Lysward News

[p]The desert of Lysward may be harsh, but it's far from lifeless. We're excited to show you a first glimpse at the Oasis, a vibrant and important area in our game that offers survival essentials and respite moments. [/p][p][/p][p]Here, you'll find bodies of water to quench your thirst and food sources scattered among the lush vegetation. The surrounding cliffs contain valuable ore deposits for crafting better gear.[/p][p][/p][p]Every detail you see here is still evolving as we refine this work-in-progress, shaping it into the perfect balance of beauty and functionality. [/p][p]Oasis Art[/p][p]We've created a wonderful location where you'll establish your crafting station, store supplies in personal chests, and occasionally encounter the desert's creatures - some helpful, others best avoided.[/p][p][/p][p]And a fun fact: Before we decided to call our game “Lysward”, it was in fact called “Project Oasis”. And no, we do not have Wonderwall as our main soundtrack (even though the Marketing team tried really hard to convince the Audio team to do so). [/p][carousel][/carousel][p] [/p][p]Will you use the Oasis as a strategic part of your journey, carefully managing resources? Or take time to appreciate its quiet and brutal beauty? [/p][p][/p][p]We’ll have closed tests really soon, so if you’d like to participate, hit that wishlist button![/p][p]
We’ll see you in the next update, Explorers! [/p][p]Snowcastle Games[/p]

Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on an early but crucial part of our art process: the "Beauty Corner."
[h3]What’s a Beauty Corner?[/h3]
It’s a small, controlled scene where we test Lysward’s visual DNA—think desert rocks, hardy plants, and man-made debris—alongside early character designs. This lets us judge style cohesion before we’re neck-deep in production.
Beauty corner work in progress.

[h3]What We’ve Learned (So Far):[/h3]
"Painterly Realism" in action: We’ve refined how sculpted edges and textures interact, with bold brushstrokes and hue shifts that pop against the geometry.

Lighting Reset: Our first lighting setup clashed with the assets, so we’ve stripped it back to neutral for now. Next step: tweak it once all pieces are in place.

Pipeline Checks: This corner has already exposed workflow kinks we’re smoothing out (goodbye, future headaches!).
Beauty corner work in progress.


Every rock and rusted girder here will inform how the entire world of Lysward looks and feels. And yes, this is all still WIP—we’ll share polished shots later!

Bonus: We’re also running art style tests for characters—here’s the latest update.


Add Lysward to your wishlist! It shows us how much interest there is in the game and helps with visibility.


We’ll see you in the next update, Explorers!
Snowcastle Games

Today, let's talk about the Speeder - your trusty desert ride in Lysward! This compact but speedy vehicle isn't just for crossing the dunes; it's also a mobile base for you and your companion.

Our first Speeder design (from the teaser) didn't quite fit - it felt disconnected from EARTHLOCK's world and Lysward's unique desert style. We knew we needed to take a step back, so our art team came up with some cool ideas we want to share with you.
Old Speeder concept art.[hr][/hr]
To achieve visuals that match our world and lore, the art team explored options that combined the Speeder's functionality with desert elements from the game. They created four variations: one resembling a beetle, another looking like a boat, a third inspired by a plane, and some mashups of those three.

Speeder Variations[hr][/hr]
Our team fell in love with the beetle-inspired look, drawing inspiration from scarabs that thrive in harsh desert environments. Plus, it now fits the world visually.

The original beetle variation had weight balance issues and limited mobility on sand dunes, so we added a new suspension. This lets the skids pivot and absorb shocks, which is crucial for uneven terrain.

New suspension[hr][/hr]
[h3]What's Next?[/h3]
Right now, we're working on additional concept art for the cockpit design. Once that's locked in, we'll begin the long process of 3D modeling, rigging, animating, and implementing the Speeder to ensure it works perfectly in-game. You can follow updates here on our page, so don't forget to wishlist!



Add Lysward to your wishlist! It shows us how much interest there is in the game and helps with visibility.

We will be having a closed playtest soon, so don’t forget to join our Discord community if you want to be part of it!


Stay in the shadows, Explorers!
Snowcastle Games

Let’s dive into one of the most essential tools in Lysward: the Amri Sleeve. Powered by the ancient Amri magic, this device is your lifeline in the unforgiving desert.

With the Amri Sleeve, you’ll unlock Glyphs—mystical symbols that channel Amri magic to create different effects in the world. As you explore, you’ll discover and learn new Glyphs, craft them, and equip them to your sleeve, unlocking abilities crucial for survival.

Amri Sleeve early prototype

So far, we’ve implemented three Glyphs: Cutting, Identify, and Repair. This is just the first version of the Amri Sleeve, and we’re still hard at work refining it—but we couldn’t wait to share what we have for now,

The Cutting Glyph allows players to harvest resources more efficiently, enabling them to gather materials from the environment that can only be harvested with this tool.

The Identify Glyph provides crucial information about objects and their properties, opening up new recipes and crafting options.

The Repair Glyph is needed for repairing the Speeder for now, but it’ll also be useful for other things in the future.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

And that’s just the beginning! We’re working on implementing more Glyphs to expand the Amri Sleeve’s capabilities, giving you even more ways to interact with the world. Any ideas on what the next Glyph will look like? Leave a comment below!

Stay tuned as we continue to develop and refine this powerful tool. The desert is full of secrets, and the Amri Sleeve will help you uncover them all.

Hit that wishlist button to help us understand your interest in our game, and join our Discord community if you want to be part of the future closed betas!


Stay cool, Voyagers!
Snowcastle Games

In today’s update, we’re diving into your greatest enemy in Lysward: the relentless heat.

As you’ve seen in our latest updates, Lysward is a single-player survival adventure game set in a brutal, arid desert. And that means one thing: this place is HOT. We’re talking walking-on-the-Sun levels of hot. 🥵

So, with heat this intense, how do you survive it? We have some plans to share.

Please mind that this is still a work in progress, and some things might change between now and the launch.

[h3]Heat Attacks, Buildings Protect[/h3]At the start of your journey, you’ll come across a building—an outpost, as we call it. Inside, you’ll find things that will help you stay safe from the scorching sun, including shelter, a crafting station, and plenty of other useful resources.

Run to the outpost to avoid overheating!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][hr][/hr][h3]The Perfect Place for Shade[/h3]
Another way of avoiding overheating is hiding in the shade. While exploring the sands and gathering resources, you’ll notice your temperature skyrockets if you’re exposed to direct sunlight for too long. To avoid overheating, use the shadows around you. Planning a route that’s rich in shade will make your adventure a little more manageable.

But sometimes, sticking to the shadows isn’t enough. The environment around you remains incredibly hot, and you might ask us: what about dehydration?
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][hr][/hr][h3]Stay Hydrated![/h3]
One of the first crafting recipes you’ll learn is for a water bottle—your new best friend. While finding bodies of water in Lysward is no easy feat, you can refill your water bottle at the outpost. Make sure to do this every time you return to it, or you’ll find yourself parched with no water in sight while exploring the desert.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Speaking of which… have you had enough water today? Go grab a bottle, then come back and wishlist our game! Having players wishlisting a game is incredibly important for indie developers, as it shows the level of interest and excitement players have for our game. So hit that green button right now if you like what you see here!

And remember, Lysward is still in development, so some of the features we’ve shown here might evolve and change as we keep building the game. Your feedback is also incredibly valuable to us.

If you want to be a part of our community, ask the devs any questions, or maybe just talk to other fellow explorers, our Discord is the hottest place to go (no pun intended). Join the adventure!

Stay hydrated, Explorers!
Snowcastle Games