Solar Echoes Video Comic

I'd like to have your feedback. I've started working on the video comic for Solar Echoes, which will feature John Fell's alien character artwork (with their various facial expressions) and a short story. The team of alien agents will go on missions, and their dialogue will be shown at the bottom of the images in a caption box that I'm working on. This is all in the style of a Japanese RPG, where story is communicated through various character stills. I have several options for backgrounds, though, and I'd like to get your help. Typically, in JRPG's, artwork backgrounds are used behind the character art. In the image below, you'll see a sample of my ideas for two other options. Artwork is expensive, and so the various locations the characters will need to visit could cost a lot for an artist to design. However, one of my ideas is to use actual photos instead of artwork. I can doctor these photos a little in Photoshop, too. The third option is to use photos of actual Solar Echoes gameplay, with miniatures, maps, and other objects. I think this would be great for showing tactical positioning during battle scenes. Here are a few rough images of the three options. What's your opinion?