Dev Blog 04 - The Architecture of Hell
The Architecture of Hell
We’ve already written about creating an endless ashen waste and its technical challenges in Dev Log 02 - From Hell with Love - but what about the structures that populated hell, or their insides, such as the thronerooms behind the Archfiends?
One of the most important aspects of creating a believable and immersive in-game world is designing the architecture. In Solium Infernum, we wanted to create a unique vision of Hell – one that was not born in endless infernal fires and torment, but rather exists as a daunting and abyssal lack of anything.
[h2]Pazazu Made Us Do It[/h2]
It’s tempting to lean towards Gothic or medieval religious architecture when setting your visual direction for a game set in hell. But we wanted to evoke something far more ancient and unknown. Players should feel like they're navigating through a world that had existed for eons, among edifices that vibrate with strange, infernal power.
Early on we made the decision to reference the look and feel of bronze-age aesthetics, straight out of the dawn of human civilization. I really liked the use of the ancient Assyrian statue of Pazuzu in the film, The Exorcist. It felt old testament, being from a darker and more unknowable place. So in much of the architecture, we took our cues from the brutalist shapes of those early civilizations’ ziggurats and temples, particularly around the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ (Iraq was home to ancient Mesopotamian peoples who developed the world's first writing, agriculture, and cities, between 10,000 and 3,000 BCE).
Old Mate PazuzuIt was also important to reference historic sources to avoid our structures from looking like they belonged in a high-fantasy setting; they needed to feel adjacent to the real world, however ancient.
Adam Duncan, our master concept artist who set the visual direction for Solium Infernum, used this cue to develop the look of hell’s architecture, particularly evident on …
[h2]Great Pandaemonium [/h2]
Pandaemonium is the centre of evil in the underworld, the home of the Conclave, and the place where the parliament of the Fallen and their minions gather to deceive, argue, and posture.
Pandaemonium is found in Paradise Lost, which includes a long description;
“Built like a Temple, where Pilasters round Were set, and Doric pillars overlaid With Golden Architrave; nor did there want Cornice or Freeze, with bossy Sculptures grav'n, The Roof was fretted Gold.”
Our version varies a little in style, but still retains the generous use of gold and temple-ness, and throws in a pentagram for good measure. Black obsidian stone was picked because it’s volcanic, and it also conveniently stood off the lighter ash ground perfectly. If you look closely, an orderless city has arisen around the central temple! We felt the great sigil of the Conclave should be seen high above Pandaemonium, warning all, for as far as the eye can see, of its infernal might.
Concept Art for Pandaemonium, by Adam DuncanInteresting hell-fact: Pandaemonium was built in 1 hour by the fallen angels under the guidance of Mulciber. While gloriously constructed from gold, it was reportedly smaller than expected, or perhaps the demons were too large, as they had to all be shrunk down by magic to fit in!
[h2]Chamber of the Infernal Throne[/h2]
We drew direct inspiration for our Infernal Throne, one of the more visceral images in our Solium Infernum marketing, from the piece “Satan Presiding at the Infernal Council”, by John Martin, which illustrated the circa-1826 edition of the poem. The orb ‘monolith’ is such an evocative, brutal shape underneath the throne, it demanded one’s attention.
The Infernal Throne uses simple shapes from pre-history cues. The detailing is reminiscent of the engravings found decorating ancient stone tablets, with a mix of the demonic thrown in. The engraving itself tells the story of the fall…
[h2]Places of Power & Strongholds[/h2]
Our main goal was to create a world that felt both vast and ancient, with splatterings of architecture that conveyed this sense of distinct personality and grandeur.
Our Senior 3D Artist, Steph, explores this idea in her favourite Place of Power, the Palace of Gluttony:
Palace of Gluttony In Game
Palace of Gluttony Concept Art“The Palace of Gluttony… It’s so good! It’s this big thing and he’s happy, and it’s got this big tongue… And then, at the back, because we only had concepts in the front, I did a big crack at the back with all his bumps hanging out … So it’s eating, but it’s just coming straight back out. Complete consumption waste.”- Steph, 3D Artist.
Our Places of Power are also all very distinct and impressive in their own right. Drawing influence from the artwork of the original, classic Solium Infernum, each location boasts a unique purpose and back story.
From the looming spires of the Tower of Pride, inspired by the Tower of Babel, to the dark and twisted Alter of Abomination, we wanted to clearly express the weight of history and power that these locations hold.
Below is some very early Concept Art for the Garden of Infernal Delights… you can also spy mockups of other Places of Power, and a Titan (on the bottom canton).
Garden of Infernal Delights, early visualizations (Bec Oborn, Adam Duncan)
Andromalius' Stronghold, early visualizations (Yuchen Wang, Adam Duncan)[h2]The Throne Rooms of the Archfiends[/h2]
One of the most distinct areas of architectural focus is the Throne Rooms of each Archfiend. We've already shown the Throne Room of Murmur in our Archfiend Reveal, so you can imagine how each of these rooms is a personification of the Archfiend themselves. The focus for each room is always to be imposing and reflect the traits and power of its infernal owner.
Specifically, in a reveal ahead of its time, Nikkita, our Junior 3D Artist explains how Erszebet’s Throne Room was their favorite to work on.
“It speaks to her sultry nature, her confidence in her sexual aspects since… That’s really what Erszebet is all about. The vibe was to emulate a space that is inviting and makes you want to stay, compared to most of the other archfiends that instead invoke power or fear.”
Erszebet's Throne RoomEach Throneroom is a combination of 3D and 2D elements, sometimes referred to as '2.5D'. Typically, the far background is a 2D illustrated plate, the foreground Throne and surrounds being modelled and lit in 3D. This allows us to use particles and shaders to bring the scene to life. For example, each brazier has billowing incense thanks to our VFX extraordinaire, Stephen Jeal.
[h2]Concluding Thoughts[/h2]
Ultimately, the Architecture of Hell in Solium Infernum is a labor of love. Our vision was to create a unique and terrifying version of Hell that would immerse players in an underworld of darkness, power, and intrigue.
… And if YOU wanted to be captivated by its mysteries and challenges, you can hop into our Discord and join our upcoming Playtesting cohort.
Until then...
See you in Hell,
Ty
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If you've made it this far, thanks for following along. I intend to share more posts like this, detailing the development process as it unfolds and exploring the unique challenges the privilege of re-imagining a cult classic like Solium Infernum for new (and old!) audiences holds.
For now, you can join the League of Geeks Discord community for all the infernal news and discussion.
We're actively entering into our Playtesting era for Solium Infernum, so if you wanted to be part of that, we definitely encourage you to hop in the Discord. More information will come soon there!
P.S. You can support us and our re-imagining of Vic's "diamond in the dark" by Wishlisting Solium Infernum on Steam, if you haven't already. Wishlisting tells the all-great Steam algorithm that people like what they’re seeing and gets us in front of more eyes.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1893810/Solium_Infernum/
