Steamweavers is even closer to being released and it's time for another update with more information about the characters, how they came to be and why!

This week we'll be focusing on the characters of the Silver Plains.

About the Silver Plains

The Silver Plains is an icy region to the west of the Brasslands. The tribes that live on this icy tundra are fierce and warlike, and peace between the Silver Plains and the Brasslands has always been stretched and tenuous.

The overall feel to the Silver Plains and the Silver Plainsmen is of a Norse tribe. They are fierce and proud and thirsty for battle. The colours of the Silver Plains are pale icy blue and silver.

Origins

I was lucky enough to be able to get some thoughts from the Steamweavers writer, Jim, on the Silver Plains characters and what role they played in the story.

"The world of Steamweavers is a rich and varied place, with many different cultures. We wanted to show this variety early on, so the Silver Plainsmen are the first 'outside' nation that you encounter. These characters are roughly based on Norse mythology, (though Gorezerk has a hint of dwarf Trollslayer in him, for Warhammer fans...)

"The Brasslands is a technically very strong nation with great military power. The Plainsmen by contrast appear much less technologically advanced, but they have endured in the wars against the Brasslands for centuries through sheer bloody-mindedness, brute power and will.

"The encounter with the Plainsmen is the first time the player gets to see that the Brasslanders may not be all sweetness and light. There is definitely a darker side to the superiority of the Brasslanders, even if Gauge doesn't see it at first.

"With the Plainsmen, we're trying to show that there is perhaps no simple 'right' and 'wrong' with the nations. Each of them have their own priorities and concerns."

Concept art

During their first conception, the majority of these characters already had quite a set, specific look about them. Through artist-writer collaboration, it was clear what sort of look these characters would be given for the game, and this is reflected in the sketches and descriptions below.

Fenroar is a Norse King-like character. He is the lord of the Silver Plains.

He intervenes when the fighting between the player and Gorezerk becomes too fierce. He attacks the player, but without true intent. All Norse enjoy a fight, and he's also keen to test you. His face is modelled roughly on that of He-Man's King Randor. He wears a giant cape that blows around him, massively dramatically, like Magneto. It is a deeper blue than Gorezerk's tattoos, with a silver, fur edge. He wears a beaten metal breast plate, silver but battle worn, with cogs attaching his cape to his body.

Fenroar is a strong and intelligent leader who excels strategically. It is his guidance that has seen the Silver Plains survive and flourish in recent years.

Gorezerk is a veteran warrior who has made an oath to fight wherever possible in the hope that he will fall in battle to eradicate a shameful secret from his past. Gorezerk is a massive, laughing berserker. He is one of the most violent and prolific fighters of this warlike race of Silver Plainsmen. When the player first meets him, he's eager to fight with them even though as far as he's concerned there's no need for it.

Gorezerk is always in good humour. He's a berserker sworn to seek death in battle, so any opportunity to fight is a good one. But he's too tough to kill and seems resigned to this fate. When the player defeats him he's pleasantly surprised, but before he'll help them he'll insist on fighting further, in the hope he'll finally be defeated.

The character of Gorezerk took a few tries in order to get right, as you'll see in the following sequence of images that document his visual development!

Finally, Skull is a vicious trickster with a twisted sense of humour. Skull appears set on bringing destruction to his ex-tribesmen by instigating war with their neighbours. He has also been waging war with the Golden Sands to the east.

Despite his heinous acts, he has a drive and will that still marks him as a true Plainsman, despite his atrocities.

There's more to him than you might expect...

Jim had the following to say about Skull as a character, in particular:

"Skull was definitely one of the most challenging and fun characters to do! Gareth our artist absolutely nailed his expressions and look and feel very early on, which meant that as soon as I saw the mock-ups for him, I felt like the writing for his character had to step up another notch.

"He's definitely one of the more varied and interesting characters, and it was really interesting to try to balance out his often vicious acts while trying to keep him believable and well rounded! "Pure evil" characters I tend to find are often less interesting and can often come across as unconvincing and non-engaging. I really wanted people to almost be on Skull's side for part of the time. At least he's enjoying himself!"

In-game Commander Powers

Fenroar- an honourable strategist with an emphasis on foresight and planning ahead. His commander powers are focused on gaining higher visibility, and counter-attacking with maximum strength on your next turn.

Gorezerk- a heavy weight brawler with an emphasis on power and disregard for defence. His commander powers are focused on building up power and steam for certain combat units.

Skull- treacherous and deceitful, he will use any means to achieve his goal. His commander powers are largely based on sabotaging other opponent's turns in order to gain an advantage over other players.

To find out more about Steamweavers, or to try out the Facebook version, go to the Steamweavers website or directly to the Facebook app here:

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Steamweavers Homepage

Next week, we'll be updating with a new set of Steamweavers characters, to tell you more about their creation, background and development!

Stay tuned!

-Vicki T.