Tezcatlipoca: God of the Night Sky
Today we are proud to present to you one of the main deities of the Aztec pantheon, who will also have a key role as a character in Mictlan: Tezcatlipoca.
Tezcatlipoca was among the merciless ancient Gods who demanded blood. As a matter of fact, the practice of human sacrifice was introduced into central Mexico under his influence.
God of the constellation of the Great Bear and the night sky, his name means "Smoking Mirror" in Nahuatl. It refers to mirrors made of obsidian, a shiny black stone that Aztec priests used in divination.
Tezcatlipoca himself, a mischievous and mysterious figure, knew all the deeds and thoughts of humankind: he could see everything happening on Earth and intervene directly in human affairs, bringing both happiness or sorrow. Always present, always watching, he took delight in causing conflict and confusion.
As you can see from the model, we recreated an obsidian belt representing his powers of omnipotence.
Although it was believed that Tezcatlipoca could take on a bewildering array of manifestations, he has often been associated with the color black and the jaguar. As a matter of fact, Tezcatlipoca’s nagual, his sacred animal spirit, was a jaguar. That is why we included a piece of clothing in spotted jaguar skin, which has also been compared to the starry sky.
You may also notice that Tezcatlipoca has one foot missing. According to the myth, he lost his foot when he used it as bait for the reptilian monster Cipactli, which he later dismembered to create the World.
(Did you know that the colossal sea monster Cipactli will actually be in our game? You can take a look at our concept art and read more about her and the myth of the Creation in this post!)
In our model, Tezcatlipoca's missing foot is replaced by a coyote foot, because it is said that another of the God's manifestation in animal form was a coyote. In a benevolent act, he would place itself in the path of travelers, blocking their way. That's how travelers understood that danger of some sort lay ahead, and that the God was warning them.
Tezcatlipoca's head is also adorned with resplendent quetzal feathers: a magnificent, emerald plumed bird venerated by Aztecs and Mayans.
Lastly, you may notice a very particular skull nestled in Tezcatlipoca's unsettling mask. That is the most common representation of Tezcatlipoca, who is often portrayed wearing a turquoise mask with a black eye band. In the image below, you can see one of the most famous art objects of the God, which is a decorated skull displayed in the British Museum in London.
The reference for our 3D model of Tezcatlipoca was the concept art of our incredible Art Director and and lead concept artist Yashaswi Karthik.
We put so much effort and attention to details in order to offer you a AAA quality character, because we believe Mictlan deserves it! We hope you appreciate the hard work and energy we are pouring into this project. We are just a small indie studio, not a multimillion-dollar one, but our team is still doing everything possible to match the quality standards of the international gaming industry.
[h3]Take a look at the video to appreciate the details of the mighty Tezcatlipoca![/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]What do you think of the final result? Let us know in the comment![/h3]
It would be great if you registered on Kickstarter to follow Mictlan, helping us to reach our goal of launching the campaign!
Tezcatlipoca was among the merciless ancient Gods who demanded blood. As a matter of fact, the practice of human sacrifice was introduced into central Mexico under his influence.
God of the constellation of the Great Bear and the night sky, his name means "Smoking Mirror" in Nahuatl. It refers to mirrors made of obsidian, a shiny black stone that Aztec priests used in divination.
Tezcatlipoca himself, a mischievous and mysterious figure, knew all the deeds and thoughts of humankind: he could see everything happening on Earth and intervene directly in human affairs, bringing both happiness or sorrow. Always present, always watching, he took delight in causing conflict and confusion.
As you can see from the model, we recreated an obsidian belt representing his powers of omnipotence.
Although it was believed that Tezcatlipoca could take on a bewildering array of manifestations, he has often been associated with the color black and the jaguar. As a matter of fact, Tezcatlipoca’s nagual, his sacred animal spirit, was a jaguar. That is why we included a piece of clothing in spotted jaguar skin, which has also been compared to the starry sky.
You may also notice that Tezcatlipoca has one foot missing. According to the myth, he lost his foot when he used it as bait for the reptilian monster Cipactli, which he later dismembered to create the World.
(Did you know that the colossal sea monster Cipactli will actually be in our game? You can take a look at our concept art and read more about her and the myth of the Creation in this post!)
In our model, Tezcatlipoca's missing foot is replaced by a coyote foot, because it is said that another of the God's manifestation in animal form was a coyote. In a benevolent act, he would place itself in the path of travelers, blocking their way. That's how travelers understood that danger of some sort lay ahead, and that the God was warning them.
Tezcatlipoca's head is also adorned with resplendent quetzal feathers: a magnificent, emerald plumed bird venerated by Aztecs and Mayans.
Lastly, you may notice a very particular skull nestled in Tezcatlipoca's unsettling mask. That is the most common representation of Tezcatlipoca, who is often portrayed wearing a turquoise mask with a black eye band. In the image below, you can see one of the most famous art objects of the God, which is a decorated skull displayed in the British Museum in London.
The reference for our 3D model of Tezcatlipoca was the concept art of our incredible Art Director and and lead concept artist Yashaswi Karthik.
We put so much effort and attention to details in order to offer you a AAA quality character, because we believe Mictlan deserves it! We hope you appreciate the hard work and energy we are pouring into this project. We are just a small indie studio, not a multimillion-dollar one, but our team is still doing everything possible to match the quality standards of the international gaming industry.
[h3]Take a look at the video to appreciate the details of the mighty Tezcatlipoca![/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]What do you think of the final result? Let us know in the comment![/h3]
It would be great if you registered on Kickstarter to follow Mictlan, helping us to reach our goal of launching the campaign!