When the Narrative team proposed the setting for Elevation, the Visual team was very excited. A quickly-developing Southeast Asian city, a central space elevator–it was rife with visual potential. The city of Kota Kalimantan not only marked a new central location for the world of Netrunner, but also a chance to develop a new location where a multitude of stories can be told.
Establishing the look and feel of this megacity–not just as the setting for a single cycle, but a place we can return to again and again–was going to be crucially important. So we decided to do something that’s a first for NSG: we commissioned a concept artist.
We had a couple of goals for the concept artist. First, we felt it was important for the art to establish some base expectations for Kota Kalimantan: how it felt to live there, notable landmarks, clear distinctions between different parts of the cities, etc. We also wanted our concept artist, if possible, to be from one of the countries located on Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, or Malaysia) to ensure that our city felt authentic to its setting. We are incredibly fortunate to have found and worked with Joshua Chia to bring the base concept art for Elevation to life.
Joshua is a concept artist based in Malaysia who does fantastic environmental work and has previous experience with cyberpunk design through his Nomad and Intruders series. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him on this project; his professionalism and attention to detail made the whole commissioning process easy, from initial drafts to fine tuning details to arriving at the final pieces.
Joshua provided us with a number of illustrations, including two environmental pieces and two callouts. Environmental pieces are wide in scope, giving an idea of the overall feeling of a location. Callout pieces, like this one of the Mahkota Langit, are more granular, focusing on a central building, character, or piece of technology.
In working with Joshua, our art briefs had to be much more detailed than what we usually write for card art. Card art has natural limitations from the size of the frame, the printing process, and its need to be legible from both sides of the table. If too many extraneous details are present, it can be confusing to the artist what the focus points of the piece are and result in a muddy composition. With concept art, since it’s providing a foundation for other artists to interpret and realize in more concrete ways, it’s necessary to provide more details so that the sense of the setting and its key characteristics can be accurately portrayed.
Wealthy and Impoverished Districts
As part of Elevation’s focus is the class distinction between have and have-nots, we knew that we wanted to commission two environmental pieces showcasing one wealthy district in the upper city and one impoverished district in the lower city.
The concept piece for the upper city, depicted at the top of this article, is set in the middle of the day. It’s bright and sunny, and there’s visible greenery both from parks within the district and the mountains in the background. We see a range of architectural styles and advertisements for idol groups and luxury brands. Everything looks very clean and orderly.
As one might expect, the wealthy in Kota Kalimantan have it all. Their neighborhoods are pristine, full of beautiful and eye-catching architecture, entertainment of all kinds, and stunning views of the natural world beyond the city limits. Here, hoppers and skybridges mean you can easily go your whole life without ever setting foot at ground level. The wealth flowing to and from the Mahkota Langit provides residents of the upper city the best in luxury, food, fine art, and nightlife.
The lower city exists in sharp contrast to the upper city. This concept piece is set during a rainstorm at nighttime, giving it a noir feeling. Buildings are much more cramped and clustered together, with the majority of the buildings being residential rather than corporate skyscrapers. These lower districts are often terraced, built into the side of the mountains surrounding the Mahkota Langit. In Joshua’s piece, we see transportation systems going up the side of the mountain, and entries to the Anthill–the underground tunnel system being excavated beneath Kali.
Similarly, life for the lower city residents contrasts starkly with their wealthier neighbors. Here, people fight for credits, space, and scarce resources. Between the towering skyscrapers and narrow alleys, local gangs and opportunistic individuals prey on those down on their luck, or simply those unlucky enough to cross their paths.
These districts, however, are also fertile grounds for community and caring. When the city itself seems intent on grinding you into the dirt, banding together with your neighbors and loved ones can bring some much needed resilience. Here you’ll find some of the fiercest friendships as communities look out for their own.
While the wealthy may not particularly care for the wellbeing of the working and lower classes, they do acknowledge a slight need for them. Mass transit cable cars allow residents to scale the mountainous geography, ensuring they can continue to work for the greater good of Kota Kalimantan.
Silkworms
Lastly, Joshua also helped us develop the look of a curious new type of building, key to Jinteki’s operations in KK. While we won’t go further into those specifics now, you can expect to see these striking Silkworm towers in every district and area of Kota Kalimantan.
With Elevation, the Visual team feels we’ve set a new standard for Netrunner art. Every time we work with an artist, we learn more about their strengths and weaknesses, and our own creative processes. Using Joshua’s stunning concept art as a foundational backdrop, each illustration feels a little richer, a little more alive. We can’t wait for everyone to visit Kota Kalimantan themselves and to be part of this city our Narrative and Visual teams have worked so hard on.
Elevation will be released for sale on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
