'Soul Remains' Devlog(?)
polycounter lvl 11
I say devlog, but truth is I've only just started modeling its protagonist, Murgheal, 3 days ago. Project's been kicking around in my head for almost 10 months, though, lol.
The ideal end result would be a 3D action-adventure-platformer (think PoP, LoK, etc.) about, to cut a long story short, traipsing through an alien dimension and talking about feelings (I can go into more detail if anyone's... interested?). Thing is, I stopped modeling altogether in 2011, having never learned sculpting or etc., so the end result will be very low-poly and outdated by today's standards (just right by early 2000s' though). I have also never attempted to make a game myself before so, oh boy, this is gonna end in tears, isn't it...
Without further ado, though, model in its current form, sitting at 2378 tris:
Concept:
Let me know what you think! Paintovers are welcome as, clearly, I don't know what I'm doing.
Replies
Due to the dominance and actions (what actions?) of a group of 'networked' Pale Beings, their world is one step away from becoming completely inhospitable, and its only remaining denizens, sapient, have been forced to subsist on one another to survive.
Abandoned at birth on the steps of, and subsequently raised in, a nuns’ monastery in Iadebele, Murgheal grew up a sheltered, mousy girl. Unwilling to devote her life to religion, and against her surrogate family’s wishes but not denied their support, Murgheal opted to dedicate herself to academic pursuits.
One day, Murgheal received a summons calling her to Reilthane, an invitation penned by the Duke himself. Intrigued, and somewhat alarmed, Murgheal made the trek north and, upon arrival, was inducted into Asthureo’s innermost circle, for she was a descendant of the Lhiarenian royal family, a hybrid born of humans and the alien Pale Beings.
As an albino, Asthureo had tapped into the shared mind of Pale Beings once before, but it was by using Murgheal’s kinship that he was able to truly transcend human limitations. To outsiders, the Duke now stood at the center of a cult of personality, promising the masses a “deathless utopia“. His enemies would see that he and his entourage are proved frauds.
N.B: The protagonist of this MP-12ex prequel Soul Remains! The mild and studious Murgheal is a descendant of the Lhiarenian royal family (thus related to a Pale Being), though far removed enough that only 1/4th of her face is (seemingly) devoid of pigmentation (and lopsided, a glimpse into what she would’ve looked like had she been of purer lineage);
Unbeknownst to Asthureo, Murgheal’s ancestors formed their own stagnant society in the Pale Beings’ dimension since the beginning; rather than oblivion, each descendant is brought there upon death, the main benefit of Pale Being ancestry. Still ironing out the details!
Due to Asthureo’s experiments, several of his retinue wound up there instead of his artificial afterlife, as well. Some take it better than others; that is to say, some would just be combat encounters, while others would help out (Think Farah in parts of PoP: The Two Thrones)! Under normal circumstances, it is impossible to retain anything foreign to one’s own person after death. Asthureo (unknowingly) succeeded in binding objects to souls, thus Murgheal here retained her ‘longsword’; the rest of her equipment is scavenged;
Cadeyrn was the middle child of a decently well-to-do Lhiarenian family. Following assimilation into the Northern Empire, the King’s forced abdication instilled deep cynicism into the nation’s citizenry, and a teenaged Cadeyrn with the realization that the only way to preserve his ideal Lhiarenia was in memory, by leaving.
At age 16, Cadeyrn ran away from his family, finding work, and a way out, as a deck hand on a ship. For the next two decades, he would make a living as a mercenary, on land and sea both, gathering a wealth of experience visiting foreign lands. An escort job in Taxutesi brought him and Asthureo together for the first time and, although they parted ways afterwards, the man had left such an impression on Cadeyrn that, years later, he would seek him out, renouncing his mercenary career to be at his side.
Officially, he was Asthureo’s bodyguard and, a skilled combatant, was tasked with training Reilthane’s newly-appointed Duke’s retinue, the Asthurean Knights, in the one-and-twin bladed martial art unique to him, developed during his time as a mercenary.Cadeyrn would never set foot in his beloved Lhiarenia again.
N.B: The deuteragonist of the MP-12ex prequel Soul Remains! Amiable and disciplined despite his violent career choice, Cadeyrn is the one who trained, among others, Murgheal in the use of the sword(s), during the two years she spent at Asthureo’s court in Reilthane.
Cadeyrn never went out of his way to engage her in conversation, and Murgheal found him intimidating, only really knowing him as a strict instructor, so ending up in the Pale Beings’ dimension (due to Asthureo’s experiments, most of his retinue winds up there instead of his artificial afterlife) gives them a chance to get to know each other. Not romantically or anything (they’re people with vastly different life experiences, even ignoring the 13 year difference), as Murgheal is infatuated with Asthureo, while Cadeyrn, as his close friend and on-and-off lover, tries to ‘bring her back down to earth’.
Under normal circumstances, it is impossible to retain anything foreign to one’s own person after death. Asthureo (unknowingly) succeeded in binding objects to souls, thus Cadeyrn here retained his ‘longsword’; the rest of his equipment is scavenged;