Greetings vikings,
As you can tell from the store page, the visual overhaul has been successfully implemented! In this and the following devlogs we will go deeper into the art style evolution of our characters and the game, starting with Ulfur, the warrior!
Humble beginnings
Ulfur was the first character that we've designed! From the very start, we wanted to capture the fantasy of a huge augmented viking warrior who fights evolved monstrosities in a dystopian future. The image below is our very first concept art for Ulfur!
And here is what the original Ulfur looked like in the game!
We'll call this little guy Prulfur or Prototype Ulfur! We've felt like this version had captured the futuristic vibe of the concept art quite well but he felt too armored, which took away from the fantasy of a savage viking warrior surviving in an unforgiving dystopian hellscape.
Back to the drawing board!
A more savage Ulfur!
By the time the second itteration of Ulfur came around, we've already had an artistic vision for the game, so we were able to better tailor this newer version to it. The team really like the axe from the original design so that element was kept while others were heavily changed. For this version of Ulfur, we wanted him to feel more savage, so we ditched the heavier armor in favor of furs and leather.
Here's Ulfur no.2!
Those of you who have participated in our early alpha tests might be familiar with this version! Though we've felt like this Ulfur look like he belonged in the Nanokings world, we've also felt like he could use some more polish.
Onwards to Ulfur no.3!
Bigger, meaner and with a fancy hand!
Our penultimate Ulfur had the shortest lifespan but we've loved him nonetheless! <3
Now this Ulfur was perfect! He had more detail than the previous ones, he looked really badass and he closely resembled the original concept art. He was our definitive Ulfur...until we've made a decision to transition into pixel art and our Ulfur just couldn't follow us there! :(
It was time for one last revision!
One Ulfur to rule them all!!
During the move to pixel art, our art team had worked their hardest to implement the best parts of the previous two Ulfur's into the latest one! After hours of work and countless tweaks, Nanokings got its newest (and final?) version of Ulfur!
Granted, he is a bit shorter than his counter parts but that doesn't make him any less efficient at slaying monsters! He kept the arm, the axe and the fur cloack from the previous Ulfur + he got a fancy new shield and his eyes now glow blue! We're very satisfied with this version and we hope that you love it too!
Now we want to hear from you! Which version of Ulfur is your favorite? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for the next devlog where we'll go over the deadliest creatures know to man...ferrets! :O