The Art of The Queen’s Gambit Chess: How We Created a Love Letter to the Show
When making The Queen’s Gambit Chess, we wanted our love of the Netflix miniseries to shine through. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sitting down with Rockwater’s art team, for insights on how they used art to capture the feel of the show.
The Environments: A Sense of Time & Place
The incredible set design of The Queen’s Gambit is what teleports its viewers back to the mid-1950s and early 1960s.
From matching the lighting of reference shots to studying the episodes frame by frame, we worked to emulate the look and feel of these sets with our in-game environments.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to take on a journey through all the thoughts and feelings that went into the design.
For now, let’s take a quick look at some of the environments we’ll be covering!
The Methuen Home Basement
Even chess grandmasters come from humble beginnings! The formative years of Beth Harmon’s journey to chess stardom were spent battling Mr Shaibel in this shabby basement of the Methuen Home orphanage.
Alma Wheatley’s Living Room
Alma’s living room is another key interior from the show; a frequented space in the home that played a huge role in shaping Beth on her journey to the very top of international chess. With its quintessentially 60s decor, warm lighting and lived-in feel, we consider it one of the most iconic sets from the show.
The Mariposa Hotel Lobby
The glamorous scene of Beth’s first major triumph! In the show, it is here, at The Mariposa Hotel in Las Vegas, where our protagonist wins her first tournament as co-champion alongside Benny Watts.
The Moscow Invitational Tournament
This incredibly theatrical setting for the Moscow Invitational Tournament was a true privilege for our team to recreate in the game. The scene of Beth’s final showdown with Borgov, we knew it had to give players the impression of being centre stage in an intimidating arena.
Join us next week as we begin our deep dive with a look behind the curtain into the making of the Methuen Home environment. What aspect of The Queen’s Gambit Chess would you like us to give the deep dive treatment next? Let us know on the official The Queen’s Gambit Chess Twitter.