Stygian Sentinel 8
Issue #8, August 17th 2015
Breaking Free of Fantasy Tropes[edit]
Hey everyone,
Joe here. As we’ve mentioned in our previous update, the team at OtherSide has been feverishly working on our latest demo. While we’d love to give you peeks at all the recent progress, we’d rather hold off for a bit and until it’s ready for the full reveal.
In the meantime, we thought we’d share further details on how we’re approaching Underworld Ascendant’s world building and story.
Part of the challenge in tackling the fantasy genre is there are a few high watermarks that are extremely influential, and a bevy of well-worn tropes. That leads to questions such as, how do you present races like dwarves in new and interesting ways?
I find a good way to start this process is figuring out interesting creative challenges. If you can come up with an idea that you find so compelling that it requires your absolute best work to pull off, then it’ll motivate you to give it your all throughout the long, sometimes exhaustive, development cycle. The thinking is also, if you’re engaged, your audience will hopefully be as well.
Another key part of the process is research. The old maxim of “write what you know” is spot-on but incomplete, since it leaves out the part where you can actually learn new information.
One of the things I learned from working on Irrational’s BioShock series is that research is absolutely essential to good world-building. It’s also incredibly fun. By digging through primary historical sources, you get a real sense of how people spoke, thought, went through their daily lives, and more. You pick up little details that make a world feel real, which then in turn helps make the fantastical elements of your setting seem more believable.
To give an example, the target we’ve given for our Dwarves is that they’re true mountain folk: rugged frontier types who are smart and wary, like early pioneers like Kit Carson mixed with HBO’s Deadwood and Jack London’s White Fang.
I’d since add to that: “Imagine the cast of Deadwood, if they were all members of MENSA.” Essentially raise the entire camp’s collective IQ up to the 98th percentile or higher. How would characters in that intelligence bracket survive and thrive as pioneers in harsh subterranean conditions? Seems like a pretty fun challenge.
That basically means I get to do a lot of reading into newspapers, journals, and correspondences from North America in the 1600s and early 1800s to try to nail a perspective, tone, and canter of speech generally along those lines.
Since it is fiction, you can definitely take certain allowances. In fact, sometimes you’re dealing with your audience’s view of time periods and cultures rather than representing them 100% accurately. (Irrational’s Ken Levine once mentioned the reaction to his initial pass at dialogue for BioShock was that it was unrealistic for the 1950s. His research had shown that while people at the time wrote fairly formally, they spoke pretty loosely, similarly to how we do today. After he adjusted the script to meet expectations, it was judged to be more authentic.) But this kind of legwork gives you an excellent start.
Beyond all that, your societies need a coherent, compelling philosophy… one that’s generally reasonable and relatable, but that actively puts them at odds with others in your game world. That way when conflict arises, each side will have a justifiable viewpoint, no one will come off as bland, generic good or evil, and it’ll ideally be a bit of a tragedy.
I’ll stop just short of detailing our Dwarf faction’s particular worldview, since it’s tied into that aforementioned, upcoming game demo. But suffice to say, we hope their philosophy and character should combines into an original take on Dwarves you’ve never experienced before. That’s our goal, which has been really fun to tackle.
And that’s not even mentioning the Dark Elves and Shamblers…
We can’t wait to show you and hear what you think.
Joe Fielder, Creative Director
Other News[edit]
$900,000 Stretch Goal Achieved!
This past week we reached the Language Localization $900,000 stretch goal! We’re now going to localize the game in French, Italian, German and Spanish. We’re also going to add Liches to the game. Huge thanks to all our existing and new fans for the continued support.
Next stretch goal up is the $950,000 Necropolis of the Ancients. Darkness upon darkness; ancient beyond reckoning. Only the stout-hearted enter this accursed underworld city. With your help, let’s bring this city of the dead to life!
We are also adding a mini-goal at the $925,000 mark, the Wailing Haunt. Haunts are a class of spectral creatures that hate all things living. The Wailing Haunt is blind in the conventional sense, but can sense the motion of the living and are drawn to it. If you are still they may pass right by you unawares, but if you make a run for it they are sure to pursue hard. They also have a piercing cry that can deafen and attract other undead. Let’s show our courage and entreat the Wailing Haunt to the Underworld.
Summertime Fun!
Finally, a reminder that the Summer cross-promotion with Bard's Tale IV and Underworld Ascendant is ongoing through September 23rd, where you can receive a $5 coupon for backing both games.
Redeem your coupon or pledge now!
The OtherSide Team