Operencia is kind of a weird word, isn't it? Why would we possibly call a game that?! Buckle up, it’s going to be history and linguistics today!
If you watched our Dev Diary video last week, you might recall our writer Chris touching on the origins of the Operencia name -- that he kept seeing the word pop up as he researched Central European folktales.
It does roughly translate to ‘far, far away,’ but there's far more to it than that -- and it's very interesting if you ask me.
The land of Operencia is a mythical faraway land referenced in countless tales, usually as ‘even farther than the Operencia Sea’ or ‘this character came from a land even farther than Operencia’. Even for Hungarian, which has its share of weird-sounding words (I should know -- I live here), this is very unique and sounds foreign.
Image source: https://kertaizalan.artstation.com/
There are multiple competing versions for where the word actually comes from, but probably the most agreed-upon variety is that of soldiers of Hussar regiments in the 18th and 19th century.
You see, Hungary was under Habsburg rule, and their solution to prevent rebellions was transferring army units from their country of origin to faraway stations. This happened to many Hungarian soldiers who were stationed in Upper Austria, behind the river Enns. Keep that river name in mind - it’s important.
I made this in paint
Over the Enns translates to Ober Enns in German. Hungarian has a habit of roughing up foreign words -- so ‘Oper Enc’ became ‘Operencia’, as adding ‘ia’ to a word usually means it’s a country or a land of sorts.
These lands seemed so far for the returning soldiers that they always referred to it as very far away, ‘even further than…’. This trickled into the common tongue of Hungary and eventually landed in folktales and legends.
Hope you enjoyed this -- we’re here every week.
Erőt, egészséget! Strength and Health!
Get to know us and the game better - Dev Diary I.
Adventurers, it is I again, the One Responsible for Operencia News, and this time I have a video to show you. Knowing more about the inspiration, lore, and art of the Operencia will enhance your appreciation of this modernized old-school dungeon crawler.
Meet Olivér, Tamás, Lali, Chris, and the Busó. One of them is an odd one out -- take a peek and figure out which! Please note: we are not accepting Ákos as an answer.
https://youtu.be/qsqmg7iUlso
If you are instead in the mood for reading, here’s a transcript of the diary for you to enjoy:
Olivér: - The team working on Operencia started out as a prototype team. We were experimenting with virtual reality games, which took us to a tile-based game system. This led us straight to the world of old-school RPGs. As the team consisted mostly of hardcore RPG fans—be it video games or classic, pen-and-paper RPGs—it was obvious: We should make this kind of game. - I started with research. I read many stories, such as the compilations of Elek Benedek. I watched cartoons of our childhood, like "Magyar Népmesék" (Hungarian Folk Tales). I also looked up some historical records and legends so that we could select characters and motifs, and create a new and unique world. - I am particularly proud of that we can share our childhoods—and all of Central Europe's—tales with a wider audience.
Chris: - One of the cool things about Operencia is basically what inspired us to do the game in the first place beyond just making an awesome first person dungeon crawler. We also wanted to bring in a kind of a universe that hasn't been explored in video games before. And Zen Studios is located in Hungary so where better to draw from than Central European folktales? - So you might be wondering where the name Operencia actually comes from. When I was going through all of these Central European folktales finding new kind of tales to put into our game in a creative way to unify our world I kept seeing this one word pop up and it was like "on the other side of Operencia" or "beyond Operencia" or "in Operencia". And I asked my Hungarian colleagues what Operencia was and it basically translates to "far far away", so that is actually the name of the land of our game where everything takes place and eventually it actually became the name of our game because we liked it so much.
Tomi: - I designed most of the characters in the game. These consist of enemy characters that you will face in a battle. They required concept art and thoughtful planning so the 3D models can be made and placed into the game. The other types of characters exist as purely 2D art, more like portraits. They are represented in the game as 2D images when you meet them—as you talk to them, you see their portraits. The player imagines them by these character art pieces. - There's a level called Copper Forest, which is special for me because as a kid I heard tales of that place. - Fortunately, other members of the team had their own visions of the Copper Forest, so we brainstormed, and that is how the concepting phase started for that level. I hope that the outcome will speak for itself—personally, this is my favorite level. - Another interesting character, which shows how much we could build upon the Hungarian folklore and tales, is the Buso. A Buso is a strange figure wearing a furry coat and a horned mask. It looks really funny and scary at the same time.
Lali: - I had the honor to get to draw the game's cutscenes. This was a really exciting task because I have always been interested in the art of motion picture. I had the opportunity to build up scenes from scratch and animate them. We chose the parallax technique, which required collaboration between a few artists. However, the results proved really impressive, with remarkable spatial perception. - As a guideline we used the Hungarian folklore and motif system. The most notable traits are clean shapes, symmetry and ornaments which roots deep in our Hungarian culture. - It happened more than once that I would finish a cutscene, and that I would have to leave the room because I was afraid what the others would think. Then I heard the pleased laughter and a sort of cheering, so I knew that it was okay, and I was able to go back in.
Fare thee well, Üdvözlet a Rézerdő mélyéről!
Greetings! - Operencia is coming soon to Steam
Greetings RPG fans!
A duty of mine is to welcome you to the Operencia community on Steam, and it is a pleasure to do so: welcome! Thanks to those who already wishlisted this endeavor. The wait is nearly over: Operencia is on its way to the Steam Store!
Please follow our social media channels and this Steam News Feed as we release more info about Operencia in the coming days and weeks.
