Question of the week #5

Today we will answer a question from “Jamari Laphouine” posted on Facebook: A modern stealth game… HARD?

Hi Jamari,

If you mean that “modern” stealth games don’t offer sufficient challenge to the player, then we agree with you! Challenge and tension are some of the ingredients we want to bring back to the stealth genre. The choice of a goblin as the main character is a clear signal to the player that he cannot rush headlong into the fray; such tactics will not see him survive for long in the Tower of Akenash! “Styx: Master of Shadows” may well be considered a very difficult game: guards will hunt you down and kill you in a few attacks (when they don’t kill you instantly). Even more dangerous are the monsters that lurk in the tower or the traps can crush you or cut you to pieces in the bat of an eyelid. That said, we don’t want the player to feel that he is unfairly matched so we have worked hard to make sure that there is enough information available for reasoned choices to be made when it comes to selecting a path or an action. You will also have powerful tools at your disposal and using them wisely can make your journey a lot easier.

If you have a question about the game that you would like to put to the team, please post it below this thread or on our Facebook page! We’ll be happy to answer you in the next Question of the week.

—
Guillaume
Project Manager

Character introduction #1 – Styx

Today, we’re going to talk about the central figure of our adventure… Yes you may have guessed, it’s Styx. :)

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First graphic research on Styx after OoaM…


250 years old, our hero Styx is the first known goblin. Physically, he is what you expect of this people: green and small, 1m28 (4’ 2").
He is very agile, solitary and devious. Yet, he has not always been so bitter…

Before being changed into a small creature, Styx was an orc shaman, respected by all, a powerful mage, erudite and passionate about life’s forces. This passion will push him to study Amber, a magic and highly addictive substance, which will unfortunately seal his fate.

Both a blessing and curse, Amber possesses significant powers that Styx will put to full use during his adventures. Alas, these powers come at a significant cost…
In addition to his change of appearance, Styx’s addiction to Amber brings with it unending mental torment, causing him to sink slowly into madness.

Despite his metamorphosis, he retains some orc characteristics, such as pride, his taciturn nature as well as the body language and attitudes of this people.


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Styx facial 3D shoots


To put an end to his suffering, our goblin tries to steal the heart of the World Tree, the inexhaustible source of the accursed substance which caused his mutation. His risky plan is to enter that place of damnation, the Atrium of Akenash.

The magnitude of the task will turn out to be more difficult than he had imagined and he will have to brave much hardship in order to finally free himself from torment.

–
Camille ‘Jolly Roger’
Communication & Community Manager

Question of the week #4

Today we will answer a question from “Jesper Vas Broer” posted on Facebook: Will you use the same voice actor? I loved his voice.


Hi Jesper,

Yes! Saul Jephcott is back to lend his voice to Styx.

We just recorded the voices with him last week, so you can listen, without waiting any further, some samples:


If you have any question you would like to ask to the team about the game, please post it below this thread or on our Facebook page! We’ll be happy to answer you in the next Question of the week. 

—
Guillaume
Project Manager

Akenash dwellers #1 – No-Fighters

Hello everybody,

In the next series of updates, we are going to discuss the different creatures that populate the Tower of Akenash.

Let’s start with the more humble human dwellers that we like to call the “No-Fighters”: ambassadors, librarians, and servants.

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They don’t represent a direct threat to Styx as they prefer not to cross paths with the wily goblin. However… watch out! Non-Fighters may appear harmless, but if they see you, they can round up dangerous allies who are not afraid of tracking you down and killing you. And those carrying lighting sticks can ignite the torches, removing the shadows that Styx calls home.

Stay tuned for more info on Akenash dwellers!

–
Guillaume
Project Manager

Question of the week #3

Today we will answer a question from “Орхан Османов”: Will we able to customize our Hud? Turn off quest marker maybe?

Hi Orkhan, 

Yes, you will have some Hud’s customization in “Styx: Master of Shadows”. Additionally to be able to hide subtitles, it will be also possible to hide quest markers and AI detection’s icons.

In “normal” game mode, it is up to you to deactivate or not those options, but we have a spacial hardcore mode, you can unlock after finishing the game, where those options are always deactivated. There is some other challenges in this special mode we will tell you later.

If you have any question you would like to ask to the team about the game, please post it below this thread or on our Facebook page! We’ll be happy to answer you in the next Question of the week. 

—
Guillaume
Project Manager

Staff Presentation #1: Concept Artists

Hello,

Today, we will open up a new facet of the development of “Styx: Master of Shadows” and take a special interest in the area of the game art, namely concept art.

Before beginning to create a 3D world, we the concept artists, have the job of putting down on paper, in both image and text form, our vision of the game universe.

Working with game designers and writers, we strive to produce an overview of the graphic universe of the game for the whole development team.

So a lot of preparatory work goes into creating a general outline, with “painting” and “drawing” being the vectors that bring the environment to life. We supply the “blueprints” to help our “blacksmiths” shape the distinctive world of Styx.

One of the most interesting environments that we had to design for Akenash are its “bowels” where dark creatures have their lair and where Styx finds the shadows of which he is so fond.

So we produced a variety of artwork to outline the location:

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These images set the atmosphere of the location. After that, we move onto a more specific design of the elements that will make up the environment. This will help the 3D artists when it comes to modeling the Akenash tower, with such things as the pipes and roots of the Tree as they crisscross the various volumes.

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Concept team : Cyril, Paradis, Tom and Mathieu

Follow the guide through the Tower of Akenash!

Today we will give you a few details about the tower of Akenash, the playground of your hero in “Styx: Master of Shadows”.


This huge tower was built around the world Tree by humans in order to try to control the power of the amber that flows from it. Over time, the tower became a center of power, knowledge and mystery.

The upper levels contain the apartments occupied by the ruler, the embassy where humans receive diplomats from the four corners of the kingdom, the great library and the “docks” (served by airship). The upper levels are the only ones that receive sunlight.

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Below, built around the dome that encloses the World Tree, are the military quarters, prisons and alchemy labs where humans try desperately to master the sometimes destructive power of amber.

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The further you descend into the depths of Akenash, the closer you get to the world Tree and the elves that protect it. This is a dangerous zone where unpleasant creatures are to be found lurking.

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That’s it for today, more secrets about the Tower of Akenash to discover in Styx : Master of Shadows!

–
Guillaume 
Project Manager

Question of the week #1

Hi,

Today we will answer a question from “Hightechzombie”: There seem to be different approaches to finishing a level, but is there more to it?

The levels within “Styx: Master of Shadows” are both high and wide, which means that we were not lacking in space when it came to design. You therefore have numerous options when choosing your path towards reaching your goal. There is not one “right path” and each choice you make will lead to different challenges and require different styles of play. For example, the most obvious path is often the best-guarded and so it offers the biggest challenge if you want to sneak in. Exploring the level will allow you to find alternative routes.

When you have chosen a path, the way you actually pursue it is up to you. You can sneak quietly in through the shadows or you can use the many tools at your disposal. For example, a clone could create a diversion; disable a guard or create a smoke screen. You could also use your power of invisibility to simply avoid a guard or use a weapon such as a throwing knife to silence him for good. As with paths, you have many other tools, but we’ll let you discover them. You can even forego tools and use the environment to your advantage: poison a guard’s drink; make objects fall on a guard’s head; etc.

Spying, especially on guards, will yield useful information about alternative ways to succeed in your objective. For example, in the prison, you may overhear talk of a mechanism to unlock all cell doors: you can image the kind of diversion that would create, with guards chasing after prisoners who are fleeing in all directions.

Bonus question from “Hightechzombie”: Styx hates dogs, but what’s his opinion on cats?

Styx loves cats… especially roasted with onions. ^^

If you have a question you would like to ask to the team about the game, please post it below this thread! We’ll be happy to answer you in the next Question of the week. 

—
Guillaume
Project Manager

Styx’s DevBlog is now open!

Hi everybody!


We are really happy and proud to be able to share the development of our game “Styx: Master of Shadows” with you on this DevBlog.

This game is our homage to the stealth genre: We want to provide all the ingredients that make a game a great stealth game.

In “Styx: Master of Shadows”, you will play a goblin: fragile, but resourceful thanks to his agility, his assassin skills and his magical powers. Your goal will be to steal the heart of the world-Tree, an infinite source of power: amber. But things are not as easy as they seem… ^^

In this DevBlog we will introduce to you some aspects of gameplay, some of the locations and inhabitants of the Akenash tower as well as the people who are working hard to bring you the best game possible. And as you can see, all the team is on a war footing for the job!

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If you have any question about this project, write a comment below this post. We will select one question and answer it in our next post.

Best regards,

–
Guillaume
Project Manager

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