As all of our devs pull together to add the final touches to our upcoming game trailer (which is tantalisingly close to being finished!), it means we have a bit of a shorter devlog for you than normal this week - but shorter doesn’t mean lesser! Highlights in this week’s game development update include freshly skinned characters, badass new set pieces, and some awesome sound clips of phantoms, basilisks, and sabretooth tigers. As always, join us on Twitter, Instagram or Reddit for daily updates on Depths of Erendorn - now let’s get into it!
Animation
We’ll kick off the devlog with updates from our Animator. First off, they adjusted the “fixing with hammer” animation for a civilian in the marketplace. These kinds of animations give each NPC a purpose and story, so that the settlement feels as immersive and realistic as possible.
Our Animator then spent some time rigging, skinning, and exporting various creatures, including the Mammoth, Ghoul, and Revenant. Work was also carried out on the Glacial Boar, Fen Elf, and Novice Mage. Our Animator binded their meshes to their existing rigs, painted their skin weights, and then exported them to the engine, where materials were applied. Here’s a look at some of the characters we’ve mentioned:
Environment Design
Two awesome new set pieces were created for events last week. The first one was another version of an Indestructible Box (check out this devlog to see the first version we created).
Now, if you follow us on socials, you may recognise this as the Dangling Box we showed you recently. Originally, the intention was for players to discover this asset hanging from something as they travel through Erendorn, and to then attempt to open it and uncover the hidden valuables inside.
Since then, however, our Artist has dreamt up a more appropriate design for the Dangling Box (to be continued...) and so decided to repurpose this asset as another Indestructible Box. It will still contain something of worth inside, but, as the name suggests, it will be impossible to open through normal means. Here’s a look at the new box, as well as the original one we created:
The next set piece our Artist created was an Offering Jar. In this event, players will have to sacrifice something in order to get their hands on the treasure inside - but there will be another, deadly catch... We’re obsessed with how this set piece turned out - check it out below:
Sound Design
Wrapping up this week’s devlog are updates from our Sound Artist, who spent last week working on vocals for various enemies in the game. They include:
- The Afflicted Phantom: Granted with eternal life, this enemy hails from the Land of the Dead. You’ll be glad that this is an uncommon enemy to encounter because it definitely isn’t a cakewalk to kill:
https://depthsoferendorn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Afflicted-Phantom-Draft-Vocals.wav
Afflicted Phantom vocals
- The Mountain Basilisk: This creature lives near the deathly valleys of the Bonelair Gargoyles, who often harvest it for flesh and hide. This is a common enemy in the game that appears in several fierce classes, each one more powerful than the last:
https://depthsoferendorn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Mountain-Basilisk-Draft-Vocals.wav
The Mountain Basilisk vocals
- The Sabretooth Tiger: Native to Erendorn’s vast plains, these are uncommon, yet brutal creatures that can inflict a lot of Bleed Damage:
https://depthsoferendorn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/SabreTooth-Tiger-Draft-Vocals.wav
The Sabretooth Tiger vocals
- The Whiteback Gorilla: These are common enemies that you’ll mainly encounter in Erendorn’s jungles. You’ll want to be specifically wary of the Whiteback Gorilla Matriarch and Patriarch, which are the two strongest classes of this enemy:
https://depthsoferendorn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Whiteback-Gorilla-Draft-Vocals.wav
The Whiteback Gorilla vocals
- The Mantisar: These are formidable, insectoid enemies that travel in swarms and reap destruction. They’re incredibly deadly, so don’t underestimate them!
https://depthsoferendorn.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Mantisar-Draft-Vocals.wav
The Mantisar vocals
For all of these creatures, our Sound Artist combined interesting, somewhat bizarre recordings with real animal and human sounds in order to create dynamic vocalisations. We love how each one turned out - can’t wait to add them to the characters themselves!
That’s it for this week’s devlog - keep an eye out for our monthly roundup, coming soon!
