EP: Research - Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen is a fairly new release which has since inspired the 'Souls-like' tag of game genre. It's very similar to Dark Souls in mechanics and attempts enthusiastically to imitate the efficient use of space and shortcuts in level designs that Dark Souls also offers. One of the biggest differences between the two though is the art style. Lords of the Fallen has a 'Blizzard' look in my opinion. Shoulders are huge, weapons and armour in general is large, exaggerated, stylized and unrealistic. It's fun and bold and works - the extreme shapes some of the items make offer up some unique silhouettes for characters.

The environments in Lords of the Fallen aren't particularly varied - chapel, snowy castle exterior, castle interior, darker snowy castle. it can be quite 'samey' but what designs do have, have been done very well in my eyes. Something I always notice when playing Lords of the Fallen is the feeling that the world is still alive. It follows with the theme I'm looking at; abandoned, ancient architecture in a mystical land. However with the weather interacting with the levels - constant  snow blizzards, rushing winds and natural sounds, it makes you feel that despite the place being almost entirely barren; nature is still present, the world is still living and breathing even in contrast to whatever has happened in the games story. 

My 'Lords of the Fallen' Inspiration Board

On top of weather effects, I also really love the usage of unnatural colour temperatures in some areas lighting. Lords of the Fallen sometimes uses luminous greens and bright reddish/pinkish light to dramatize the mood of the players surroundings. For instance, in the graveyard area, there's a vibrant green light shining from a crypt entrance. This has a great magical, dark feeling to it as often in games,  shades of greens, greys and dark blues together often signify something necrotic, undead or sinister. I really like this usage of colour temperatures to reinforce the personality of a setting.

Lords of the Fallen has really reminded me, I should take weather, climate and eco-systems into consideration with dressing my environment. I also need to remember to spend time on sound and how I can use noise to give an area depth and character. If I make sure sound and aesthetic link up well, it'll add an extra dimension to my environment and hopefully make it more believable to the player. I don't want them to be distracted by 'this is a game made for a university project', I really would like it to pass as a prototype designed game that has had thought put into it.