Today’s update is very special: Meet Kiran, the character you’ll play as in Lysward. After escaping the Notus facility with no memories and a strange device fused to his forearm, Kiran awakens in a desolate cave, forced to survive a desert that wants him dead. His name is pronounced “Kee-ren”.
Kiran’s concept art.
Kiran’s visual journey from concept to final character was a long one. His first iteration was created as a style test for our art and animation teams, a placeholder that allowed them to explore movement and tone.
Old concept.
Creating Kiran demanded more than just concept art: It required weaving his entire story into his visual identity. Our art team worked closely with our skilled narrative designer, Hannah, and the talented artist Jeleynai, using every story beat and gameplay need as the foundation for their concept art. This incredible collaboration began with broad exploratory sketches, each iteration bringing us closer to a character who feels authentically shaped by his harsh world.
Every detail from the functionality of his Amri sleeve to the wear and tear on his clothing had to reflect his harrowing escape and fight for survival.
Kiran sketches.
But a protagonist’s design isn’t just about aesthetics: It’s about making players connect with their struggle. Through dozens of iterations, we refined Kiran into someone players immediately understand yet still want to uncover.
We had to hit a lot of notes, from the Amri-sleeve on his arm hinting at the function we had from the writing, through his outfit needing to fit where Kiran enters the story in the game, to how his face looks to convey who he is as a person. When you first see Kiran, you should feel his history before he speaks a word. That’s the power of thoughtful character design.
We’re thrilled with the result and can’t wait for you to step into his shoes. What do you think of Kiran?
We’ll have a closed playtest coming soon, so stay tuned and wishlist Lysward. See you in the next update, Explorers!
Snowcastle Games