“We wanted to separate ourselves from actually being an Earth-type world,” Immortals of Aveum associate art director Julia Lichtblau told me. “We are this completely new planet. It is very Earth-like, but it is still a new world. Yes, it does have elements [of dark fantasy]–the story is a world on the brink of the abyss, and there are very high stakes and there are definitely elements in our story that reflect those very somber moments–but then there’s also just a lot of banter and modern conversations that are had between the characters. And I think that the art sort of reflects that, where you do have areas that are very subdued to further enforce that mood. And then you jump to another level that is very bright and sunny and kind of bombastic and pushing the colors.”
Lichtblau continued: “We have over a dozen different biomes to travel through. And the very nature of this world of Aveum is that it has these very distinct countries that each have their own biome type. And as Jak, you have the opportunity to explore those different regions. And so I do think we really tried to push each level to make it feel distinct and different but still grounded. There are still vestiges and even small environmental storytelling [moments] where you’re seeing the connections between these different countries and certain things like trading between certain regions versus other areas that are very much isolated. And so we try to still ground [the world] in terms of having the flora and fauna and even just sort of rock types and such. But I really feel like each level has its own unique voice.”
I was most interested to hear that Ascendant looked to real-world endangered species to inform the design of Immortals of Aveum’s flora and fauna, which in turn ties into one of the game’s narrative themes. “We wanted to still have that grounding element of ‘Earth-like’ where a lot of the species in the game–like the flowers and the bushes and the trees–are actually replicas of real-life endangered species in North America,” Lichtblau said. “That is something that I was really interested in adding as this undercurrent to the levels.”
Lichtblau continued: “That’s always something that’s been important to me, just environmentalism. And so that’s always something that [our studio] talks about, and I think this was a nice way to pay homage to that and reflect some of the dev’s passions while simultaneously adding that extra layer of narrative depth to the game itself.”
This isn’t to say that Immortals of Aveum doesn’t feature more fantastical scenery and creatures–a quick glance at the gameplay trailer reveals that that isn’t true. And those more fantastical flora and fauna have their own interesting narrative implications and helpful gameplay considerations. “We definitely did have the opportunity to design very fantastic glowing blue flowers or very interesting mycelium-based roots,” Lichtblau said. “In the context of our game, I wanted them to feel like they’re feeding off of the magic that is just permeating every building, every bit of the ground. And so you are able to see some of these more magical, glowing plants congregate on certain types of architecture or around areas that maybe have more magic presence as both a way to help guide the player through levels, but also just show the distinction between a normal floor–where you would encounter normal-looking bushes and the trees–and a more magical space. You’re seeing that dichotomy.”
Lichtblau didn’t go into specific detail about how the studio’s art direction in regards to plant and animal life informs the world-building of the game, so I’m eager to see just how much of it is present within the history of the story. At face value, Immortals of Aveum looks like a pretty game with some fun spell-slinging mechanics, but the story itself hasn’t grabbed my attention yet. We’ve seen shooters where the story is about a young upstart chosen to kill the big bad because they’ve just got that special something that no one else apparently does. I want to know what Ascendant is doing to spice up a narrative we’ve seen dozens of times before, be it by tying in themes of environmentalism or something else.
Immortals of Aveum will launch for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC in 2023.
