Although regarded as 2D, the world of Unto The End is actually constructed in 3D – it's built from layers of 'flat' polygons and some sprites. For instance, in the scene below, the mountains and hills are flat polygons, while the home, father and grass are sprites.
We wrote scripts to perfectly represent what the player will see in-game as we position and edit things in Unity. This includes everything from scene framing to lighting and Vfx. We also built a custom in-scene editing tool which allows us to draw and edit our environment assets within Unity. Edits appear in realtime within both the scene and game views, as shown here:
If you have any questions about this or any other aspects of the development of Unto The End, please feel free to ask away. We'll be happy to answer if we can.
Hi everyone. It's been a while since we posted on here, but we've been working hard on Unto The End and development is progressing well. You can see how things are coming together in this video of some work-in-progress gameplay footage:
https://youtu.be/vFUNQsoDzsU
An edited version of the footage appeared during E3 at the Xbox briefing – Unto The End is going to be available in Xbox Game Pass at launch – the video shows the full unabridged version we sent over to Xbox.
In addition to the gameplay video, we've also got a new selection of screenshots to share:
These caves are the first area you'll have to navigate. Dangling from a great height is just one of the dangers you'll face
The rudimentary pulley system provides a route through these vast caverns
You can collect and use spears thrown by enemies. Obviously you'll have to dodge them first...
Presenting a very different dynamic to one-on-one combat, you'll have to master the hero's full moveset to overcome multiple enemies
There are no 'easy' enemies in Unto The End – every successful dispatch of a foe should feel like a deserved, but hard-fought, victory
Hone your combat skills in this homestead training area
Although perilous and home to many dangerous creatures, the world can be a wondrous and majestic place
Hope you like what you see. We aim to have more frequent updates over the coming months, so should have more to share with you soon. In the meantime, you can add Unto The End to your Wishlist by clicking the widget below. Your support is a huge help and greatly appreciated.
For this post I want to introduce the woad – one of the races that inhabit the world of Unto The End. These native creatures will be regularly encountered during the game and, given their status as one of the main residents of Unto, Stephen and Sara at 2 Ton Studios put a lot of thought into their conception and design.
This is just a quick snapshot of that process and how the woad has evolved along the way.
Fore-woading
The rugged brute you see above is the initial woad concept. Looks good, but wasn’t quite right and failed to meet one of 2 Ton’s tenets of creature design, namely that a creature should ‘be realised enough that an expansion could be built around them as the main character’. So, back to the drawing board/sketch book…
Woad works
A few sketched alternatives later and a final design for the woad was found, although rather than being based solely on one dedicated form, a hybrid was chosen that blended elements of the warrior and simian styles seen above. The warrior was too human-like and the simian too animalistic, but together they combined to make the perfect woad!
Woad is me
And here he is, the final version of the woad. He’s the one on the left wearing the skirt/kilt. In creating the woad, Stephen and Sara wanted to come up with a creature that was agile and athletic, animalistic but intelligent, approachable yet fearsome, and this design really embodies those characteristics.
Fast for-woad
Having arrived at the final look of the woad, the next job was working to ensure its new, more athletic build was reflected in its movements. The woad’s agility is deftly demonstrated above as it flows from one motion to the next in a near effortless display of terrain mastery. Needless to say, for Unto’s human hero, attempting to run away from these guys won’t be the best strategy.
Hope you enjoyed this introduction to the woad. Comments and questions welcome!
Matt | Digital Uppercut
Autumn
Hey everyone
Wanted to share a GIF that Stephen and Sara at 2 Ton Studios produced a little while ago, but I've been holding on to it, waiting for the right time to post it.
After taking a walk through some woods and seeing how Autumn is taking hold over the landscape, now seems to be the perfect time:
Love the gentle sway of the tree and the grass, and the movement of the leaves as they fall to the ground. And the way the grazing animals casually flick their ears is such a simple-but-incredibly-effective touch. It's just a wonderful scene to look at. Very chill.
Really looking forward to seeing more of these little moments of beauty in Unto The End.
Matt | Digital Uppercut
A spot of sword practice
Hey everyone
The 2 Ton Studios GIF dispenser has been yielding some particularly delicious fruit this week (thanks Stephen!). Cast your eyes downwards and you'll see a couple of rather lovely looking work-in-progress clips showing Unto's protagonist engaged in a spot of solo sword practice.
Practice
Dusk On Bridge
There's so much I'm loving about these: the exertion of those swings, the movement of the cape, the contrast in environments, and – with the figure silhouetted against that richly coloured background – just how visually striking the bridge scene is.
Awesome stuff.
If you haven't already, please feel free to add Unto The End to your Wishlist. Your support really helps and is greatly appreciated.
Until next time!
Matt | Digital Uppercut
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Character animation – low climb, high climb
Very quick post to share two new work-in-progress animations showing the main character navigating a couple of environmental obstacles. Enjoy!
Low climb:
High Climb:
Matt | Digital Uppercut
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Character animations – running up (and tumbling down) that hill
Hey everyone
So since the announcement of Unto The End work on the game has continued at beaver pitch, which is similar to fever pitch, but involves more beavering away. Basically, the 2 Ton Studios dev team has been extremely busy over the last few weeks.
Below are some of the results of all that toil, specifically a few of the main character's gradient-based animations. Please note that all of these are still work-in-progress:
The uphill slog:
The change of pace:
The slide:
The tumble:
We'll have more development updates to share with you soon. Until then, try not to fall down any hills. And if you haven't already, feel free to add Unto The End to your Wishlist. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Matt | Digital Uppercut
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E3 coverage: Excellent words and lovely lists
Here's a quick slice of just some of the very cool Unto The End coverage that was posted during the course of E3. Feel free to peruse at your leisure.
We're over-the-moon delighted that Unto The End has been welcomed with such a positive response so far. And, of course, thanks to everyone here for the support – we really appreciate it.
Nice to be sat alongside such great company so early on .
We will post a round up of our E3 coverage over the next few days! :) Thanks
Announcing Unto The End!
Hard to contain our excitement as we announce Unto The End.
A 2D cinematic combat-adventure, Unto The End charts a journey of loss and vengeance, told through unforgiving encounters, skillful combat, and stark moments of beauty. Fight your way through an indifferent wilderness as you search for the creature that has taken everything from you.
Add it to your wishlist and follow us to keep up to date with its development.
