Monopoly Streets -- More Buildings!
Not much commentary to make here. Some of this stuff ended up in game. Most didn't. An early attempt to try and design around the established iconography of Monopoly. One of the goals of the game was create something novel that still felt immediately true to Monopoly. The block letters were one of the first things to go. When you have to translate a game into other languages, block letters can get very expensive.
My first attempt at the GO building. Taking inspiration from Tekkon Kinkrete and early Atlantic City architecture (the city Monopoly is based on). This was the one case where it was decided that the block lettering was worth it and had to be modeled in every applicable language.
The building below actually was modeled (and improved on by the talented Ken Lim). It didn't make it into the default board but ended being salvaged for the "Monument City" board.
Another design that didn't make the cut. Here you can see the two different rendering approaches I work with. In the approach above I build the structure out of shapes, then render over it. I like it because it gives a nice painterly finish, and is closer to what things look like in game.
The approach below is nice because its quicker, and still has a nice polished look.
The one that survived the cut.