God of War (2018) introduced a world map where each realm is a completely different biome — ice, fire, forest, mist — connected by a single mythological path.
What struck me was how that structure maps naturally onto a career.
Each job is its own world with its own rules, culture, and tools. You don’t gradually drift from one to the next — you cross a threshold and everything changes.
The idea was to render each company as its own distinct realm, with an environment that reflects its character.
VisualDNA becomes a misty, barely-visible realm at the far left — shrouded in fog, the farthest away in time. PlayStation becomes a frozen tundra with aurora borealis — vast, cold, and full of electric energy. Elastic becomes volcanic — active, intense, constantly monitored. loveholidays becomes a tropical paradise at the bottom right — the most detailed, vibrant, and fully realised world.
Tech logos float as mystical artifacts native to each realm. Company names are carved into the landscape itself — stone, ice, volcanic rock, living wood — rather than labelled as an afterthought.
A golden Bifrost-like path connects all seven, getting more vibrant and clear as it moves from past to present.
The style evolved from photorealistic God of War rendering to a looser watercolor and ink sketch — trading visual fidelity for a more personal, hand-drawn quality.
Memory works that way too: vivid in places, sketchy in others.
Prompts
Intermediate journey
Create a video game world map in the style of God of War (2018/Ragnarök), showing a journey through seven distinct realms viewed from an elevated perspective. Each realm has completely different natural environments and characteristics like in God of War. The path flows from top-left (distant, shrouded in mist) to bottom-right (closest, most detailed and vibrant).
Map Layout - Seven Connected Realms:
Each realm is a distinct natural environment separated by boundaries but connected by a visible glowing golden path. Realms get progressively larger, clearer, and more detailed as they approach bottom-right.
Realm 1: VisualDNA (Top-Left, Farthest Away) - MISTY BEGINNINGS REALM
- Small, distant realm shrouded in thick fog and mist
- Barren rocky terrain emerging from clouds
- Minimal vegetation, ancient stones
- Floating rune markers above: Java logo, web services icon (as faint mystical symbols)
- Text carved in weathered stone: “VisualDNA 2013”
- Environment: Primordial, misty, mysterious beginnings
- Color palette: Muted greys, soft beiges, heavy fog
Realm 2: Big Data Partnership (Upper-Left) - ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE REALM
- Small-medium realm with ancient stone formations
- Mountain valleys with carved teaching halls in cliffs
- Waterfalls cascading down stone faces
- Floating rune markers above: Hadoop elephant (as ancient stone symbol)
- Text carved in mountain stone: “Big Data Partnership 2013-2015”
- Environment: Sacred mountain valleys, stone academies
- Color palette: Soft teals, stone greys, mountain blues
Realm 3: BenevolentAI (Upper-Middle) - CRYSTALLINE RESEARCH REALM
- Medium-sized realm with crystal formations and pure waters
- Clear lakes reflecting sky, scientific precision in nature
- White stone structures integrated with landscape
- Floating rune markers above: Python, Spark, Elasticsearch (as glowing crystals)
- Text carved in pure white stone: “BenevolentAI 2015-2017”
- Environment: Pristine research environment, scaling upward
- Color palette: Soft pastels, oranges, light blues, crystalline whites
Realm 4: Skimlinks (Middle) - FLOATING CLOUD REALM
- Good-sized realm with floating islands and cloud formations
- Sky bridges connecting elevated platforms
- Wind-swept peaks touching clouds
- Floating rune markers above: GCP cloud, Kubernetes wheel (as mystical mechanisms in sky)
- Text carved in sky stone: “Skimlinks 2017-2018”
- Environment: Elevated realm, cloud infrastructure aesthetic
- Color palette: Medium blues, teals, whites, clearing skies
Realm 5: PlayStation (Lower-Middle) - FROZEN GAMING REALM
- Large realm with icy tundra and frozen lakes
- Snow-covered mountains with aurora borealis in purple and blue
- Frozen waterfalls and glacial formations with digital energy
- Floating rune markers above: PlayStation logo, AWS, Golang gopher (as mystical symbols glowing in cold)
- Text carved in ice/frost: “PlayStation 2018-2021”
- Environment: Arctic wasteland meets digital gaming energy
- Color palette: Deep blues, purples, icy whites, electric energy
Realm 6: Elastic (Lower-Right Area) - VOLCANIC OBSERVATION REALM
- Very large realm with volcanic landscape and lava flows
- Rocky terrain with geysers and hot springs
- Orange and teal contrast (lava meets mystical waters)
- Obsidian formations and glowing mineral deposits
- Floating rune markers above: Kubernetes (prominent ancient wheel), Elasticsearch (glowing in volcanic heat)
- Text carved in volcanic rock: “Elastic 2022-2025”
- Environment: Active volcanic landscape with monitoring towers built into terrain
- Color palette: Rich oranges, teals, blacks, warm volcanic glow
Realm 7: loveholidays (Bottom-Right, Closest) - PARADISE FOREST REALM
- Largest realm with lush green forests and waterfalls
- Tropical paradise with clear blue water, beaches, vibrant vegetation
- Sunlight breaking through forest canopy
- Ancient trees and colorful flowers
- Floating rune markers above: GCP cloud, Kubernetes, Terraform, colorful holiday symbols (as magical artifacts)
- Text carved in living wood/natural stone: “loveholidays 2025”
- Environment: Vibrant tropical paradise, platform engineering integrated with nature
- Color palette: Vibrant greens, blues, golds, full sunlight
God of War signature aesthetic: Each realm is a completely different natural biome. Glowing golden path (like Bifrost energy) winding through all seven realms. Dramatic depth of field: distant realms shrouded in fog, closest realm crystal clear. Kratos-style elevated camera angle. Epic lighting progression: Heavy mist (top-left) → Clear atmospheric (middle) → Golden paradise sunlight (bottom-right).
Final vision
Create a video game world map showing a journey through seven distinct realms in a loose watercolor and ink pen style with gestural line work and minimal color washes. Black ink outlines with selective watercolor touches in oranges, blues, teals, and pinks. The path flows from top-left (distant, light sketches) to bottom-right (closest, most detailed). Use the entire canvas - fill the left side with realms.
Map Layout - Seven Connected Realms:
Each realm is sketched with loose ink lines and selective watercolor washes, connected by a glowing golden winding path. Realms get progressively more detailed and colorful from top-left to bottom-right. Gestural, loose, artistic style throughout.
Realm 1: VisualDNA (Top-Left, Farthest Away)
- Light pencil sketch barely visible, minimal ink
- Barren rocky terrain with sparse hatching
- Very light beige/grey watercolor wash
- Tech logos as simple sketched icons: Java coffee cup, web globe (minimal line work)
- Text in hand-lettered ink: “VisualDNA 2013”
- Almost ghosted, very faint
Realm 2: Big Data Partnership (Upper-Left)
- Loose ink sketch of mountain valleys
- Stone formations with quick hatching lines
- Light teal and grey watercolor washes
- Tech logos sketched loosely: Hadoop elephant (simple ink outline with light color)
- Hand-lettered text: “Big Data Partnership 2013-2015”
- Gestural and quick line work
Realm 3: BenevolentAI (Upper-Middle-Left)
- Ink sketch of crystal formations with more detail
- Selective watercolor in soft orange and light blue
- White areas left unpainted
- Tech logos sketched: Python, Spark, Elasticsearch (loose ink with light color touches)
- Hand-lettered text: “BenevolentAI 2015-2017”
- More color than previous realms but still minimal
Realm 4: Skimlinks (Middle)
- Detailed ink sketch of floating islands and clouds
- Medium blue and teal watercolor washes
- More confident ink line work
- Tech logos sketched: GCP cloud, Kubernetes wheel (ink outlines with color fills)
- Hand-lettered text: “Skimlinks 2017-2018”
- Selective color placement
Realm 5: PlayStation (Lower-Middle)
- Rich ink sketch of icy landscape
- Deep blue and purple watercolor washes
- Aurora effects with loose color bleeds
- Tech logos sketched: PlayStation, AWS, Golang gopher (detailed ink with vibrant color)
- Hand-lettered text: “PlayStation 2018-2021”
- More saturated colors, detailed pen work
Realm 6: Elastic (Lower-Right Area)
- Heavily detailed ink sketch of volcanic terrain
- Bold orange and teal watercolor with strong contrasts
- Confident hatching and cross-hatching
- Tech logos sketched: Kubernetes, Elasticsearch (thick ink lines, saturated color)
- Hand-lettered text: “Elastic 2022-2025”
- Expressive line work
Realm 7: loveholidays (Bottom-Right, Closest)
- Most detailed ink sketch - tropical paradise
- Vibrant watercolor in greens, blues, golds, pinks
- Rich color saturation with paint splatters
- Confident, expressive line work
- Tech logos sketched: GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform, holiday icons (full color, detailed)
- Hand-lettered text: “loveholidays 2025”
- Maximum detail and color
Visual Style: Loose watercolor and ink pen aesthetic - gestural ink lines with selective color. Black ink pen outlines with watercolor washes. Glowing golden WINDING path. White space intentionally left unpainted. Paint splatters and drips increasing toward bottom-right. Color intensity progression: minimal pale washes (top-left) → vibrant saturated color (bottom-right). Title at top: “2013 → 2025: The Engineer’s Saga”. NO digital perfection - embrace sketchy, artistic imperfection.
Refinement and Post-processing
The first attempt used a photorealistic God of War style — cinematic lighting, detailed biomes, high visual fidelity.
It looked good but felt too much like a game screenshot. Switching to watercolor and ink made it feel more personal.
The main challenge was tech logos. At realm scale, the model struggled with accuracy — the Kubernetes wheel and Golang gopher came out distorted or merged into the terrain. Multiple iterations were needed.
The golden path also took several passes to get right. Early versions fragmented it or routed it inconsistently between realms.