on our own game.

SGA: Boško, we are so glad that you took the time to tell us about this wonderful game and how people from Serbia contributed to its creation. We wish you many more similar projects!

Boško: Thank you very much for the opportunity to share our story with a wider audience. I hope to see you again soon!