Behind the scenes breakdown: Title reveal

Recently we announced Wild Yonder — our first game as an independent studio. Just in case you missed it, you can check everything we had to say about the project in our previous devlog here. 

But the TLDR gist is: the game is a narrative-driven adventure, set in a future where oceans have consumed the planet and only a small fraction of humanity remains. Of course, that’s barely scratching the surface — and how much can you really glean from a mini synopsis alone? 

So when it came to the actual title reveal, we wanted to give gamers a glimpse into the world itself. Something that would expand on what we’d already put out there, without giving away too much. Here’s a behind the scenes breakdown of our thinking process.

Setting the scene

Being an adventure set on the sea, we knew we had to frame everything around Ol Sally — a converted starship that not only plays a huge role in how players will be exploring this world but also a massive part of the game as a whole, practically a character in and of itself.

Then, of course, there’s the actual character of Brody. Without giving too much away, she’s fairly central to the story and let’s just say her portrayal in the scene is pretty indicative of her character. But more about that (as well as a proper look at other characters in the game) for another time…

For now though, here's how we put the final scene together.

Above: Early concept of the scene with rear-view of Ol Sally and placeholder for Brody.

Below: With tested colour placement.

Later iterations were changed to include the front-facing view of Ol Sally as seen in the final version and a more prominent view of the fractured moon (something that will come up in the game's story) -- inspiration taken from the Death Star's appearance in Rogue One's poster. 

The colour palette was then refined to bring the tone in line with the brighter, vibrant look of the game. The initial idea was to have Brody stood looking out to the horizon as if about to embark on an adventure. (We also wanted to keep aspects of her appearance a secret for now - with the primary focus shifting to the ship).

While this would have been cool as a concept on its own, we still wanted to bring some of her personality into the mix (especially as you can't see her face!) - a subtle bit of visual storytelling by having her lounge on the shore instead. What's going on in her head? How is this relevant to her character and the game? All questions that will become clearer in good time...

Until the next one, 

— Team Attic