After Ara: History Untold got its own section of Microsoft"s recent Developer_Direct event in January, developer Oxide Games has continued to post new video developer diaries that offer a deeper look into its upcoming PC exclusive grand strategy game.
The latest dev diary video on YouTube has host Steven Bell chatting once again with Oxide"s Dorian Newcomb, the game"s Art Director.
As you might expect, Newcomb discussed the art direction for Ara during this latest dev diary. One of the subjects that were brought up was if the game"s art style for selecting historical leaders would be more realistic or if the artwork would be more stylized. Newcomb stated:
We were basically trying to do animated illustrations. We wanted them to look the way that you"d imagine the leader look but to not try to be representational of the "realer than real". . . .We didn"t want you to worry that you were meeting this leader in their little hovel or in their palace with all the grime and grit that reality had, but we wanted it to be like an illustration of what if you could go back in time and meet them at their peak.
Newcom also discussed how the Oxide team designed the user interface for Ara. He stated it was a challenge to give players all the information they need to play the game successfully, but at the same time make the UI manageable and easy to read and access.
Ara: History Untold is currently set for release on the PC sometime in the fall of 2024. You can join the Ara Insider Program right now for the chance to play pre-release builds for the game. Oxide announced recently that a new technical alpha test is slated to begin "soon" and you can learn more about how to participate on the game"s Steam page.