This is Dante, the character you will be playing as in AetherFall. He is a star gazer that studies the night sky along with the many sages and scholars that live in a small community on the far side of Laurooga. His adventure begins when he is sent across the continent to deliver a message. You control him directly in the field as the other units under your command tag along. Dante can fight to some degree using his knife and baton, but his power and hit points are low, so you want to keep him out of trouble as much as possible.
Still can’t quite capture the charm that the militia unit had. 🙁
Inked with pigma micron markers on 12f animation paper. Colored in Photoshop.
One of the latest concepts for Dante, the character you’ll be playing the game through as. He narrates much of the adventure and takes an active part in the story’s events, but at the same time he’s not the driving force behind what’s going on. He’s not the one saving the world, so to speak, but he’s doing his part to help. Hardly trail-blazing to be sure, but I felt this would give the game a fresh outlook by putting a simple spin on the viewpoint we’re used to seeing in action games.
This is one of the earliest concepts for the “militia” unit. They’re lightly equipped farmers and laborers who are weak in combat, but cheap to produce and have some interesting properties in battle. They also help you construct buildings.
A newer version of the militia. You’ll notice all the characters have a short, cutesy look to them, similar to Swordmaster Odyssey‘s early style. The reason for this here is because on-screen they’re all pretty small, so I thought it best to give them big heads so that they’re still recognizable at a glance, even on blurry, old-style television sets.
This final concept sketch was used as the basis for the militia’s full-color promotional art.
Here’s a mercenary skirmisher. These guys are probably your most reliable combat units. They’re the fastest unit availible to you, pack quite a punch using their blades, and have solid defense. They’re much more expensive to produce than simple militia, but they’re worth every penny. You’ll be seeing a lot of these guys in the game.
Bowmen are equiped with crossbows and can attack from afar, well out of harm’s way. With skirmishers and militia to protect them, they can inflict a good deal of damage without taking any damage themselves. However, if your front lines fall, your bowmen will be powerless to protect themselves!
A quickie sketch of the standard bearer. These guys don’t attack with your combat units, instead they hold your standard up for all to see, boosting moral.
Here’s an early concept of the powered armor suit, the heavy-hitters of the game. Despite their raw power, though, you’ll need to have skirmishers and militia on-hand to escort them: their attacks a extremely slow, a fact that enemies could exploit by attacking and running away before the armored units even get a chance to get a hit in.
Another sketch of the power armor. You’ll notice that the drill concept has been dropped. I was afraid it might seem too similar to the Big Daddies in Bioshock.
And finally, here’s a sage from Dante’s village of origin. He plays a role in the early portions of the game, getting Dante started on his journey.