Cryptic Studios Previews Benalia Region In Latest Magic: Legends Dev Blog
Last week, Cryptic Studios started giving Magic: Legends fans a taste of what’s to come with a region-creation dev blog that highlights the explorable zones in the upcoming Magic: The Gathering-inspired ARPG, starting with the lava-filled region of Shiv. This week, the studio takes us on a tour of the lush, forested Benalia region with an explanation of the team’s inspiration for building the zone.
“Benalia shines brilliantly from the continent of Aerona as one of the most powerful nations on the plane of Dominaria. A majority of Benalia’s inhabitants worship the renowned planeswalker Serra as a goddess, so the region is naturally bathed in the golden light of white mana. Not all is peaceful though, as there are those who would challenge the balance of power on Dominaria.”
According to the devs, they used a simple instance system and a network of 50x50 tiles to flesh out the game’s environments. “Each tile is 50x50 feet and designed to fit seamlessly with any neighboring tile, so they can be configured in multiple ways to build entire levels from beginning to end. Each tile is made up of a base ground tile with the ability to paint a blend of five material layers,” says Cryptic. “This allows the artists to paint unique paths throughout the level without altering the original tile. Since each tile receives a unique touch, it is virtually impossible to tell that you are playing a game with instanced tiles.”
Cryptic also admits that Magic: Legends is unlike any other game they’ve developed which has forced them to come up with new ways to create the game’s environments which includes the formation of a dedicated environment and level design teams. “Our environment artists focus on building worlds, setting up lighting, and creating an immersive atmosphere for players, and our level designers are not held back with composition, lighting, and asset creation concerns,” the studio explains. “They can focus completely on making levels that make sense of the intended design, and we can bring more regions like Benalia to life in a big way.”
More information can be found on the Magic: Legends official site. You can also find out more about the game in the latest Q&A livestream below.
