Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Interview - How A44 Games created the world of Kian with Creative Director Simon Dasan
July is full of smaller-scale RPG releases from all around the globe, including gunpowder action RPG Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn from the New Zealand team at A44 Games.
Ahead of its launch later this week, we had a chance to pass along some questions to the development team at A44 Games about the world of Kian. Our interview can be found below.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is set to release on July 18 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Epic).
RPG Site: You've stated in the past that Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn was inspired by 'Flintlock Fantasy' books, as well as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Middle East. Can you elaborate on how you incorporated these inspirations into the game?
Simon Dasan, Creative Director at A44 Games: Flintlock Fantasy typically centers around Napoleonic era armies of mankind going up against magical gods, which sets the basis for our world. From there we did a lot of research into themes and cultures which we found really interesting and are rarely seen in games. With the Gods of Flintlock, we wanted them to run the gamut of inspirations, and the same with the world of Kian, where you’ll find clear Mesopotamian, Middle Eastern, and New Zealand influences.
Simon Dasan, Creative Director at A44 Games: Flintlock Fantasy typically centers around Napoleonic era armies of mankind going up against magical gods, which sets the basis for our world. From there we did a lot of research into themes and cultures which we found really interesting and are rarely seen in games. With the Gods of Flintlock, we wanted them to run the gamut of inspirations, and the same with the world of Kian, where you’ll find clear Mesopotamian, Middle Eastern, and New Zealand influences.
RPG Site: A lot of stories use a general framework of having a main protagonist accompanied by a speaking 'familiar' of sorts, like Enki, who in this case often acts as a source of insight regarding the Gods. Did you have any specific inspirations for Enki, and how would you describe the relationship between Nor and Enki?
Dasan: Like all the different gods in Flintlock, Enki has his own set of inspirations behind his look and personality, some of which I won’t spoil as you’ll find things out during the story. However he has always been a fox-like God, but we found that having him be feathered instead of having fur gave a really distinct, sleek, and magical look. Gods vs Guns was core to Flintlock; Nor always had to personify the Guns and Enki’s look helps him to personify the Gods.
Dasan: Like all the different gods in Flintlock, Enki has his own set of inspirations behind his look and personality, some of which I won’t spoil as you’ll find things out during the story. However he has always been a fox-like God, but we found that having him be feathered instead of having fur gave a really distinct, sleek, and magical look. Gods vs Guns was core to Flintlock; Nor always had to personify the Guns and Enki’s look helps him to personify the Gods.
RPG Site: Throughout the game, we meet a handful of gods. You have Nor's partner Enki, of course, but we also meet Rammuha, Dukmar, Inaya, and Uru. How did you approach creating these gods and incorporating them into the narrative? Do people in this world worship these gods?
Dasan: As you explore the world you’ll see age-old statues dedicated to various gods, and we felt it was really important to acknowledge the world of Kian thousands of years before the events of Flintlock. This gives the world a lived-in feel and creates authenticity to both the Gods as well as humanity, and allows players to piece together the history of the world and the role of the Gods within it.
We also thought of the systemic nature of how the Gods themselves operate in The Great Below. What is their role to play, how do they fit into the hierarchy, etc From there how they incorporate into the story and their intentions and motivations became a lot easier to understand, and their subsequent effect on the world and people of Kian once they escape The Great Below became clearer also.
Dasan: As you explore the world you’ll see age-old statues dedicated to various gods, and we felt it was really important to acknowledge the world of Kian thousands of years before the events of Flintlock. This gives the world a lived-in feel and creates authenticity to both the Gods as well as humanity, and allows players to piece together the history of the world and the role of the Gods within it.
We also thought of the systemic nature of how the Gods themselves operate in The Great Below. What is their role to play, how do they fit into the hierarchy, etc From there how they incorporate into the story and their intentions and motivations became a lot easier to understand, and their subsequent effect on the world and people of Kian once they escape The Great Below became clearer also.
RPG Site: Having the Gods come from "The Great Below" is interesting in that Gods are often either seen as being omnipresent or coming from 'above'. What is the Great Below? Is it a place that people can visit? Is it a 'real' space that exists in the world, or is it more of a metaphysical realm? Why frame the God's realm in this manner?
Dasan: It was really important to us that The Great Below wasn’t just an equivalent to hell. It’s not a bad place and not all Gods are evil. We always try not to deal in absolutes, everything is a shade of grey, not black and white. In this case, The Great Below is where all the dead go once they’ve passed on from the lands of Kian. As they, and the Gods burst into the world of Kian, it’s safe to assume there’s a physical realm for it, but no mortal has ever confirmed this.
Dasan: It was really important to us that The Great Below wasn’t just an equivalent to hell. It’s not a bad place and not all Gods are evil. We always try not to deal in absolutes, everything is a shade of grey, not black and white. In this case, The Great Below is where all the dead go once they’ve passed on from the lands of Kian. As they, and the Gods burst into the world of Kian, it’s safe to assume there’s a physical realm for it, but no mortal has ever confirmed this.
RPG Site: What is up with the shop Hosts? With the world mostly populated with humans, these multi-armed beings definitely stick out.
Dasan: No one knows the origins of the Hosts, but as long as mankind has walked Kian, the Hosts have been there. Are they Gods? Does it even matter when something like the Hosts have been part of the community forever?
Dasan: No one knows the origins of the Hosts, but as long as mankind has walked Kian, the Hosts have been there. Are they Gods? Does it even matter when something like the Hosts have been part of the community forever?
RPG Site: Are there any challenges in creating a world with some pre-industrial inventions (such as gunpowder) but decidedly not modern? I mean literally in terms of building designs, forts, castles, the actual art assets of world. How did you design settlements and such?
Dasan: There are absolutely challenges when creating this kind of world. A lot of work goes into each faction, like what types of technology they have, what their belief system is, etc. Once you figure that out, then things like architecture style becomes easier to decipher. In general we always tried to merge influences in interesting ways, and ultimately it has resulted in a really interesting world that is Kian.
Dasan: There are absolutely challenges when creating this kind of world. A lot of work goes into each faction, like what types of technology they have, what their belief system is, etc. Once you figure that out, then things like architecture style becomes easier to decipher. In general we always tried to merge influences in interesting ways, and ultimately it has resulted in a really interesting world that is Kian.