Sample Environment Design

Here are a couple of examples of a basic environment design. It also shows some game elements and incorporates the chosen colour scheme.

This environment shows the entrance to The People's village up in the mountains. It has massive totems surrounding the village as though to protect it as well as to ward off enemies. These images shows the proportion of these massive objects in relation to a character.

The light-source in the environment adds eeriness to the environment, but more than that, it shows the player where the next game objective is. These will guide the character to their objective and will be one of the only light-sources in the dark forests surrounding The People's camp.

This image shows the environment which is enshrouded with fog - it makes the image have a softer feel than the one below and also helps the eeriness of the environment.

This is the same environment but without the fog. The image is less soft and more stylised.

Weapon Design Sample - Musket/Longsword

Here is an example of some weapon designs. This would be a weapon of "The People" group. It is a cross between a viking sword, a Native American mask and a musket.

The top image shows the design.

The second image shows how the handle of the gun can be pulled down with a second trigger emerging from the handle so that the gun can be controlled from the hip.

The third image shows an interchangeable blade - this is a more traditional viking longsword blade.

The fourth image shows an interchangeable handle - a pistol handle to allow for control as a pistol.

The last image shows another interchangeable handle - a sword handle so that the weapon can easily be used as a more traditional sword.

Ingrid - Character Design Digital Painting

Here is the process for my development of a character design and digital painting example:

I have started off with a traditionally drawn sketch, scanned it into the computer, taken it into photoshop, coloured the background and started drawing over the top of it on a new layer.

This is the fastest way to test different details of the design such as the costume.

Here you can see the drawing over the top of the sketch of the costume design.

The next step is to block in the colours of the character's skin colours - this is a rough process - you don't have to be too neat.

Now comes the long part - blending the blocked in colours together using a low opacity, soft brush and the eye drop tool.

This is the part that takes really really really long!

After the skin blending is done, it's time to colour the costume. This is done on a new layer and with the same process as with the skin.

This is the coloured image of the character. Now it's time to add the hair (on a new layer so it can be easily changed) and to clean up the background.

This is the finished image of Ingrid, complete with hairstyle.

The Vinland Map

For my world map I decided that it would make the most sense to do some research into the Vinland map, a controversial map that is said to date back to the Viking era and shows Vinland, the place the Vikings had discovered so long before Columbus.

This map shows the viking's journeys around the country of Greenland from which Leif Eriksson had initially sailed when he discovered Vinland. You can see that they sailed along the Canada/North American east coast, I am interested here in Labrador and Newfoundland specifically as a location for my game.

Here is another map of Canada and the top of North America. Again, I'm interested in the Newfoundland and Labrador regions of Canada.

Here is a map detail of the area I'm interested in.

This is the controversial Vinland map. On the very left of the map you can see Greenland and a small land mass titled "Vinlandia" - this would be the modern Newfoundland.

This shows the site of L'Anse aux Meadows, which is the site of archaeological digs in which many viking buildings and artefacts have been found. It could have been a tiny Viking settlement or perhaps even Leif Eriksson's settlement.

This is a closeup of L'Anse aux Meadows in NewfoundLand. For my game, I will move away from this site and go northwest into the Labrador region.

First Drawings

Here are some drawings I've done for this project so far:

Ingrid angry pose - study of gesture, pose, facial expression, foreshortening, proportions, anatomy

Drawing of Ingrid in a relaxed position - Front

Drawing of Ingrid in a relaxed position - Back

Drawing of Ingrid in a relaxed position - Side

Measuring up the proportion for all three views

Portrait of Ingrid

Structure of man anatomy and proportion exercise

Structure of the face exercise

First concept sketch of a Native American Viking cross

Horses

The use of horses is an important consideration in the game. Without horses, there would be no railroads and much of the country would be left unexplored. Travel and time would be constantly be a hassle.

• The vikings used horses a lot - they were important for transport and making war and were also spoken about in mythology and were sacrificed for prominent viking burials.
• The horses that the vikings used are similar to the Icelandic horse - a strong, surefooted and willing horse
• They were beautiful and courageous and inspired a lot of poetry
• The vikings were sure that they had bred the perfect riding horse.
• The size of the viking horses were smaller than the average horse today and stands between 13 and 14 hands
• Though he is not tall, the Icelandic horse is compact and strong and easily capable of carrying full-sized adults over rugged terrain for long distances.
• Vikings even had horse saddles - even ones made out of beechwood.

Expanded Game Storyline

The following are key points from the storyline of the game:

*****

The last leaf from the ancient tree of Ragnarök has fallen, and with its death, a new age has been born. As the leaf came to a rest on the thick snow outside the Uppsala mounds in Sweden, a mysterious figure, large, strong and unclad appeared out of nowhere, dazed and confused. The only witness to this remarkable event was a frail, grey-bearded viking who was wandering regretfully through the old worship centre of the now dead Norse Gods on his way home.

Shocked, the old man pulled out his longsword and pointed it at the intruder, who seemed to have gathered his senses and was starting to climb down from the mound from where he had appeared. Overwhelmed by the size and speed of the advancing unclad man, the old man began to stumble backwards, his sword suddenly too heavy for him to keep straight. As the man reached him, the old man tripped and fell backward and was left gasping up at the humungous form above him. The tall man stood regarding this with the trace of a smirk before reaching out an arm and pulling the old man to his feet.

"Don't be frightened," he said in a deep, burly voice. "I mean you no harm."

*****

The old man couldn't believe it! This strange man claimed to be the old Norse god Balder, released from the clutches of Hel and reborn in Midgard as a mortal. And the old man didn't doubt it. He grew up with the stories of old and his mother had told him to always have hope, because "some day," she had said, "the new age would begin and the most beloved of the gods would be returned to the people as a beacon of change."

In his entire life, the old man had not seen a stronger, bigger, healthier looking Viking. His own people, the few that had survived, were all malnourished, thin and sickly. He was absolutely sure that this man was who he claimed to be, and couldn't be more overjoyed. He immediately threw his cloak of furs over Balder, who seemed undisturbed by the cold, and invited him to house for a supper of dried fish and gruel. He offered him lodging and told him that he would try his best to give the god anything else that he may require.

Balder, with viking appetite, accepted this generous offer and followed the man home.

*****

Balder didn't linger. He had a pressing matter on his mind. He had no case of amnesia and knew exactly what had happened, where he had come from and what he should do. He stayed only long enough to collect a few essentials - clothes, armour, a long-sword, a hunting knife, a small Knorr, and enough provisions to last a couple of months - as well as enough information to begin his quest.

After interviewing the few people who made up the old man's community, Balder learned that the sacred weapon Mjolnir had been taken to the Viking settlement in the vast land of Vinland for safekeeping by the surviving sons of Thor, Modi and Magni. If this was where the hammer was, then this was where he would have to go.

As soon as he had his small Knorr loaded up, Balder announced to the old man that he was to leave them. The old man seemed shocked and angry and demanded to know where Balder was planning to go. "Your people here need you!" he persuaded. "You are their only hope that change is on the way!"

Balder, who had never raised his voice and was loved by all for his kind and strong nature, saluted the old man and promised him that one day, all the Norse gods would smile upon him and his people again.

*****

After several weeks of labour, Balder singlehandedly and almost tirelessly sailed his small Knorr to the shore of Vinland. When he had pulled his boat ashore and had fastened it to a large tree, he gathered his small array of belongings and stared up at the great land in front of him. Even the gods had had basically know knowledge of this distant land, which had been discovered by a Midgardian by the name of Leif Erikson not long before the beginning of the Ragnarök.

As Balder inched his way along the rocky, snow-covered shoreline, wondering what he should do next, he noticed a quick flickering movement on the edge of the cliff-face. He shrank back behind a large boulder and squinted up at a cloaked but distinctly feminine figure. The figure seemed to be watching the sea with a sense of expectancy. Balder knew that his own Knorr was out of the figure's view and watched as she gathered her cloak about her and turned with drooping shoulders back to the forest from where she had appeared. In her turn, Balder caught sight of a glimmer of gold around her neck. He almost didn't even notice himself run forward and climb up to where the woman had stood only a short time ago, and was somewhat shocked to find himself on the top of the small cliff. There was no mistaking it - the necklace around the maiden's neck was the very same Brisings necklace that his goddess friend Freyja had once treasured so much. Only a descendent of Freyja would possess such great a gift and Balder knew that if he only followed the girl, he would find the viking people said to guard the sacred Mjolnir.

He carefully followed her at a distance as she made her way up a huge mountain which was covered with snow and a dense thicket of trees for as far as the eye could see. He did not know why had not just called out to her and made himself known. There was something strange about her, but he was unsure exactly of what it was. No, he would not expose himself to this woman - she might be a Skraeling, a native. Perhaps she had stolen the Brising from the vikings, or had perhaps, more likely, she had taken it by force. He would follow her to her destination and would assess the situation first, before announcing himself, he decided.

*****

The village was like none that Balder had ever seen. It didn't hug the coastline like viking towns in Scandinavia, but was nestled, almost invisible, high up in a mountain. The strange but faintly familiar houses sat like huge birds-nests in the trees, and a little further away, Balder could see that the ground levelled out and was clearly used as farming ground for the community during the summer months. Behind this, snow-capped rocky mountains could be seen in every direction.

Balder crept closer to the village and was shocked when he suddenly came face to face with one of the largest and strangest statues he had ever seen. As he looked up the length of the gigantic totem of menacing faces, he recognised one or two as unmistakably being those of the one-eyed All-Father Odin and his dangerous looking son, Thor. The others seemed to be a strange array of animalistic monsters. This group of people was no doubt the group he was seeking - but they were not at all as he had expected them to be.

With a final quick glance at the strange giant statue, Balder squared his shoulders and walked straight into the middle of the village.

*****

Everyone stared at him with wide, suspicious eyes. And he stared back, angry and confused. His captors had bound his hands and confiscated his weapons and were refusing to answer any of his questions. They sat around him in a circle beneath one of their tree-houses and were whispering quietly but urgently to each other. Balder had given up and simply stared at them, trying to figure out who on earth they were. While somewhat norse, some more clearly so than others, these people were darker skinned and in many ways very different to his own people and the people he had expected to find.

He was still pondering over the features of these people when suddenly the crowd hushed and the female figure he had seen from the sea shore appeared before him. She had now taken off her cloak, but Balder knew that it was the same woman he had followed because she wore the Brising necklace around her neck. She walked up to him and stopped only a foot or two away from him. He was gigantic and she looked tiny in comparison, but her words were strong and fierce. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Balder, taken aback by her strange appearance and her fierce, clearly viking spirit, felt himself struggling to form the words in answer to her question.

*****

Many of them had laughed in his face, something that no other Midgardian had ever dared to do, but in the end they had come to the conclusion that he was not a "varangian" and was harmless, though clearly crazy. The woman, who the others called Ingrid, had told him that their old Norse gods were dead and the few who had survived Ragnarök, had vanished soon after. Her upbringing in the strange, distant land had obviously had an effect on her education, for she claimed no knowledge of the norse god Balder's prophesied rebirth. She told him that the gods were dead and that the only deity left to worship was the Earth Spirit.

Taken aback, Balder sat silently while his hands were unbound.

"While you stay here, make sure to do your fair share in the community. Stay out of trouble and quit your ridiculous ramblings. If you cause us any problems, we will kick you out of our village or will hand you over to the Varangians."

*****

Balder didn't stay silent for long. He was enraged. This strange group of people were a complete insult to his memory of viking warriors. They not only looked different (clearly they had merged with some sort of primitive Skraeling tribe) but possessed nothing much of the traditional viking spirit that he remembered so fondly. They ate and drank in modest moderation, sharing everything equally between themselves like one big family. They carried only basic weapons and dress and didn't seem to pride themselves in these. What's more - there was no sense of honour! These people settled conflicts through verbal warfare rather than physical. They had lost their faith and chose to only worship some strange Skraeling deity they referred to as the Earth Spirit through weird rituals that involved a range of animal costumes and a strange smelling smoke.

They were generally a defeated, sullen and submissive group of people who had no hope or faith left. Most of them had no interest in Balder's tales of viking victory, or in the gods of old, or in the ways of old and most people simply ignored him or considered him a nuisance.

Ingrid seemed to hate him and constantly threatened to kick him out of the village for fear of him bringing unwanted attention to them. "You are vikings!" He snapped at her once. "Well, half-vikings. You are pathetic vikings who have abandoned your ways and your rights and have come to these mountains to hide away like little children from an unseen enemy. You should fight for what is rightfully yours and take back your control in the land! Raise an army, fight and destroy the enemy!"

After months in the village, Balder had never seen this so called enemy and was starting to doubt its existence. He had concluded that the vikings, in their integration with the Skraelings, had gone soft and were simply finding ways to excuse their submissive behaviours.

And no one gave him the answers that he sought - when he mentioned the Mjolnir, people simply changed topics. He knew that they had the weapon and their lack of information only further angered him. He suspected that the "guardian" of the Mjolnir that the old man in Sweden had told him about, was Ingrid, who was clearly the people's "chief".

One day he had simply had enough of trying to get information from the people and went directly to confront Ingrid. As she often did, Ingrid seemed to have disappeared and was no where to be found. Balder knew that she would eventually return, as she always did, rosy cheeked and puffing for air, and settled himself outside her hut to await her.

*****

"Give me the Mjolnir and I promise I will leave this place immediately."

Ingrid looked him squarely in the eyes and Balder couldn't translate her expression. She was such a mysterious woman, Balder had learned. She clearly cared deeply for her people and seemed only strengthened by their presence and through her embrace of nature. She was quite young, almost only a child herself, and Balder found himself wondering how she had become the people's leader. He didn't care quite enough to voice this. He only wanted to get the sacred artefact and put as much distance between him and this enraging group of people as possible.

"Stop talking about things that no longer exist," she snapped and left the room.

*****

One morning, Balder awoke to a deafening wailing and screaming. As he pushed himself out of the house, he was shocked to see a group of the people huddled beneath a bundle which was strung up from a tree, swaying eerily back and forth.

Pushing his way through, he made his way to the bundle and was disgusted to find that it contained the mangled remains of one of the villagers. He heard a quiet laugh far off in the distance and when he inquired as to whether anyone else had heard the sinister noise, the people as usual simply ignored him.

He pushed past the hanging body, flung himself back into his room and grabbed his broadsword.

*****

He stalked the enemy like a silent predator, creeping up on them without making a single sound despite his size. They were a strange breed of people too - distinctly european with pale skin and strange dress and weapons. There were only a handful of them and they were laughing as they carried strange weapons with them, the likes of which Balder had never before seen.

Something inside him told him to forget them, to turn back and to go back to his mission of finding the lost Mjolnir. Why should he care? The people were no longer fit to be called vikings! And he didn't understand the strange Skraeling part of their culture, and, quite frankly, he didn't intend to. And yet, he felt some strange sort of obligation, a strange need to defend honour and to get revenge for an innocent man's death. Additionally, much was to be gained from getting his hands on their magnificent weapons.

The last sound that the small group of Varangians heard before their lives were taken swiftly from them was the sound of a long, well sharpened blade being pulled from its sheath.

*****

Quite frankly, Balder was getting very sick of his weapons being confiscated from him. He stood angrily in the feasting area, bent over so as to be able to scream more effectively in Ingrid's face. She didn't back down one bit and stood with her fists clenched at her sides.

"This is not the way that we do things here. You don't realise what your actions mean for us! They will notice that those soldiers are gone and will come back with a bloody vengeance -"

"-then we will be there ready to fight!"

The villagers, who rarely saw conflict, watched the back-and-forth battle in awe. Their heads snapped back and forth between Ingrid and Balder, some with a deep look of respect.

"Ingrid - we can use their strange weapons as guides for how to create our own, much more powerful weapons! You don't have an army, but I can train your people in all forms of combat and you can take back your honour and your country!" He turned to the people now and straightened up. "Who of you want a better life? Who of you want to fight for what is rightfully yours?"

A few people stepped forward, much to the horror of Ingrid. It was the same group of people who opposed her leadership and who had wanted to make war against the enemy.

"You know why we can't make war right now," she shot at them and pivoted on her foot, stalking into the dark forest.

*****

Balder felt a little bit guilty this time for following her as she fought her way through the snow and trees with determination. She only stopped when she reached a small clearing at the edge of the woods and stood still, staring in front of her.

Balder edged closer and suddenly realised that she was standing where he had first seen her, staring into the wide ocean. This puzzled him and when, after a while, she had made no other movement, he turned and made his way silently back to the village.

Upon his return to the village, Balder made his way to his room, ignoring all those who were buzzing curiously around him. He exhaled loudly as the flap of the door settled and turned to find a man he recognised as the village smithy and close friend of Ingrid sitting casually on his makeshift bed, nursing one of the weapons Balder had taken earlier that day.

"There is something you should know about Ingrid," the old smithy wheezed.

*****

The next time that Ingrid decided to silently slip off for half a day, or a few days, as was sometimes the case, Balder would follow. And this time he wouldn't feel bad about it. He had to know if the old smithy had told him the truth.

Since that day, Ingrid had ignored Balder, acting like he wasn't there. Village life continued much as it had before. Only sometimes could Balder detect a change in the people - only the slightest noise outside the village would cause their heads to snap up and fear to enter their eyes. He knew that they were awaiting a vengeance attack from the enemy.

A few of the people who had answered his call for an army had come to him, asking to be trained in the old Norse art of fighting. Much to the annoyance of Ingrid, Balder started giving lessons to all those who wanted to know how to defend themselves. This group grew in numbers every day as the people became more scared for their own safety.

One morning, just after sunrise, Ingrid slipped out of her house and disappeared across the farmlands and to the gigantic mountains beyond. Balder was ready and prepared and followed her to the foot of one of these monoliths. He saw that she had entered a cavelike opening and followed without hesitation.

*****

He couldn't believe his eyes. he saw that the cave extended out in a great many passages in several directions. He almost missed Ingrid as she turned a corner and disappeared from sight. He shook his head as if to clear it and followed after her. As he turned the corner with a job, he bumped straight into Ingrid, who was facing the entrance of the room with her hands on her hips. As they got up, Balder noticed the room around them. It was filled with strange weapons, big and small, somewhat like those of the enemy soldiers, but also distinctly that of the people. The old smithy hadn't been lying.

*****

Balder couldn't believe what he had seen or heard. Although angry at first, Ingrid eventually became defeated and told him that while she wanted nothing more than to create a better future for her people, she had no way of doing so. Her people, she said, weren't soldiers and would never stand a chance against the enemy armies. Her parents, she had explained, had heard rumour of the end of the long period of Ragnarök, and, having previously been too afraid to return to their old ancestry lands, had finally set up an expedition to go back to the old Norse lands. There they hoped to find and recruit norse soldiers from the people who were left there in the shambles and ruins of the land. They could be brought back to Vinland and could help to create an army strong and large enough to fight off the Varangian enemy once and for all. In their absence, her parents, who were to true leaders of the group, had given her the role of leadership and had told her to secretly build and collect arms and provisions in their absence, while keeping her people safe. She was also to travel to neighbouring native tribes to seek to join forces against the mutual enemy. In this, however, she had been entirely unsuccessful.

Only a few of her own people knew about these operations, she told Balder. Her friend, the smithy was helping to build the weapons while a handful of others had helped to build the long tunnels through the mountains to where the other tribes were to be found. From these mountains, they could also keep watch over the enemy - the mountains led down to and surrounded much of the enemy city.

Balder realised that Ingrid was probably the greatest viking he had ever met or known and found himself deeply respecting her.

*****

Over the following months, Balder, Ingrid and her trusted few conducted many expeditions through the mountain tunnel systems to spy on the enemy. They learned a lot about the enemy's strange technologies which seemed to be comprised of all sorts of metal contraptions which emitted heavy smoke and ear-splitting noise when activated.

Often Balder would sneak into the enemy territory at night to survey these remarkable contraptions and would often steal parts which he would study over time. He learned about the many use of coal and steam and machinery and gunpowder and started to secretly build his own contraptions in the rooms of the mountain caves. The Mjolnir seemed to be almost forgotten to him.

One day, after he had finished a particularly difficult project, he summoned Ingrid to the cave. "This," he said proudly, "is a whole new way for us to move. A new transport system. Similar to the mechanical snake that the Varangians use, but better, faster, and most importantly - virtually silent."

Shocked, Ingrid asked "what is it for?"

"We can use this to travel through the mountain systems in less than a tenth of the time it would take for us to walk it's many passages. We could use it to go through the mountains and to restart your campaign to gain help from neighbouring tribes almost instantly! It will be such an advantage for the people. If we ever need to flee from the current village, we would have a secret, fast and effective way of getting anywhere we need to be. See here? This thing runs on tracks such as these - so all we need to do is lay the tracks and the longtrain will do the rest!"

Ingrid seemed cynical about this. "We cannot leave. My parents might be back at any time."

"Ingrid, you haven't heard a single world from or of them for years. They might never come back."

In her fashion, Ingrid clenched her jaw and stalked from the room.

*****

Over time, Ingrid taught Balder about her people's native side, about their beliefs, practices and rituals. He came to understand their ways and felt himself become strangely attached to them. She had also agreed to let Balder slowly begin to build an army of their people and those from other tribes who had been attracted to his charismatic charm (side missions). Production of weapons and provisions increased and the community started to warm up to him considerably. The feeling of taking action hung in the air and the people became more extroverted.

One day this happened to catch the attention of an enemy army, who, led by a strange man referred to as The General, would come to the village every now and then to remind the people why they wouldn't cause an uprising. Usually their attacks came swiftly and at night and left them with a strung up body or two in the morning as the only indication that they had come.

On this day, however, The General and his band of men, to whom the people referred to as the Varangians, came in the morning and were shocked at what they saw. Much of the small town now showed clear appropriation from their own towns. They stayed hidden and watched as a strange, tall, very pale man ran to and fro, turning a bolt on a machine here and correcting a warrior stance there, clearly largely influencing the behaviour of the people.

The General ordered a few of his men to stay behind and burn down the building known to house the food supply and tools that night while he went to consult with The Governor.

"And kidnap any wanderers. Don't kill them yet - we need them for questioning."

*****

The Governor had not been pleased with the news on the Halflings. And, to make matters worse, those who had been kidnapped weren't talking. The General was starting to crack under the pressure. Failing to give The Governor what he wanted could mean his neck - or worse - The Governor's crippling disappointment. No, he decided. He would extract the information from these animals if it was the last thing he did.

*****

The people had shrunk back in their old ways and set about their daily task as if with a massive weight on their shoulders. Since that fateful morning, only a few took up their weapons for their daily training. All else seemed to have lost hope. In truth they had not lost much - a few buildings, a small supply of provisions and a couple of tools and weapons. The enemy was not to know that a great supply of these were hidden away in the rooms of the mountains beyond the village.

Many blamed Balder and Ingrid and rivalries started breaking out among the people, who seemed somewhat more open to the option of using weapons than they had been when Balder had first joined the community.

While Ingrid struggled to maintain control of her people, Balder tried to come up with a new plan.

*****

The Governor seemed disturbed. "Are you certain that the Halfling's new leader calls himself Balder? How do you know they aren't lying?"

"I cut off their fingers and toes one by one, my Lord. They aren't lying."

The Governor smiled sadistically at this and the General felt as though the sky had opened up and the sun was shining happily only on him.

"And this Balder character - they claim that he is after Mjolnir?"

"Yes, Governor, they say that he had asked obsessively for it when he arrived in this land"

The Governor sat in silence for what seemed an age. Finally he clapped The General on the back and said "You have done well, General. Now leave my sight. I will call for you again in the morning to discuss a new plan."

*****

Many days later, The General was leading a group of his finest soldiers through the countryside, toward the Halfling village. The Governor had seem both disturbed and strangely excited the night before, but had not clarified on this. He had simply ordered The General to retrieve the object known as the Mjolnir from the Halflings, before immediately handing it over to him.

So they journeyed up the mountain-slope until they reached the village. They prepared their weapons, grabbed the group of sickly, bleeding hostages they had kidnapped on their last visit and shoved them forward into the centre of the village square, where the Halflings had been sitting, listening to a dispute between members of their community. They stopped in silence as their kidnapped friends stumbled and fell between them. They turned toward the trees and many screamed as they saw the enemy standing in line, guns facing toward them. Ingrid stepped forward and ordered her people to hush. Balder, sword already drawn, came up and stood behind her.

"The item called Mjolnir. Give it to me," The General put simply. "Do it and we won't open fire. Refuse, and these poor dogs won't be the only ones who die."

At the mention of Mjolnir, Balder stepped forward. "We don't have it," he said as the enemy guns swung to point solely at him.

The General repeated his request to Ingrid and waited almost patiently and without any sign of remorse as she gathered her wits and answered him. "Don't hurt my people," she began and again The General repeated his request.

"Fine," she said and turned toward her room, avoiding Balder, who was fast on her heels.

*****

Balder could not believe it. He had trusted Ingrid and she him - or so she claimed, and yet, every time he had mentioned Mjolnir, she had promised him that the object was not in their possession. She had simply handed it over to the enemy and there was nothing short of starting a massacre, that Balder could do to stop her.

"It is only a stupid relic," she had told him later. "It holds no special power. It's power died with Thor and the other gods of old."

"You have no idea what you've done," was all that he could say.

*****

The Governor had never been happier. No one else knew anything of old viking mythology or history, and none understood the significance of the Mjolnir, which he now nursed in his hands. The pesky General had enquired, but The Governor had distracted him with shiny jewels, a new house and special quest to keep him busy.

Mjolnir was not just some old relic as many said - it was the key to unlimited power. Power that was all his. The Governor had never been happier.

*****

Balder and his army of the people and the honourary people was quite big. He had done well. He had them ready and willing to do what must be done when the time arrived. He ordered them to guard the village while he was away, and to do everything they could to keep the people safe. He would, in the mean while, pay The Governor a little visit.

Ingrid refused to leave his side and told him that she would accompany him. There was no persuading her. For such a strangely peaceful woman, she was intensely fierce at times.

Together they boarded the longtrain and travelled to the mountain passage closest to the Governor's house.

"Ready?" He asked her, as they came to a stop outside the mansion's perimeter wall, storm clouds gathering in a swirl above them - a sign that the hammer had already been used.

*****

They fought their way inside silently and basically unseen, taking out the enemy without so much as a sound. They hoped that The Governor would be asleep and that the Mjolnir would be unguarded - though this second hope was a fat chance.

Silently they navigated their way through the building's corridors and came to the room that was clearly some sort of study. Balder ordered Ingrid to keep watch while he explored the room.

He found the Mjolnir in a special case at the back of the room and with strangely emotional gesture, picked it up and turned to leave.

*****

Balder knew why the Mjolnir had been Thor's choice of weapon. It was incredibly powerful and would return to his hand when thrown at an enemy. The rest of those that he and Ingrid had encountered on their way back to the mountains had stood no chance and had been taken out at both vast and intimate distances.

He spent the return journey studying the Mjolnir, but knew that its power in summoning had been completely drained. He had failed his personal mission. He would not be able to resurrect the other gods. The old viking kingdom had been lost to the world forever and he would be stuck in mortal form until he too was lost to inevitable death. His only purpose now was that he would not fail his people.

The storm clouds continued to gather in a strange spiral, and Balder knew what was coming and hoped with all his might, that they would be ready.

*****

When they arrived back at the village, they were met by a large group of strangers - tall, pale men and women who were clearly vikings. Ingrid ran forward and was greeted by two wary looking people who Balder figured must be her long-lost parents. They exchanged a quick few words before Ingrid introduced them to Balder. They knew who he was and claimed that news of his rebirth had spread over the great Scandinavian lands and was the reason that the norse people with enough strength had agreed to come with the elderly couple to the fabled Vinland.

Their acquaintances were short-lived, however, as a tremendous thunder sounded and gigantic lumps of snow and ice started to fall upon the ground.

Balder silenced the people and ordered them to follow him with haste, before running to the mountain caves. They would not wait around for the ice giants and the Varangians to find them, Balder decided. No - they would meet them on their own turf while they were still making their preparations.

He divided the people and sent them on different routes through the mountains. They would attack the enemy from above and from all sides.

Balder boarded his own longtrain and they sped off through the mountain passages with blinding speed.

When they arrived to the sound of ice smashing ice, Balder pulled his helmet firmly onto his head.

*****

His people fought well alongside Balder against the greatest threat imaginable to mankind - the ice giants who had obliterated the viking deities since the beginning of time. Many among them practiced magic and called upon the great Mother Spirit to aid them - and she did - sending out hordes of creatures - wolves and giant birds - to kill the ice giants.

Balder fought his way toward the General, a difficult and fleeting foe, who was standing yelling orders to his troops from a distance.

*****

Always on the furthest outskirts of the battle stood the greatest enemy - The Governor, and his greatest servant, The General. The people battled fiercely against the ice giants. The majority of the Varangians had fled the battle scene, scattering into the forests like frightened mice.

All the while, Balder and Ingrid forced their way closer and closer to The Governor and The General. When they finally came face to face, and Balder made to swing at The Governor, who stood rather helpless and pathetically unarmed in his confidence, Ingrid counteracted his blade and spared The Governor's life.

"Ingrid!" He screamed at her. She paused, straightened up to her full height and swung her own sword down on the Governor.

*****

She had insisted on sparing the life of The General, claiming that he was only a child. She ordered him to send word to their home country that resources had dried up and that they would evacuate the country as soon as possible. Many of the enemy orphans were adopted by the tribe who spread through the country with the remainder of the norsemen warriors.

*****

One day, after a huge festival, like none he had even seen in Scandinavia, Balder was walking through the woods. Suddenly he came upon an old tree, with markings in the wood that resembled the one-eyed face of the All-father, Odin.

The spirit of the tree spoke to him and told him that he would be able to return to Asgard, which had been rebuilt by Vidar, Vali, Modi and Magni. They had only managed to resurrect the gods after the last of the ice giants had been slain and the Mjolnir, which had disappeared after that fateful day, had regained its power.

After much persuasion, Balder was faced with the biggest decision of his life - join his friends in Asgard as a god, which had been the driving force of his original quest, or stay in this land with Ingrid and her people as a mortal being.

*****

Game Title - "Varangian"

It is really difficult to summarise this game with only a few fitting words which could make an appropriate title.

It seems natural to somehow use Balder's name in the title, or to make mention of the end of Ragnarök or the colonisation in North America, but all these themes leave out too much else.

I have decided upon the title "Varangian" for my game. This title serves a number of purposes and can be interpreted in a number of ways:

• The Varangians were vikings who went eastwards and southwards through what is now Russia. While initially combining piracy and trade in their roaming through this area, viking explorers eventually settled there. They became powerful leaders in many parts of Russia, but eventually the Viking minority merged with Slavic population and absorbed Greek Christian influences.
• This is an interesting part of history which creates even more interesting reasons for using a Russian-esque enemy in the game.
• "Varangian" could refer to the way that the enemy conduct themselves and could be a comment on how Vikings are seen today the majority of the world. To have the enemy be a group of violent, selfish raiders who simply take what they want without any regard for anything else against a more peaceful group of half-vikings would be a strong comment on how we see different cultures, and in particular, the Viking culture. In a way, the typical viking stereotype of violence and selfishness (though these people won't be specifically Viking or Varangian, but more Russian-esque) would be contrasted against a more positive outlook on the Vikings as primarily a peaceful farming people.

Backstory for the Game

Below is the backstory for the game. This won't necessarily be mentioned throughout the game, but will be the reason for why the world is the way that it is.

The Mythology:

According to Norse mythology, Balder is the son of the Norse god Odin and Frigg. He dwelled in Asgard and was the god of beauty. He was the most beloved of all the gods.

One day he had a prophesy that he would die. The other gods were shocked and saddened. In an attempt to prevent the death of her son, Frigg set about the world getting oaths from all existing things, from people, deities and animals, to plants and even inanimate objects. The oath was a promise to never harm her son in any way.

When she came upon the mistletoe plant, she thought that the plant was so totally harmless that she didn't need to make it swear an oath.

One day the mischievous Loki disguised himself and was able to extract this information from an unaware Frigg.

Balder now seemed immortal and the gods spent a lot of time in Asgard playing a game of "throw this and that" at Balder. They threw rocks and swords and all other dangerous things at him, but these objects would simply bounce off him without so much as scratching him. The only god that didn't play the game was his blind brother Hod.

One day the gods were playing this game and Loki convinced Hod to play as well. He handed Hod the mistletoe and told him to throw it as hard as he could.

The mistletoe flew like a spear and pierced Balder, who immediately fell dead to the ground. He was then taken to the Underworld by Hel, the goddess of the dead who refused to release Balder unless everything in the world shed at least one tear for him.

Everyone shed a tear except for the giantess Thokk (some translations say that this was Loki in another one of his disguises), so Hel refused to release Balder.

According to the mythology, Balder is supposed to be reborn after the end of Ragnarök. His rebirth will herald the beginning of a new age.

Vikings settle in North America and the Merging of the groups:

In the year 1000 AD a Viking explorer by the name of Leif Erikson discovered North America with a small group of fellow Norsemen. He named the land Vinland and set up camp there on the northern coastline where he over-wintered with his people before returning to Greenland with a rich supply of timber, furs and other rare and valuable resources.

Leif had a good reputation with the native Americans during his stay in their country. They traded together and no lives were lost due to conflict.

In reality, Leif returned home to Greenland where he took over his father's estate and never himself returned to Vinland. His brothers and sister, however, all tried to colonise Vinland but were unsuccessful due to bloody conflicts they created with the Native Americans.

The only way that the Vikings would have been able to set up a permanent colony in North America would have been for their relationships with the Native American tribes in the area to be good and strong and without conflict. The Native American people greatly outnumbered the amount of Vikings who could come to the country at any given time, so without these good relationships, the Vikings would never survive there.

In my game, the Vikings and the native tribe of the area (a largely fictional tribe) found within each other's culture and ways of life a lot of similarities and were able to live peacefully side by side for many decades. Positive relationships that had started off with trade eventually led the two tribes to merge and became one. After many generations, they were neither completely Viking nor Native American.

A few hundred years later, in the timing of the game, the group is completely unique. Characteristics of both traditional groups can still be seen in everything, though much of their spiritual beliefs have either been lost over time or have been disregarded. The people live closely to nature, are generally peaceful and share everything equally amongst each other, just like the Native Americans did. They are also incredible farmers, innovators and have a deeply hidden, mostly ignored but naturally fierce strength like traditional Vikings had, though this characteristic is mostly only aroused when threatened as a group. This is not quite the same as the Viking fury, vengeance and honour which had often led traditional Vikings to kill for selfish reasons such as personal gain, honour, revenge etc. The people have over time learned to take a more peaceful and selfless approach to their problems, which has largely been influenced by their Native American side. The strongest characteristics and symbols of each group of people will be shown throughout the design of the game, so that both nations will still be somewhat recognisable.

At the same time, there are still other Native American tribes in other areas of North America. Some of these tribes are friends and some are foes, but they don't play too much of a role in the beginning of the game and are completely independent of my tribe. They are only important later in the game when my tribe must gain outside support for their army, and many of their neighbouring tribes are appealed to in side missions.

In terms of design, my characters and their world will be neither completely Viking nor completely Native American. As mentioned previously, only the strongest characteristics of both tribes will be apparent (with some exceptions where it creates contradictions). This means that there will be things in the world that are strongly inspired by Native American masks and totems etc, as well as things strongly inspired by Viking longboats and weaponry (specifically swords and helmets) etc. Other things, such as their houses, could be identifiable as either or neither.

Two main issues arise when combining the two groups of people - one with religion and the other, which has already been touched on but needs elaboration, with the contradictory sense of the importance of self and family versus the importance of a whole and a selfless attitude - basically greed versus selflessness.

Religion and spiritual beliefs and practices were greatly important in both groups of people. Both groups worshiped a wide array of deities. Generally, in Viking mythology, the gods were largely centred around conflict and battle, whereas many Native American tribes worshiped the earth and nature and many spirits (especially the spirits of animals). Considering that my game kicks off at the end of Ragnarök and the tribe of half-vikings still know about and believe in the Gods of Old and are depressed by the fact that these deities are dead means that this part of their Viking ancestry can't have been ignored or lost. However, since they believe that their gods are dead, they have given up hope and have lost a lot of faith in the Old Ways of the Vikings. The difficult consideration here is that the Native Americans also had a wide range of beliefs that cannot be simply ignored.

The only way that I can combine both faiths at least to some basic degree is helped by the fact that the Native American ancestry of my people is largely a fictional group who show some similarities to actual Native tribes that existed, but aren't to be identified specifically.

I think that my Native American tribe will have only worshiped the Earth as a deity and other aspects of nature, such as animals to some degree, and would believe in spirits and souls and ghosts. This will mean that there won't be any Native American Gods to clash with the Viking Gods and would mean that the Native Americans would have been more open to other religions that were more deity-based. The belief in an after-life would also have meant that the Vikings would have no longer believed in the need for battle as a means to enter Asgard, which would account for their now peaceful, selfless nature.

As a summary, this is what my tribe believe: The Viking Gods are real, but have mostly all died in Ragnarök. There is physical proof of this in the great north countries that their Viking ancestors had left behind, which has helped the Native American people to accept these gods as being real. The death of the Viking gods means that everything comes to an end, no matter how big or strong it is. They see this reflected in Mother Earth - the spirit of the earth deity, which is the only deity they have left to worship. The industrialisation of the world is harming this deity, which seems to be slowly passing away as well. As a result, the people are quite depressed and are very much without hope. They believe that the great Mother Earth uses animals and other parts of nature to communicate with people - she gives them a sort of spirit. This accounts for many of the rituals in which the people dress up as animals, impersonate animals, as well as the use of animals in every day life etc - it is simply a homage to Mother Earth who uses these creatures as her vessels. They believe that when any living thing dies, they become a part of Mother Earth where through their death, new life can be born. This is not reincarnation, however, some of their wisdom and knowledge can be passed on through generations in this way. They don't believe in an afterlife - Asgard has fallen and there is no more need for the souls soldiers to be collected for the final battle, since this final battle has already been fought and lost.

Now to the second point - the contradiction between the two groups in terms of a way they largely lived their lives, either driven by greed and selfishness or by peace and selflessness. Traditionally, the Vikings were a fierce nation who believed that personal and family honour was of utmost importance and would do absolutely anything they needed to uphold these. On the other hand, many Native American tribes (though not all of them) believed that everything should be shared equally among their people, that the tribe was one big family and that disputes could be resolved without the need for bloodshed (again, this isn't always the case). Both of these are somewhat stereotypes but create a bit of a conflict when trying to put the groups together.

For the purpose of my game, the people are generally to be peaceful, kind, sharing, selfless - they are the "good guys". In joining together to form one community or tribe of people, the Vikings would have had to lose their selfish nature, but a bit of their fighting spirit should be carried on. The Vikings would have seen how things were done by the Native Americans and would have admired the way that they cared for every person of their tribe. The Native Americans would have seen the determined Viking spirit and this would have been passed on through generations but perhaps would have been put to use in other, more prosperous areas - such as in farming, hunting, self provision, education, invention etc. However, in most people of the tribe there is still a secret, deeply imbedded but mostly ignored sense for honour, combat and strength, which can be unleashed when properly provoked.

At the end of Ragnarök, the people in North America turned from a lot of their old ways, specifically their coastal habitat, and turned to a kind of exile in the mountains. This was also forced by their enemies, who pushed them out of the way as they set up their own civilisation on the coastal areas where resources were richer and their factories more functional.

Ragnarök:

The end of the Viking Age (approximately 1100AD) is marked by the beginning of Ragnarök, the final battle between the Norse Gods and the Frost Giants. After a 3 year long winter that marked the beginning of the final battle, Loki, the leader of the evil giants and monsters led his supporters to war against the Æsir and Vanir gods. The actual physical battle of this great war was over after a decade, but the absolute end of Ragnarök was still far off - the effects of the war had yet to settle and resolve. In approximately 1113-4 AD, the last god and monster fell and only a small handful of Norse gods were left alive - Odin's brother Honir, his sons Vidar and Vali and Thor's sons Modi and Magni.

Honir, Vidar and Vali disappeared after the battle and were never to be seen or heard of again. They were joined soon after by Modi and Magni, who had to first rid themselves of the Mjolnir, their father's weapon. Before the war, Thor had sworn his sons to an oath that if he should fall, the Mjolnir would be taken somewhere safe and kept within the Viking people. He had refused to elaborate further on the matter and after his death, out of obligation, his sons sought out the best suiters. The few Vikings left in Scandinava were in shambles after the conflict and were deemed incapable of guarding the weapon. The only other somewhat Norse colony known was the one who had settled with Leif Erikson in North America. The weapon was taken there and given to the leader of the group who was appointed its official guardian. Modi and Magni were somewhat reluctant at first to give this race of Halflings the weapon, but their desire to disappear was too great for them to do otherwise. They arrived and in a day were also gone, never to be seen again.

The end of Ragnarök was to be when the last living thing from the time of the great battle had died. This occurred in last decade of the 18th century, the industrial age, when the last leaf from an ancient norwegian tree fell to the ground. It is at this moment that Balder was reborn.

Scandinavia:

The battle of Ragnarök was fought in the northern parts of Scandinavia and, as a result, the majority of the Viking people also went to war. Many lives were lost and the country was left in shambles. The Viking people who survived were left weak, injured and sprinkled across the lands, unable to help themselves. Many died from the effects of the war, not only from injuries, but from sadness and lack of resources. Only a few hundred Vikings survived on these great lands and over the next several hundred years until the end of Ragnarök, nothing was heard from or about them by other people - their fate was a complete mystery to their people in North America who feared to return to Scandinavia until the end of Ragnarök had arrived.

Greater European/Enemy home-country History, and their colonisation of North America:

The enemy land (Russian-esque, but only ever referred to as the "Great, Vast Land") before the industrial age (which was led by this country rather than the English, for the sake of the game) was the biggest and strongest land known to civilised man. The greatest people from all over the known world flocked there seeking fame, power and riches. It was the biggest land and had the most resources known to mankind, which was the source riches and power during those times. With such an increase in population, the country just became more and more powerful.

The Industrial Age began in the late 1700's in the "Great, Vast Land" as an answer to several issues faced by the country. Firstly, it was the solution to create a more effective way of doing manual labour (through machines) and gathering resources. Secondly, and more importantly, it came largely from the growing issue of dwindling resources in the country.

The land had started off rich in resources and had attracted a population so large and greedy that it could only support their habits for a short period of time. Initially, this wasn't even considered as a possibility by the government or the people, who were too greedy to think of anything but their own well-being. However, when the forests had been cleared and all the surface coal had been burned through, the people needed to find a solution before they died out. They created machines that could dig coal out of the earth and as a result, the Industrial age with all its many inventions, including steam, was started.

This industrial age in the game is very similar to the one that had occurred in the real world (which was largely led by the British), but the inventions have a distinct Russian look and feel. It is only logical that the same inventions would be made with time, regardless of who had begun the Industrial Age. When something was required, when a problem arose, a solution would always be found.

Back to the backstory of the game - when the resources had all mostly dried up and the Industrial Age was started as an answer to a serious problem, the King of the "Great, Wide Land" started seeking new lands with fresh resources. He had heard tales of Vinland and decided to send a group of explorers to find this land.

When they found the land roughly a few hundred years before the game is set, they found an abundance of resources. The King was overjoyed and arranged for an absolutely massive group of soldiers, volunteers, colonists, convicts, orphans - whoever he could force or persuade - to go to the great land with the aim of gathering resources to send back to their home country. The large group was required to keep the natives under submissive control, and to allow them to gather enough resources quickly to help the massive population back home.

The Native Americans never stood a chance. While many tribes initially tried to fight off the invaders, they were quickly overpowered and were pushed from their lands and sent into hiding in the mountain areas. The enemy didn't necessarily go out of their way to kill these people, but thought of them as nothing more than animals who had to be controlled.

This is also the attitude that they had toward the strange Halfling race - they wouldn't spend their energies exterminating them, but would ensure their dominance over them.

All races would be monitored by the enemy army in that section of the country and were controlled.

The enemy group of people set up a major city and smaller communities in the country. The city is basically a massive stretch of factories where convicts, orphans and many other people worked to gather and prepare resources which were mostly to be sent back to their home country. Most of the poorer living communities were slums where the majority of the workers lived, squashed together like chickens in battery farms, living spaces stacked upon each other. The richer communities had nicer Russian-esque houses. The feared Governor lived in a kind of Russian palace. The Armies lived in their own small communities and were scattered across the country with the main aim of training, controlling the natives and designing and producing new secret weapons.