At release Last Epoch will feature a rich story which involves travelling through time to be present for many pivotal moments in the history of Eterra. By the onset of the Ruined Era, the battles to save the world have been fought - and lost. Only through changing the past can this future be avoided, and the ruinous machinations of the Void be prevented.
As knowing where - and when! - you are is so integral to the story, we have been working to better communicate this information to you. We are currently prototyping Era Banners which will be displayed at strategic moments to keep you in the loop, as well as when you are entering certain locations to ensure you recognize the significance of where you are. To offer examples, you might be shown an Era Banner when first stepping foot into the City of Welryn, or after travelling back to an earlier moment in time.
One of the conversations we are currently having internally revolves around colouring. Should they be consistent? If not, what should determine the colours used? Weāre leaning in favour of having them be colour-coded, with each of the four Eras being represented by a specific colour. Do you agree with this? If not, what alternative would you propose?
Weād love to hear your thoughts!
(Please note that the images below are prototypes created by the art team. They feature placeholder text, and their names and dates should not be considered canon.)
I think the color and exterior designs (like the actual sculpting around the date) should both change to reflect the broad era, while the primary design (the actual circular emblem) should be specific to the region or event taking place. That way you get a consistency of theme and tone for the time-eras while also showing your locale at a glance, even if the terrain and world have been totally changed since last-next you saw itā¦ Time travel tenses! :V
IMO color scheme should reflect the way the local powers see/present themselves. Gold/silver/black and Gothic theme feels right for the undead empire. Cultist should be red/purple fiery/tentacles or whatever color/visual theme makes sense for the higher power they serve.
Youāll also want some catchy sound effects for each era/location to emphasize the appearance of a banner. Ominous woosh/rattle for the empire, chanting for cultists etc.
Would love to see some extra graphic, beside coloring (stars stripes etc per era) or something more unique/standout. (aka sundial for ancient, a cross or prayer hands for divine, skull for imperial, something like a crack(ed)/broken tower for ruined).
The extraās can be anything, and still can be on top of colouring. To me it just colouring just doesnāt stand out enough. (my stuff were just quick thought/examples.)
edit:
although there is something already in the middle I actually mean something on the sides (like brackets or something). the amount of this ābracketāsā can even determine their power.
Magaitiās idea is cool. I came to say I like the bottom 2 banners and it would be cool if all banners looked similar and only differed a bit (I mean, if it looks THAT goodā¦heh) but maybe it would awesome if it reflected the powers in that era. Would also make things easier to remember for new players, maybe.
TBH honest iāve no real opinion / idea of the way you should approach it, but i only wanted to say i really love both designes. The Gold and the Green one are absolutely Great.
Of course the banners look nice and there is nothing wrong with having nice looking UI elements in your game. If I have to choose (without knowing the environment where they popup) I would always take the uncolored one but give them some recognizable rusty/woody/mossy/shiny touch if it fits the era.
The thing about UI elements - even popup ones - is, do you really need them?
As long as itās not a space Sci-Fi game (enhanced reality UI, so UI and game-environment are the very same thing) I would try to avoid UI elements as much as possible.
I (strongly) prefer, especially in āmedievalishā games where I always want to experience a nice atmosphere, that the environment tells me whats going on and not the UI/text etc.
Iām not really convinced that itās not possible to let the game environment communicate properly in which era you are. Neither am I convinced that it is a good thing that one immediatly recognizes (popup) what era it is. Why should this be necessary? I assume time travel should be somewhat confusing to be proper time travel?!
To make it short: I just donāt like games holding my hand in an unnecessary fashion.
Iāve to disagree. I understand where you come from, that many modern Games like to bloat the entire screen, but such banners are vital information for you to better immerse yourself, but also to have a more streamlined way of direction for Gameplay purpose. The Environment should be Part of it too, thatās true, but without any proper indicators by HUD, there is not much where you can orient with and are more lost in the Game. Even more if itās about something complex like Time-Traveling, such Informations are a critical aspect of lore/storytelling, immersion and proper playbility. Iād understand if you suggest that they might add more options to the hud elements, so if people like you want to have less of that, they can disable it, but to cut it entirely would hurt the game more than it helps, and that have absolutely nothing to do with āHandholdingā to give out vital informations to the Players.
Also i find your Sci-Fi / Medieval Argument rather weird. Games does split up into two section, one about playbility / game itself, and another one about immersion / ingame.(also add that this is an Fantasy Game with Timetravel Trope. So to have extended HUD informations showcased via Magic, does makes as much sense as enhancd reality UI made by techonology). Itās first and foremost still a Videogame and not an Medievalish Fantasy-Timetravel Simulator, so to cut unneccassary vital HUD Elements for the sake of cater a small bit of more Atmosphere for an GAME with such an argument is kindaā¦ idkā¦
