The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu News

[p][/p][p]In The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, the forest isn’t just a backdrop: it’s your first enemy.[/p][p]
[/p][p]These in-game shots are still work in progress, but they already hint at the tension you’ll face: dense vegetation, unnatural silence, and paths that seem to shift around you. This is not a space to explore. It’s a space to survive.[/p][p]
The environment itself is hostile, and every detail matters:
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• [p]Dense vegetation and branches slow your movement. You can cut through with a machete, but too much noise risks drawing out hidden creatures.[/p]
• [p]Dense fog limits your vision, and rain threatens your survival in more ways than one. A soaked fuse means your gunpowder weapons won’t fire when you need them most.[/p]
• [p]Caves and structures might feel like the last place you want to enter, but they are where you are most likely to find treasure, and also offer a small advantage: at least inside, you can keep your gunpowder dry.[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]Here, survival means weighing every choice - sometimes the danger you see isn’t as bad as the danger you might awaken if you choose to use your firearms.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The team drew from real-world inspirations, especially the Valdivian temperate rainforest of South America: an ecosystem that is ancient, wet, and claustrophobic. [/p][p]But reality is only part of the story, the environment is also twisted with Lovecraftian elements, as the inhabitants of the underworld can alter life to their will.[/p][p][/p][p]“...The K'nyanians had attained immortality and subjugated other races before them, and had the technology to biologically modify other life-forms”[/p][p][/p][p]The jungle becomes an ideal hunting ground, a camouflage for ancient predators.[/p][p]There are things that crawl through the roots, and even more ancient things beneath, things you are never meant to encounter, if you want to survive.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]🧭 Join the Galleon[/h3][p]Facebook Twitter Discord[/p]

[h3]A message to our explorers: [/h3][p][/p][p][/p][h3]🧭 Join the Community[/h3][p]Facebook Twitter Discord[/p]

[p]Before a single torch flickered, before the jungle whispered its first warning, there was only an empty stage, a few actors in mocap suits, and a very clear vision:[/p][p]Show players what it feels like to descend into the unknown.[/p][p][/p][h3]Motion Capture with a mission[/h3][p]To create the physicality and emotional realism we needed for the trailer, we turned to motion capture. Our goal was to capture not just movement, but intention. These aren’t modern protagonists, they’re 16th-century explorers, warriors, and believers, reacting to things their world can’t explain.[/p][p]Benjamin Corbel, Lead Cinematic Artist at Nacon, directed the shoot - and even took on the role of virtual camera operator, helping craft every shot from inside the scene. His eye for framing tension and unease was key to translating horror into physical space.[/p][p]We were lucky to work with an incredible group of performers:[/p]

• [p]Cédric Lalanne as The Priest, bringing gravity and spiritual tension to every gesture.[/p]
• [p]Tommy-Lee Baïk as The Veteran, whose posture and hesitation conveyed experience.[/p]
• [p]Lazare Minoungou as The Soldier, driven, determined, and slowly unraveling.[/p]

[p]From the smallest head turn to a last-minute recoil from something unseen, these actors brought our vision to life, one beat at a time.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Mocap team behind the curtain [/h3][p]No mocap shoot happens without a solid team behind the sensors, and we had one of the best. Huge thanks to:[/p]

• [p]Charley Boidin[/p]
• [p]Mathilde Cellier[/p]
• [p]David Chour[/p]
• [p]Manon Delafont[/p]
• [p]Nolan Vercasson[/p]

[p]Their attention to detail ensured the sessions ran smoothly and the resulting data stayed clean, sharp, and expressive. From syncing weapon grips to adjusting calibration mid-scene, they kept the technical side invisible—so the performances could shine.[/p][p][/p][p]You can discover the video right here:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h3]🧭 Join the Community[/h3][p]Facebook Twitter Discord[/p]

[p][/p][p]It took no more than a single look at that monstrous and insidious cylinder to make me realise the dizzying gulfs that yawned between all men of the known earth and the primal mysteries it represented. Before that gulf Pánfilo de Zamacona and I stood side by side; just as Aristotle and I, or Cheops and I, might have stood.[/p][p]– H.P. Lovecraft, The Mound[/p][p]We wanted to share a few thoughts about the literary and philosophical approach that lies at the heart of The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, and how it relates to Lovecraft’s work.[/p][p][/p][h3]How The Mound inspired a new kind of descent[/h3][p]Our story starts with The Mound, a brilliant but lesser-known Lovecraft novella about an ancient underground civilization hidden beneath a burial mound in the American Midwest. It’s a strange, haunting tale of the slow decay into monstrousness of a civilization that has shut out the world, abandoning reason for an increasingly cruel hedonism. A fascinating story-within-a-story, with ambitious themes and science-fictional ideas. For our game, we’ve taken that story and transplanted it into a different time, not to lessen the game’s connection to Lovecraft’s vision, but to engage with that vision from a different angle, one rooted deeply in the themes he was exploring.[/p][p][/p][h3]An age of transformation[/h3][p]The 17th century was a time of discovery, conquest, religious zeal, and intellectual foment - an era when ancient beliefs clashed with the rising spirit of the Enlightenment, which provided a new and often terrifying understanding of the cosmos and our place in it. A time when scientific curiosity often walked hand in hand with colonial brutality, and many were caught between the comforting stories of the past and the frightening vistas of the future. Nowhere is this more clear than in the explorers and conquistadors of the Age of Discovery. Our story follows a group of such explorers as they encounter a world that will challenge all of their beliefs, scientific as well as religious. [/p][h3]Collaborate to survive[/h3][p]To handle the writing, we’ve brought in our old friend Jonas Kyratzes, who also worked with us on The Eternal Cylinder and Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. You may also know him from The Talos Principle I and II, both of which explore materialist philosophy. Unsurprisingly, Jonas counts Lovecraft as one of his biggest literary inspirations.[/p][p][/p][h3]Lovecraft's Legacy[/h3][p]The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu isn’t a one-to-one adaptation of Lovecraft’s story. There are differences in characters, in the setting, and in the era itself, but every one of these changes was made to create a story that will stay true to our commitment of taking Lovecraft seriously as a writer and thinker, and to create a cosmic experience that we hope old HPL himself would’ve found thought-provoking and terrifying. (After he learned how to use a computer, of course.)[/p][p][/p][p]Some stories don’t need to be retold to stay alive. They just need to be reawakened. [/p][p][/p][h3]🧭 Join the Community[/h3][p]Facebook Twitter Discord

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Ahoy Conquistadors! It’s time for your first exploration briefing: here’s how all your expeditions should go:

[h3]Create Your Group & Dive into the Action[/h3]

Whether you’re teaming up with friends or matching with fellow adventurers, forming your party is the first step to survival. Grab your crew and get ready to face the horrors of the jungle together!

[h3]Visit the Galleon - Equip Yourself for the Fight[/h3]

Before setting out, head to the Galleon (aka your last bastion of sanity before the unknown) where you can purchase equipment, weapons, and gear up. This is where you will have to choose in which expedition you want to participate, even if they’re all leading to a new nightmare. Get the right equipment to face the challenges that await! But remember: survival isn’t always about firepower.

[h3]Explore, Survive & Loot the Jungle[/h3]

The deeper you go, the more the jungle changes. As you venture into it, you’ll need to escort your ox cart, scavenge valuable loot such as forbidden relics, and survive against the growing threats. As the environment itself reacts to your presence and plays with your mind, every decision counts, and every encounter could be your last.

In The Mound, is surviving the real victory, or is it about fulfilling the captain’s contract? Is it enough to make it out alive, or should the cart be filled to the brim to prove true success? In the jungle, what’s truly worth more—your life, or your loot?

[h3]End of the Run - Evaluate Your Loot & Achievements[/h3]

Once your adventure concludes, take a moment to assess your haul. Did you gather enough treasure to fulfil your contract? What new achievements have you unlocked? Prepare for the next expedition, as each new journey brings new surprises!

The most important thing to remember is that each expedition brings you closer to the Mound—if you’re willing to pay the price 🪙🧠

[h3]🧭 Join the Community[/h3]
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