Exploring Eden

In last week‘s development blog we talked about the art and design philosophy for the player characters of Eden Rising: human explorers lost on an alien world, surviving by integrating the strange power of the Ascendants into their bodies. Today, we’ll talk a little about the ideas and art direction of Eden itself.

The alien world of Eden is, at a glance, an incredibly lush and vibrant place. However, within its sprawling landscape lies many dangers and hazards. When designing the look and feel of the world we wanted to ensure that while pleasing to look at, the world also signaled its dangers to its human explorers.

For example: the vibrant green waters bubbling along the beaches and forming pools and lakes along the valleys — they eat away the stone with their corrosive properties. Or the towering orange fungi creating an alien silhouette against the sky, reminiscent of deadly toadstools on Earth. Much like a poison arrow frog signaling its deadly nature with vibrant color, so too does the world of Eden.

While traversing Eden in search of valuable materials, an explorer will notice much of the flora and fauna are reminiscent of the ocean. Colorful swaying plant life, bulbs, and coral-like growths rising out of sandy seabeds or rock. This was all in service of creating the feeling that this world is not so friendly to sustaining human life. Even the creatures of Eden themselves share many of these traits, the goal being to make them feel like a blend of plant and animal, an extension of Eden itself.

In addition to the global look and feel of Eden, the world is also comprised of several unique and vibrant biomes. Each location has its own colorful atmosphere, creatures, materials, and a Crucible for tribes to discover. For early access launch there will be four fully completed biomes, with many more planned.

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Each week we will release a new blog post discussing Eden Rising, its development, and upcoming dates. Would you like to learn more about Eden? Make sure to follow us for all the latest updates, concept art, and more!