Quote from SenturaThe art itself is decent. The way that its presented leaves some things to be desired.
For instance, the names of the houses/factions sound like they're trying too hard to be something special. This seems to be a very common trait among high fantasy realms that everything must be written in fancy words or else it doesn't count. Stuff like that alone would make me not want to play this game. The lore, if present, needs to be engaging on a high and complex level. The lore should reward the players for attempting to understand it just as much as the game should reward players for playing it. As an example, Tolkien created a usable language (Elven) for his Middle Earth. While an understanding of Elven isn't necessary to read any of the books, it is necessary to understand some bits of the lore -- however obscure they may be.
Going back to how the art is presented, the art direction seems to be... going everywhere? You have samurais mixed with knights mixed with what I can only assume are master chiefs? How are you going to justify that the armor of "Wilkurse" looks like it would be invulnerable in comparison to that of "Ixion"? I understand that you're trying to make every house diverse, but it seems really weird with things like that. From a gameplay perspective, I would assume that "Wilkurse" must be from the future and have gone back in time to kick the asses of everybody in what I can only imagine is the middle ages. And if that is the case, how are they not already dominating the realm? Even if it's a purely cosmetic thing, it just creates way too much disparity in the presentation of the game art.
Hi Sentura, Thanks for your insight. It may be difficult for you to fully grasp the distinct traits of each division without first reading the back-story. This will provide context and will help to understand the unique characteristics of each nation. If you check the website, you'd have notice that we've released roughly 12 or more blog posts covering the stories of the game, each division and characters. So it may be worthwhile to have a read through these first. Here is a bit of background to help:Prologue: http://playeminence.com/eminence-story The story of the game explores the collision of science and fantasy. The world of Eminence shares a similar trait to our own; it's rich with diverse cultures and races each with their own distinctness. Though they share all share one trait, the practice of Alchemy. This craft has been passed down from ancient times through civilisations (in the same way the study and practice of mathematics has been passed within our own history). However, some civilisations birthed their own variant of Alchemy. Read more on each Divisions background below:Aeterna: http://playeminence.com/introducing-aeterna-city-eternalsIxion: http://playeminence.com/introducing-ixion-warriors-of-the-sacredWilkurse: http://playeminence.com/introducing-wilkurse-upper-world One nations Alchemy isn't more powerful than the other. The only differences are steps required to invoke Alchemy techniques. Aeterna transmute elements by needing to have physical materials present. Ixions transmute elements by extracting the essence of materials using the bodys chakra and Wilkurse use technology to conduct the transmutation process through their armour and equipment. The relics, legendary shards, broke the realms of science by accelerating the development of alchemy and opening a world of possibilities. This is how the fantasy layer is introduced. The fantasy layer is tied organically. We wanted to avoid throwing it in front of the player without first having the appreciation and limits of modern science in the timeline of the story. The power of the shards breaks the constraints of science. This has pushed each nation to explore new ways to leverage this power for their own goals and purposes. With regards to the names, we took inspiration from many different cultures. Some names have Latin references and some originate from Norse mythology. Our goal for the story is to make it thought provoking. The world of Artalys is on the brink of destruction from a natural disaster (a Sun which is about to die). A legendary power exists to help salvage the world but nations are in conflict with how it should be used. If our planet suffered the same fate, what would you do if you had the power to save it? We want players to journey through this dying world with not just the hopes of salvaging it but to also learn about its history, nations and the key characters that have a bigger part to play in the overall narrative. Thanks again for your feedback, please refer to our site to read more on the story of the game and each division.
Absolute good taste. I like the SD characters.