Guild Wars 2 Asura Design Blog Entries

During the course of the last three days there’s been no shortage of activity on the official ArenaNet’s blog, as three entries have been dedicated to the Asura race in Guild Wars 2.

In the first, ArenaNet’s Matt Barrett talks about their design:

The little people themselves were conceived originally as scrawny, creepy, Gollum-like, gnome-y creatures, with pointy red hats, arcane mutterings, and pale skin. They were to be mischievous, dwelling on the fringes of society, scavenging mysterious artifacts of their advanced neighbors.

(…)

Their role in the story changed, however, and demanded that their appearance reflect a deeper complexity. The asura were to be underestimated by the first sun-siders to encounter them. For this new role, the asura needed to be at least a little sympathetic, or even cute, but not too cute. They needed to give the impression that condescension would be imprudent. Thus, they gained their present feline-reptilian-alien aspect.

(…)

Physically, asura are mostly unintimidating, with scrawny shoulders, pencil necks, short legs all hands and feet and noggin. At first glance, one might see a childlike individual, with wide-set eyes, a round head, and stumpy legs that waddle-run in the most adorable way.

However, look any longer and one will see the disdainful, scheming eyes, the unsympathetic reptilian mouth, generally sophisticated gremlin-like bearing.and the five-meter-tall stone golem standing behind him. You don’t want to call the asura cute unless you also want to see how hard that golem can clamp your throat while a mad-genius gremlin hisses insults into your eyes from between pointed reptilian teeth.

The second is a “concept story”:

It was colder outside the wagon, and Flummox’s breath steamed around him like smoke from a chimney. Their small caravan, six wagons in all, was immobile, the yaks huffing and stomping in the thin mountain air. They were in a steep vale, and large ominous shapes loomed at the head of the valley.

(Never did like the Shiverpeaks,) muttered Flummox. He fished out a tablet and small chunk of charcoal. He wrote down a list of items and handed it to Sareb. (Check the other wagons, and see if you can get the items on this list. We’ll need them to get the apparatus operational.)

(The apparatus?) Sareb smiled knowingly and added, (You mean Mr. Sparkles?)

In a moment of weakness, Flummox had let the sylvari name his latest invention, and was now unsure if the sylvari had chosen the name out of innocence or amusement. (Yeah,) he said through gritted teeth, (I mean.Mr. Sparkles.)

And the third is dedicated to the Asura environment art:

When the asura make things, it’s not as much an exercise of craft or dexterity as it is an act of will ambition made manifest in stone and metal. Every asuran artifact bears the imprint of their ancient masters of elemental energies. Blind adherents to ancient traditions, however, they are not: if something can be done better, they’re on it yesterday.

Our designs for asuran architecture draw heavily from ancient Hindu temples: massive stone columns, intricate, masterful carvings, and a sense of being inside a mountain. I have a particular fascination with architectural spaces that are defined by massive forms, and this plays in perfectly with the asuran penchant for flexing their mastery of stone. As well as carving it, they imbue stone with (or coax out of latency) a vital energy to do their bidding be that a battling golem, an energy-multiplying pyramid, or a floating drink coaster.