Get to know us and the game better - Dev Diary I.
Adventurers, it is I again, the One Responsible for Operencia News, and this time I have a video to show you. Knowing more about the inspiration, lore, and art of the Operencia will enhance your appreciation of this modernized old-school dungeon crawler.
Meet Olivér, Tamás, Lali, Chris, and the Busó. One of them is an odd one out -- take a peek and figure out which! Please note: we are not accepting Ákos as an answer.
https://youtu.be/qsqmg7iUlso
If you are instead in the mood for reading, here’s a transcript of the diary for you to enjoy:
Olivér:
- The team working on Operencia started out as a prototype team. We were experimenting with virtual reality games, which took us to a tile-based game system. This led us straight to the world of old-school RPGs. As the team consisted mostly of hardcore RPG fans—be it video games or classic, pen-and-paper RPGs—it was obvious: We should make this kind of game.
- I started with research. I read many stories, such as the compilations of Elek Benedek. I watched cartoons of our childhood, like "Magyar Népmesék" (Hungarian Folk Tales). I also looked up some historical records and legends so that we could select characters and motifs, and create a new and unique world.
- I am particularly proud of that we can share our childhoods—and all of Central Europe's—tales with a wider audience.
Chris:
- One of the cool things about Operencia is basically what inspired us to do the game in the first place beyond just making an awesome first person dungeon crawler. We also wanted to bring in a kind of a universe that hasn't been explored in video games before. And Zen Studios is located in Hungary so where better to draw from than Central European folktales?
- So you might be wondering where the name Operencia actually comes from. When I was going through all of these Central European folktales finding new kind of tales to put into our game in a creative way to unify our world I kept seeing this one word pop up and it was like "on the other side of Operencia" or "beyond Operencia" or "in Operencia". And I asked my Hungarian colleagues what Operencia was and it basically translates to "far far away", so that is actually the name of the land of our game where everything takes place and eventually it actually became the name of our game because we liked it so much.
Tomi:
- I designed most of the characters in the game. These consist of enemy characters that you will face in a battle. They required concept art and thoughtful planning so the 3D models can be made and placed into the game. The other types of characters exist as purely 2D art, more like portraits. They are represented in the game as 2D images when you meet them—as you talk to them, you see their portraits. The player imagines them by these character art pieces.
- There's a level called Copper Forest, which is special for me because as a kid I heard tales of that place.
- Fortunately, other members of the team had their own visions of the Copper Forest, so we brainstormed, and that is how the concepting phase started for that level. I hope that the outcome will speak for itself—personally, this is my favorite level.
- Another interesting character, which shows how much we could build upon the Hungarian folklore and tales, is the Buso. A Buso is a strange figure wearing a furry coat and a horned mask. It looks really funny and scary at the same time.
Lali:
- I had the honor to get to draw the game's cutscenes. This was a really exciting task because I have always been interested in the art of motion picture. I had the opportunity to build up scenes from scratch and animate them. We chose the parallax technique, which
required collaboration between a few artists. However, the results proved really impressive, with remarkable spatial perception.
- As a guideline we used the Hungarian folklore and motif system. The most notable traits are clean shapes, symmetry and ornaments which roots deep in our Hungarian culture.
- It happened more than once that I would finish a cutscene, and that I would have to leave the room because I was afraid what the others would think. Then I heard the pleased laughter and a sort of cheering, so I knew that it was okay, and I was able to go back in.
Fare thee well,
Üdvözlet a Rézerdő mélyéről!
Meet Olivér, Tamás, Lali, Chris, and the Busó. One of them is an odd one out -- take a peek and figure out which! Please note: we are not accepting Ákos as an answer.
https://youtu.be/qsqmg7iUlso
If you are instead in the mood for reading, here’s a transcript of the diary for you to enjoy:
Olivér:
- The team working on Operencia started out as a prototype team. We were experimenting with virtual reality games, which took us to a tile-based game system. This led us straight to the world of old-school RPGs. As the team consisted mostly of hardcore RPG fans—be it video games or classic, pen-and-paper RPGs—it was obvious: We should make this kind of game.
- I started with research. I read many stories, such as the compilations of Elek Benedek. I watched cartoons of our childhood, like "Magyar Népmesék" (Hungarian Folk Tales). I also looked up some historical records and legends so that we could select characters and motifs, and create a new and unique world.
- I am particularly proud of that we can share our childhoods—and all of Central Europe's—tales with a wider audience.
Chris:
- One of the cool things about Operencia is basically what inspired us to do the game in the first place beyond just making an awesome first person dungeon crawler. We also wanted to bring in a kind of a universe that hasn't been explored in video games before. And Zen Studios is located in Hungary so where better to draw from than Central European folktales?
- So you might be wondering where the name Operencia actually comes from. When I was going through all of these Central European folktales finding new kind of tales to put into our game in a creative way to unify our world I kept seeing this one word pop up and it was like "on the other side of Operencia" or "beyond Operencia" or "in Operencia". And I asked my Hungarian colleagues what Operencia was and it basically translates to "far far away", so that is actually the name of the land of our game where everything takes place and eventually it actually became the name of our game because we liked it so much.
Tomi:
- I designed most of the characters in the game. These consist of enemy characters that you will face in a battle. They required concept art and thoughtful planning so the 3D models can be made and placed into the game. The other types of characters exist as purely 2D art, more like portraits. They are represented in the game as 2D images when you meet them—as you talk to them, you see their portraits. The player imagines them by these character art pieces.
- There's a level called Copper Forest, which is special for me because as a kid I heard tales of that place.
- Fortunately, other members of the team had their own visions of the Copper Forest, so we brainstormed, and that is how the concepting phase started for that level. I hope that the outcome will speak for itself—personally, this is my favorite level.
- Another interesting character, which shows how much we could build upon the Hungarian folklore and tales, is the Buso. A Buso is a strange figure wearing a furry coat and a horned mask. It looks really funny and scary at the same time.
Lali:
- I had the honor to get to draw the game's cutscenes. This was a really exciting task because I have always been interested in the art of motion picture. I had the opportunity to build up scenes from scratch and animate them. We chose the parallax technique, which
required collaboration between a few artists. However, the results proved really impressive, with remarkable spatial perception.
- As a guideline we used the Hungarian folklore and motif system. The most notable traits are clean shapes, symmetry and ornaments which roots deep in our Hungarian culture.
- It happened more than once that I would finish a cutscene, and that I would have to leave the room because I was afraid what the others would think. Then I heard the pleased laughter and a sort of cheering, so I knew that it was okay, and I was able to go back in.
Fare thee well,
Üdvözlet a Rézerdő mélyéről!