What's the common link between European artists coming to grips with the challenges of realistic oil painting during the Northern Renaissance and BioWare artists learning to master EA's Frostbite engine tech?

At GDC 2015 BioWare's Neil Thompson tried to shine a light on their similarities during a talk about the inspiration behind the art direction of the company's critically acclaimed game Dragon Age: Inquisition. 

Even if you've never played the game, his talk is worth checking out because it highlights how game artists and animators can pull meaningful lessons and inspirations from all sorts of media: film, photography, architecture, and the like. 

It's a visually resplendent presentation that's worth watching, and you can now do so for free via the GDC Vault's official YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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