By now most of you have probably seen that we’re running a Kickstarter to fund the last stretch of Conclave’s development. (And if you haven’t, go check it out! This blog post will be here when you get back.) We thought we’d talk a little more here about aspects of the game and the development process that we could only touch on briefly there.
One of the pleasures of developing Conclave has been getting to watch (and hear) Sam, Chris, and Devin turn our ideas and sketches into works of art that evoke our setting in a visceral way. Take Sam’s initial composition, “Turn of the Age”:
Each of the five races of the Kin is represented musically in the piece:
- cello for the mezoar
- the chorus of voices for the lumyn
- drums for the forgeborn
- flute for the nix
- harp for the trow
In addition, Sam came across a rare stringed instrument used in medieval times called the viola da gamba, which he uses to suggest an ancient and otherworldly (but not alien) atmosphere.
Chris also weaves details of the setting into his character portraits. Two of my favorites are ones he’s done for the nix:
Long ago the nix discovered Spiritcraft, one of the five great magical Traditions. Though the Tradition has since spread to other races of the Kin, the nix retain a strong affinity for the beings of living magic that seem to spring forth from Orn. You can see one example in the first portrait, though not all spirits are as cute as that one.
There’s a more tragic tale behind the second portrait. One of the last realms to fall was Charn, which was betrayed and usurped by the great Spiritcrafter who became known as the Heresiarch. The nix in the image still wears the hawk-inspired armor of a soldier from that northern land in honor of his ancestors who died defending it.
