Q&A Recap #3: Exploring the Design of Fading Echo

[p]We’re back with another recap of our live Q&A sessions on Discord, where the Fading Echo dev team hangs out with the community, answers your questions, and shares some behind-the-scenes insight into the game’s development.[/p][p]This session featured Lucas and Sylvain, who dove into topics like dimensional travel, exotic player builds, visual world-building, and what to expect from the test.[/p][p]Missed the live event? No worries, we’ve gathered some of the best questions and answers from the session below.[/p][p]And as always, if you want to be part of the next Q&A, make sure to join us on Discord![/p][p]Let’s dive in 👇[/p][p][/p][h2]🏜️ Meet the Worldbuilders Behind Fading Echo[/h2]

[p]Lucas:[/p][p]Hello! I'm Lucas, the Senior Environment Artist on the team. I'm responsible for bringing the world we’re creating to life visually. Lots of rocks and sand sculpting—basically, if it’s in the environment, I’ve probably shaped it![/p][p]Sylvain:[/p][p]Quick intro : I'm Sylvain, I co-direct the project. Day to day, I work with the team to make sure we’re delivering on the vision we set out with from the start.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]💡 What We're Most Excited for You to Discover[/h2][p]What’s the one thing you’re most excited for players to discover in this playtest?[/p]

[p]Honestly? The passion, love, and innovation the team poured into every part of the game.[/p][p]One example: our mana system called Aether, isn’t just a stat. It’s a physical element in the world. When you cast spells, Aether gets left behind, and One (our hero) can recycle it to fuel more abilities.[/p][p]And for me personally, it’s the complexity of our realities. We’ve designed three very different worlds, each with its own lore, rules, and look. You’ll start in the arid, desert-like Shard, then eventually discover places like The Near, our underwater realm, which is the total opposite in mood and color palette.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][h2]🌀 Portals, Dual Worlds & Inspirations[/h2][p]Looking at the portal and multi-dimensional system, it reminded me of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Was that an inspiration?[/p]

[p]Haha good eye! That’s definitely one of our references. Our Art Director was especially inspired by how Soul Reaver handled dimension travel.[/p][p]Of course, we’ve added our own twist: when you open a portal, you can briefly see both realities at once, giving you a glimpse of what’s coming. And One also changes visually when she moves between worlds, it’s a small detail, but it helps reinforce the idea that these dimensions are completely different.[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][h2]🛠️ Designing the Perk System (and Breaking It)[/h2][p]How much fun did you all have creating the Perk system?[/p]

[p]A lot! Our main goal was to make it approachable while still offering deep customization.[/p][p]The Perk system is still evolving—it’s probably the biggest system that's still a bit rough around the edges right now. But it already allows you to customize your spells and abilities every time you return to the Bastion (your home base in the game). It’s a key part of how you build and adapt your playstyle over time.[/p][p]We designed the system around three main “builds” or classes, so players can easily jump into a style they enjoy. BUT, because we love freedom we didn’t restrict you. You can mix and match any Perks across different builds and create your own hybrid strategy.[/p][p]Fun fact: one of our level designers, Corentin, came up with a build that practically broke the game (in a fun way). So yeah, experimenting is highly encouraged![/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][h2]🖥️ Will the Game Melt My PC?[/h2][p]What’s the minimum setup we’ll need to run the game without our PCs catching fire?[/p]

[p]The game runs great on any decent NASA computer 😄[/p][p]Jokes aside, it’s still in development, but we’ve seen players get okay framerate on an Nvidia 1070. So anything above that should give you a smooth experience.[/p][p]We’ve also included graphic options in the alpha. It’ll default to high settings, but you can tweak everything to match your setup.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]🎯 Difficulty Settings & Finding the Right Balance[/h2][p]Talking about difficulty, will there be different options? And can you switch in-game?[/p]

[p]In the closed alpha, difficulty settings won’t be available just yet. But they’ll definitely be in the final game.[/p][p]For now, the alpha is balanced around what we consider a medium difficulty. After three years of playing our own game, we might have unintentionally become hardcore players, so we’re super interested in your feedback.[/p][p]Let us know how it feels, we’re listening![/p]

[p][/p][h2]🎬 Cutscenes in the Alpha: Behind the Scenes of Storytelling[/h2]

[p]One point I forgot to mention during the Q&A is about the current state of cutscenes—which are still a work-in-progress in this version of the game.[/p][p]Interestingly, this gives you a little peek inside the kitchen, what you’ll see in the closed alpha are animated storyboards, which we use to iterate on timing and framing before moving into full 3D production.[/p][p]For Fading Echo, we’ve tried to innovate in how we tell the story. As you’ve probably noticed, the visual style is inspired by anime and comics, and that extends to the cutscenes themselves.[/p][p]Instead of fully animated sequences, we’re using still characters, a choice that was challenging to pull off, but one we hope will feel fresh and distinctive.[/p][p]We’re including a side-by-side comparison below: one frame from what you’ll see in the alpha (left), and a glimpse at what we’re working toward for the final release (right).[/p][p][/p]