Raphael Jacovsky: Environment Concept Art

Runehaven

Welcome to Runehaven! This was my senior thesis for college.

When a cult of crystal miners is exiled from Runehaven for crimes against magic, they retaliate by activating dormant climate-altering rune stones to drive citizens out of the town. As an MMO, players join guilds to defeat the cult and restore the world back to its normal, tropical climate by disabling the runes and fighting magically-altered beasts.

Here's a before and after view of the town of Runehaven. It shows how the climate-altering rune stones have affected the town and those who reside there. What was once a bustling, tropical tourist town is now a desolate, snowy wonderland.

It's orientation day at The College of Runehaven campus! Which guild will you choose: Nourishment, Structure, or Nature?

What was once the town’s beloved bakery is now the headquarters for The Nourishment Guild. Members of the guild can check in here to do the following:

-Receive new quests

-Buy and sell exclusive Nourishment gear 

-Chat with other guild members

Players in any guild may purchase potions and food here, as well as read up on the history of The Nourishment Guild.

Level design and props for The Mineshaft.

The Opal Mining Facility is a side quest location within The Mineshaft. You find a distressed worker deep in the mines. He tells you that The Opal Mining Facility has been overrun by onyx and the facility can no longer function. The worker promises you rewards if you can fend off the creatures and destroy the onyx.

-Destroy 20 onyx clusters

-Kill 10 monsters in the range of the facility

-Enter the facility and discover the cause of the spreading onyx

-Report back to the worker to claim your rewards

Inspired by Buddhist Grottoes along the Silk Road in China, The Grotto is a rest stop for travelers of Runehaven. Players can collect side quests, unlock more lore for the world, buy and sell from traveling merchants, and more. The Grotto looks like it was carved out of the side of the mountain centuries ago. Nobody truly knows when it appeared but travelers have been using this grand mountain temple as a rest stop forever. The inside of The Grotto is filled with floor-to-ceiling murals telling the story of Runehaven.

Deactivate the rune-stone to restore The Wastelands back to a normal, tropical environment.

The Necromancers are a group of exiled crystal miners from the town of Runehaven. Rather than mining Opal as instructed, they began mining Onyx, a magically-harmful, darker-colored crystal.

Soul Eaters are low level enemies that a player can encounter while exploring the world. They are only slightly bigger than the character models, but when ten of them are coming towards the player it turns into a life-or-death encounter.

Since the Necromancers didn’t have the necessary resources to activate the runestone, they set up their camp in the Mangroves. With their mining background, it is evident that their favored mode of transportation is the railway. This is the last stop on the player’s journey.

Once the rune stone in The Mangroves is activated, the final boss is summoned. In a raid-style fight, players are meant to team up and defeat Bismouth together. As if that wasn’t already tough enough, the players also need to defend themselves from the endless waves of mangrove soul eaters.

In the process of activating the rune stone, the environment is also affected. In The Mangroves, the water turns to tar, and the trees are covered in a slime moss.

Standalone Projects

The following concept pieces are one-off projects that I completed throughout my time in college.

What magical force is it that pulled the plane down in the first place?

Thank you so much for viewing my concept art portfolio from my time at Ringling College of Art and Design!