When you start a project, how early do you decide what will be done in-house and what will be produced externally? What are your first steps?

First off, we make sure the game is at a point to where there won't be very many huge changes to the game mechanics. That way we don't run into a situation where we have spent time and money on an aspect of the game which we then have to scrap because something changed.

So, when that point is achieved, we move forward and discuss what kind of audience we want to reach (kids, adults, gamer crowds, family, mass market, etc.) from there we will sometimes write down style aspects and feelings we want to convey or maybe even some backstory and elements of this "world" we want to bring to life.

Afterwards I will go on to some of my favorite sites like ArtStation, or Pinterest (I mainly use Pinterest) and look stuff up. I like to create boards on Pinterest. It is an amazing reference tool for artists and I think everyone should check it out. Once I get a bunch of findings together I will make a "mood board" which is really just a big document with a collage of references put together. I take that and show the Ceo, Shane, what I have and what I am thinking for the project.