'The combat is something we spent a long time iterating on. The fact that A44 Games was able to do so with their first title was monumental and is a testament to the developer’s pursuit of perfection. As GameSpot noted in their review, 'The controls produce a methodical approach to combat that's enjoyable to just lose yourself in.' Designing a fighting system that feels challenging without ever being unfair usually requires the work of a seasoned studio. We were able to put together the character customization very quickly, which, as a small team, means the world.'Īshen’s weighty and impactful combat is another aspect of the game that has received significant praise. Luckily enough, it also really fed into the art style and gave our characters a unique look.'Ĭonsidering players can customize their own characters, Dasan credits Unreal Engine 4 with assisting the indie studio to get this feature off the ground, 'One of the core things we love about using Unreal is the ability for anyone, be it a coder, designer, or artist, to go in and really quickly knock up a prototype of the feature we want. As part of this, we tried wiping the faces off the characters so players would judge each other by actions rather than any preconceived notions stemming from character customization.” Surprised by the success of this tweak, Dasan stated, “This worked far better than we hoped, so it stuck around. The creative director elaborates on how the studio came to this concept, 'Early on in development, we were trying to really reinforce the mantra of 'forging meaningful relationships,' which is core to Ashen.

The art provides a point of difference, and hopefully, visuals that will stand the test of time.'īolstering the game's unique visual identity, all characters are faceless.

'The art style of Ashen took a long time to develop and continued maturing throughout development,” Dasan stated, adding, “We wanted to create a world that was beautiful and optimistic, yet dark and mysterious. To achieve this look, A44 Games had to constantly iterate.

One of Ashen’s most striking features is undoubtedly its beautiful, minimalist aesthetic, which pulls players into an impressionist painting.

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