Mars Attracts

Mars Attracts is a strategy simulation game set in the iconic Mars Attacks! universe, where players take on the role of the Martians as they invade Earth, abduct humans, and run a chaotic alien operation from the inside out. The game blends base-building, management, and dark humour, all wrapped up in the unmistakable, slightly unhinged tone of the franchise — flying saucers, disintegrators, and plenty of brain-zapping.

This project marked my first role as Art Director, and honestly, it was a massive learning experience from start to finish.

After around ten years working as a concept artist, stepping into art direction felt like a natural progression — moving away from designing individual assets and more towards world-building, tone-setting, and visual cohesion across the entire project. On Mars Attracts, that meant creating a large amount of the concept art and in-game illustrations, art directing the trailers, and also being heavily involved in art directing the UI, making sure it felt fully integrated with the game’s visual language.

From an art direction point of view, one of the key goals was to treat the project as a homage to retro sci-fi design. Rather than leaning heavily on the films, we took a lot of inspiration from the original Mars Attacks trading cards, which gave us licence to push a more illustrative, graphic, and slightly unpolished aesthetic. The illustrations in particular were where I really leaned into that retro vibe — bold shapes, expressive characters, and a sense of playful menace.

On a more personal level, this project became a bit of a love affair with mid-century illustration. Artists like J. C. Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell, and their contemporaries were a huge influence on how I approached composition, colour, and visual storytelling. That influence runs right through the game’s illustrations and helped ground the sci-fi madness in something familiar and nostalgic.

Being a small team was a massive advantage — we had the freedom to experiment, take risks, and go places that would never fly on a much bigger franchise or film production. I made plenty of mistakes along the way (as you do), but that’s where most of the learning happened. Art direction turned out to be just as much about communication, trust, and decision-making as it is about drawing.

Working on such a huge and iconic IP was genuinely humbling. I grew up with Mars Attacks, so getting the chance to help shape its world — and put my own small stamp on it — felt incredibly special. Easily one of the most fun projects I’ve ever worked on, with a brilliant team who really gave it socks.

All in all, a proper dream job. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity, and I really hope people enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Cheers 👽