The Kristala Dev Blog - Issue #24
Welcome back to the fantasy, friends!
You're just in time for the latest installment of the ever-enchanting Kristala dev blog, a monthly compilation of the game development completed for indie 3D dark fantasy ARPG Kristala in November 2020.
If this is your first time joining us, we're super happy to have you! Kristala is the inaugural title from the leading ladies behind Astral Clocktower Studios, a female-owned-and-operated indie games studio based in Central PA, USA.
In this issue, you'll see the progress made on the tree house villages for our Nisarga clan, get a peek at three new armor sets for our player character, receive an in-depth look at the abandoned city of Nasahara, and so, so much more. Plus, we'll introduce you to three of our newest talented dev team members too!
Now, let's get ready to amp up the magic and dive headfirst into the dark fantasy of Kristala.
3D Asset Design
In last month's issue, we gave you a little introduction to the work our 3D Environmental Designer, Cass, had done on the first set of Jhacanda tree houses that will be featured in our Nisargan clan levels.
Much like the large Redwoods and Sequoias that exist in our realm, the great Jhacanda trees of Ailur are impressive in both their size and aesthetic. The nature-loving Nisarga clan not only values these trees for their connection to the natural world of Ailur, but for their height too.
As a clan that shies away from conflict, the Nisargans erected their stunning abodes way up high amongst the sky-high branches of the massive Jhacanda trees. This positioning allows the Nisargans to spot any kind of impending danger well before it actually arrives.
This sprint, Cass was able to make some incredible headway on both the first and second sets of houses that will populate these stunning Nisargan homesteads. Once he's modeled all three sets, Cass will then begin the tedious texturing process for each one.
In order to make each set of tree houses unique and varied, we've brainstormed several ways to implement small aesthetic variations to each model to make it stand apart from the rest.
In the images of the first set above, you can see that we've used a series of ladders to traverse from one house or floor to another. In the second set, Cass is designing a winding stairway that snakes up the side of the tree instead.
We're looking forward to seeing what Cass does to the third set of houses to make it unique. Stay tuned to future issues of the Kristala game dev blog for updates.
Shifting gears to 3D Generalist Karena's neck of the woods, we have even more Nisargan tree houses to explore. While Cass worked on more traditional-looking structures, Karena's been modeling a large, cylindrical tree house that will be featured in the Nisarga clan's capital city of Nisar.
While the houses above will be affixed to the outside of the Jhacanda trees themselves, the homes Karena's modeling will encircle the entirety of the trees' trunks, with the tree stretching up through the center of each rounded house.
These cylindrical homes are much larger than the traditional, rectangular models; because of this, we envision the models Karena's making to be home to more prominent Nisargans that hold some position of power or greater importance.
This sprint, Karena was able to complete her model and begin texturing. We're especially loving the detail on the gorgeous thatched roofs, flooring, and entry hatch pictured below. Once she's done with texturing, Karena will create a few smaller models to help detail and personalize the homes—like decorative curtains, planter boxes, and other items.
When you begin your journey to becoming a famed Raksaka warrior at the start of Kristala, you'll have more than one challenge to overcome. In addition to the Raksaka Proving, you'll also have to battle your way through hordes of Kotakayan soldiers that are mercilessly hunting you.
Over the past few sprints, our resident 3D Character Designer, Bianca, has been hard at work capturing the look of our Kota soldier concepts in 3D form. In order to properly create variation and individuality in the soldiers, Bianca created three different versions that will be prominently featured in the game.
Here's a look at Bianca's paint job on the three soldier variants. Next, she'll package the models, create fur, and then model their armor. Make sure you stop by our Concept Art section in this issue of the blog to get a sneak peek at what the armor sets will look like.
If you've been following our development journey over the past few months, you'll know that we've been working hard to create and implement a new model for our player character—one that more accurately matches the character's original concept.
As his first task this sprint, 3D Generalist Nick worked on modeling a set of eyelids to allow the character to properly blink and emote—one of the final steps in fully finalizing the player character's revised model.
Because the new model for our main character is vastly different than the existing model in the game build, we've had to go back through all the existing armor sets and properly adapt them for the shape and size of the new piece.
As the initial creator of the female main character's armor sets, we of course tasked Nick with amending his work to better suit the new and improved model. Before diving in on that task, however, we decided to give our character a set of base undergarments to with which to begin the game.
Here's a look at the pieces Nick created. We initially went with a strapless canvas top to match our initial concept, but we soon added in a leather strap to make the undergarment better suited for the intense battle you'll experience in Kristala.
With the undergarments completed, Nick was then able to begin revising the existing armor sets. To start, he amended the base Nisargan training armor set that you'll don at the start of the game if you choose to play as a member of the Nisarga clan.
Check it out!
Once he finished with the Nisargan starting set, Nick then moved on to revising the Ancient Angler Armor set that you'll receive as a pickup in our Dalamase swamp level.
This gorgeous ensemble is a mid-grade set that's adorned with beautiful brass leaves and other additional natural elements to help highlight the Nisarga clan's love for nature and the natural world around them.
