“Long ago… in the Age of Darkness…”
Ahead of the launch of Exile’s Return, we sat down with Senior Game Designer, Mario Barone, and Narrative Lead, Patch Kolan, on bringing the story of Age of Darkness: Final Stand to life… and an epic conclusion...
The story starts off with a pivotal event with fateful consequences for all of the main characters. Is the goal to have a story every bit as visceral and dark as Survival mode?
Mario: “One of the earliest elements we wanted to pursue narratively was the idea that though the Order may be viewed as the “good guys”, they are by no means strictly good. Erodar is a world beset with a dark and bloody past whose ramifications echo through to present-day. We wanted to make sure that the player’s first experience in the campaign set that tone. And, of course, we wanted to match the sense of pressure and helplessness that your first few times playing Survival captures so well.”
Patch: “It was also important to show a certain level of balance between inherently good characters and bad ones. Even the worst characters have attributes that players might empathize with, and our heroes all have to deal with flaws and challenges that test their firmly held views.
This kind of nuance creates characters with more depth and logic behind their actions. It would be very easy to have clear moral lines – defined good and bad characters – but that’s just not how the world works, so why force that on players? Hopefully players will find themselves questioning the actions of all the characters, and whether it’s possible to truly be “good” in Age of Darkness: Final Stand.”
Erodar is a land under siege. How did it get this way? Who are the key players?
Patch: “Erodar is an old island with lots of history. Really, we only just begin to scratch the surface in the Campaign, but even so it is riddled with different factions and individuals. We have:
- The Order – the oldest extant faction, who are ostensibly neutral peacekeepers and law enforcement but whose true loyalties vary by who is their leader at any given time. Edwin, Aurelia, Merek, Theda and Hector are all part of this faction. They are bound by oath to serve the people of Erodar and keep the Nightmares at bay.
- The Alderin – The current rulers of Erodar, who took control of the continent in a quick and bloody war just a few decades earlier. They are relatively new, and are particularly oppressive to the rural peasants, taking more than their fair share to shower the urbanites in luxuries to maintain a sense of loyalty around their throne. Though they have a King in Erodar, their true seat of power is on the mainland.
- The Rebellion – Driven mostly by the oppressed peasantry, and under the leadership of Aelis Syren, only known survivor of the ruling family from before the Alderin invasion. For years she has quietly cultivated a following and begun to wrest control of the lands far from the capital, thanks in large part to her right-hand-man Cyrus.
- The Iron Talon – Alderin oppression has forced many into a life of crime. Many petty criminals have taken up the banner of the Iron Talon. They are ruthless and increasingly organised, and exist as an ever-present threat in the lives of otherwise-peaceful Norfolk.
- Norfolk – These are the everyday men and women of Erodar, struggling to get by as they are constantly assaulted or robbed by the Iron Talon or soldiers serving the Alderin king.
- The Volatists – The newest major force in Erodar. Led by a charismatic and powerful figure named Vizargo, they have a complex relationship with the Nightmares and Veil, which puts them at odds with The Order.”
Patch: “At heart, the Campaign picks up in a time when all these factions are vying for regional control in their own ways. The Rebellion had their power taken from them, while The Order, who are sort of intermediaries, are trying to uphold the balance between these factions. Meanwhile, the Iron Talon plague the lands, stretching The Order’s peacekeeping forces thinner and thinner.
This creates additional strain on Norfolk villagers, who are quick to vent their frustrations to Edwin during the story. All of this is underpinned by the rise of the Volatists and the spread of the Nightmare threat from The Veil. It’s a tumultuous time.”
Did you start with the characters in Survival or for Campaign? Which came first?
Mario: “We initially developed Edwin in isolation, before any form of Campaign was thought about. He was a generic champion. Not too much thought originally went into his official story, lore, or relevance in the world; not much outside of his character design: grumpy old knight from some faction, with a fiery sword and some battle scars and stories.
When we started working on Aelis, we started to piece together the backstory and characters within the world of Age of Darkness: Final Stand, and how they were connected. For instance, Edwin working for an "Order", Aelis being his failed protege and so on. Aelis was now not “just some hero” – she had history, intertwined in the world, and had a relationship with Edwin. This helped flesh out his backstory a little too.
With the introduction of Vizargo, we really thought about how he would fit into the world that we were already creating; how his history intertwined with Edwin and Aelis too, his place in the world, his connection to The Veil and Dark Essence, his purpose and reasoning.
By the time we developed those three heroes, enough groundwork had been plotted in their backstories/headcanon and the unspoken canon of Survival mode that we had a starting point to create the world lore: about 50 pages of backstory and history. This early version outlined the factions, key players, history of Erodar, and many of the building blocks we then iterated on.
The other three heroes (and more that aren't playable in Survival, but are core in the story) all came after the draft backstory was created, iterated on. We wrote and rewrote the story many times as development progressed on Campaign.”
Patch: “By the time I started on the game, the narrative originally told a much broader story – easily enough for a few games. The team’s ambitious design warranted a game narrative that allowed for Age of Darkness: Final Stands’s trademark massive battles, but also told an intimate story that was worth actually following. It required refinement and rewriting to find the right balance and build-up in terms of the story structure.
The trick was drilling down into the relationships between a few key characters and figuring out what the core of the overall story was. Finding this focus allowed the design team to refine the players’ path through the world, focusing on certain key encounters and the tensions between factions and characters. The world of Age of Darkness: Final Stand has a tonne of background lore that we would love to explore in the future, weaving in the characters and factions we have established so far, and expanding on them.”
The world of Erodar feels familiar yet stands on its own in the pantheon of RTS games. What were your major inspirations in bringing this story to life?
Mario: “Erodar and its characters have many inspirations. The world of Age of Darkness: Final Stand initially was a dark and morally gray world, with a supernatural event handled by humans doing their best. We also drew inspiration from many of our favorites, including; Warcraft III, Battle for Middle Earth, Battle Realms, The Elder Scrolls series and Starcraft II.
As for characters, factions, history, motivations, and the lore, it really is a boiling pot of many pop-culture references, with many facets of fantasy and drama.”
Patch: “We’ve strived to carefully balance some dark fantasy tropes that are loads of fun to play with, with ones that are unique to this title. The power interplay between factions is a classic element of hard fantasy. We drew certain elements from a range of sources and added our own vision of what Age of Darkness: Final Stand’s pre-history and religions might look like, and how those things carried forward into their current world.”
Can you give us a sense of the elements of fire and justice that drove our characters in Flames of Retribution ahead of Act III?
Mario: “Certainly those two themes dominated the earlier acts:
- Edwin is driven by duty and loyalty. He may feel no love for his leader Hector, but he took an oath that he feels he must keep.
- Aurelia is driven by a desire to prove herself to Edwin and get things done. Where Edwin wants to work within the system, Aurelia wants to work in the fastest, most effective way possible.
- Aelis is driven by a desire to reclaim her throne and free her people from what she views is the rule of a usurper.
- Cyrus is driven by his love and loyalty to his Queen, Aelis.
- Merek is driven by coin, booze and guilt. He needs money to buy the ale that lets him forget the awful acts he did and continues to do in the name of The Order.
- Vizargo is driven by revenge and power. He views The Order as the true oppressors, and sees The Veil and the Nightmares as a weapon to wield against them.
Ultimately, they are all driven by survival and their own moral compass. Some seek self-preservation more than others, but none can act from the grave, and as the world spirals towards oblivion, they must all put lives – their own or others – at risk. Let’s see what happens when the Exile returns…”
What can players expect from Exile’s Return and Act III?
Mario: “I don’t want to give too much away, but: more difficult missions, larger-scale assaults, and a few more gameplay twists.”
Patch: “To add to that, the first two acts are build-ups to the ‘main event’ in some ways – and these final missions are huge, fantastic and gripping. They’re also extremely challenging, so those players who have been honing their skills in Campaign will feel the full impact of what Age of Darkness: Final Stand truly brings to the table.
While this is the final Act, it’s fair to say that it also represents the culmination of an incredible amount of hard work from the team. There are so many clever ideas, challenging situations, sequences of compelling storytelling and more. Every team member working on this has been keenly aware that we needed to go big with the end of Age of Darkness: Final. Exile’s Return has given us a chance to showcase what makes our world unique - and horrific. In Act 3, we get to flex our muscles when it comes to scope and scale.
To say much more would be to spoil things, but I hope players enjoy the whole Campaign and can see the care that went into it. I hope when players look back on the whole of Acts I to III, they can sense that Age of Darkness: Final Stands’ Campaign has been a labor of love from all of us – and a very conscious love letter to the RTS genre.”
How do you think players are going to react at the end of Act III?
Mario: “Hopefully with a bit of shock and sadness, and more than a little satisfaction. And, of course, a desire to see more of Erodar, as we’d certainly like to tell more stories in this universe.”
Patch: “We’re very proud of Act III and the Campaign as a whole. I hope they’re warmed up for what’s to come!”
Till next time, Protectors of the Light…
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1426450/Age_Of_Darkness_Final_Stand/]Age of Darkness: Final Stand
