Hey everyone, I wanted to share an important development journey we’ve had with the design of our Companions. Initially, our vision for them was to be so low on the social ladder that they didn’t even have faces. We planned for players to personalize them later in the cycle with accessories. But, as game development often teaches us, we might have been overthinking it. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/db8cc8c3d6cb1f99eeb2fe850668c7c9076d5e4b.png[/img] [i]Our original capsule header with the key characters[/i] During our playtests, it became clear that players were confused. The characters lacked a clear identity or archetype—like a warrior or wizard—and it left too much ambiguity. We're glad we ran the playtest, it was so vital for getting outside perspectives. Many eyes on a project bring valuable, honest feedback, even if it’s tough to hear sometimes. But we welcome it. After collecting insights by watching several streams, it became evident we needed to act. A big thank you to our playtesters for helping us see this. We reassessed our creative workflow and made some bold decisions. We experimented with adding horns, but it didn’t quite achieve the look we wanted. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/891a13fca8dd06498a3f4edf3ae6acb2d8d70c14.jpg[/img] [i]Very early blocking, to test the different faces and the horn position and angles[/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/8b86208a38b85a97e3a0c59b4cb50cfb6d4a8334.jpg[/img] [i]Trying out single horn like a unicorn[/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/318abab8d782fbf73abe5855d801f229aa8d65fb.jpg[/img] [i]Trying out different colored horns, sizes and the curvature of the horns[/i] Ultimately, we opted to change the skin tone to red, which transformed the Companions into little devilish imps while keeping their quirky, low-level minion feel. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/6cb2a49ac2268740571eae88b6154b69eb57e36d.jpg[/img] [i]We think this is a much better look[/i] Comparing the previous look with the new one, I'm pretty sure we have made an improvement. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/332f00cab97f317bd5f9130aa6806f1fd89eecfd.gif[/img] We've also been working hard researching the best composition for capsule images and library images. We realised the poses for the characters need to stand out a lot more. They had to do interesting things that showcase little parts of the game. We want to make them really stand out in a big way, they had to 'pop' out on screen. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45253351/d431235dabb2745cdc6d32326423e36d3ecd219d.png[/img] We’re now in the process of updating our marketing materials, screenshots, and more. It’s a significant shift, but we’re excited for you to see it in action. The updated design will be part of the next playtest version. Thanks again for all your feedback and support. We’re grateful to have such an engaged community contributing to our journey! Stay tuned for more updates. Dev team at Crimson Forge Studios