When asked to design the Wisp I researched not only the TES version, but also the Will o' the Wisp from Celtic folklore. There it was a more mischievous creature like a little goblin who would lure wayward travelers to their doom off of a cliff in the fog or roll them in a thicket, etc. In Oblivion they were essentially particle spheres with the promise of loot if you killed them. I liked the supernatural aspect of them but I wanted to design a creature who was more compelling and potentially seductive.
My thought was, if they're supposed to lure you to your doom then they should be tempting bait, no? Difficult to pull off in an RPG setting but I thought I'd try to pitch anyway. Luckily they went for it...
..After making a few quick drawings of ghostly women we came full circle back to the original concept of the TES4 Wisps but with the added component of the Wisp Mother and her 'child' Wisps...
...The idea pitched at this point was to make her beautiful and ethereal and seemingly like an ally until you got within her striking distance. She'd then reveal her true nature and revert to her 'vampiric' form quickly draining the player's life force...
...When all was said and done these ideas proved a little too ambitious, the transformation concept got axed and probably rightfully so...
Still, this was an evolution for the Wisp and it was really fun to develop with the rest of the team. I'll be updating more in the near future so stop by again soon.
All Images Copyright Bethesda Softworks LLC, All Rights Reserved 2011.
4 comments:
I love to see your art Ray, and seeing the thoughts behind it is great! Looking forward to more! = D
The more I learn about the creation of this amazing game, the better. I especially enjoy learning who created what and the thinking behind it. This was great, thanks.
Thanks guys! I'll post more soon:)
LOVE these! Great command of lighting!
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