Final Fantasy VIII - Balamb Garden - The Cockpit

Seeing this angle on screen feels surreal, because what you’re looking at is the exact in-game camera perspective brought into a modern 3D space. Reaching this point took far longer than expected—not because the work was difficult, but because we had almost no solid references to rely on. Every line of the architecture had to be interpreted, measured, and reimagined from fragments and memory.

Strangely enough, the entire project began with something small: the service hatch in front of the command center. Once I locked that into real-world scale, everything else started to unravel like a loose thread, guiding the proportions of the entire room. From there, the cockpit began to grow naturally, piece by piece.

I had actually built this scene once before, but without the lower level completed, it never felt right to share it here in the gallery. Now that the full space finally exists, I’m excited—and a little nervous—to let you step into it with me.

If you’re a fellow fan of Final Fantasy VIII, I hope this version of Headmaster Cid’s office brings back a familiar feeling of standing at the heart of Balamb Garden. And as the hours and days go by, you’ll be seeing more and more new renders from this space.

Thank you for walking this journey with me—there’s much more to come.