Need for Speed is a much loved 25 year old game franchise. How do you do you balance doing something new and fresh while retaining the familiar aspects fans expect? This talk will share the journey of the creative process with a focus on the visuals of NFS HEAT. Design, brand, marketing, art & audio came together to use extensive research and develop fresh ideas that emerged in unexpected ways. Fan and press reactions are looking very promising. This is an early look behind the curtain prior to the game release in November. Fantastic artwork from fifteen international artists featured in the game support the brand pillar of creative expression - including street art, tattoo & graphic design. A new technique was developed to give the game a different look which makes textures more tactile looking and increases detail and contrast without crushing the blacks and whites.