As Fallen Gods nears completion, I wanted to introduce the crew that’s working with me to get it done. Our founding principle for Wormwood Studios was to create independent games with a small, international but close-knit team. From day one, we had teammates on three continents: North America, Europe, and Australia. On Fallen Gods, we’ve added Asia and—with our newest team member, Gessony (“G.”) Pawlick—South America.
The moment I saw the first illustration signed “G. Pawlick,” I knew he was the artist to help bring Fallen Gods’ events over the finish line. His works do exactly what I hope our game will do: restore the uncanny, alluring, unsettling elements that are sometimes lost in “cool” modern fantasy conventions, while also capturing the timeless elements that make folklore, fairy tales, and epics so familiar. It’s no wonder that G. is also a student of magic and history. My faith in G. was thoroughly confirmed when, working on one image, he asked if I could help him find references for the ceilings of barrow burial chambers.
You can see G.'s gallery here, and hear his thoughts on Fallen Gods below.
- Mark Y.
Mark: You’re one of the newest members of the team. Are there any particular challenges or opportunities in coming into a project that’s been in development for so many years?
G.: I think there are always two sides, good and bad, but so far I’ve seen only advantages. In long projects, the good part is that there is already a cohesive and well-founded universe. This gives a certain level of security when creating—after all, there are always resources and references to help with the creation and development of each illustration. Normally, the bad part about projects that already have a history is the possibility of encountering limitations when trying to develop a concept, or being tied to a formula that does not allow innovation. But that hasn’t happened to me in Fallen Gods. There was always an exchange between me and the rest of the team when ideas emerged, and I’ve had a huge scope to add to the project.
Mark: Fallen Gods uses static illustrations to unfolding, dramatic events. What techniques do you use to give dynamism to a still image?
G.: Above any technique, the main thing is to try to transport the situation and make an emotional parallel with the essence of the scene. Of course, having some notion of composition and a good visual library helps to develop the storytelling that the image needs, but finding the point of connection with the image is fundamental.
Mark: Is there a particular illustration among the many you’ve done that is your favorite? Why?
G.: There are some already, and I believe that others will also emerge as the project progresses. At the moment, “Dwerg Workshop,” “Changelings,” and “Stone Cold Killer” are my favorites. But I believe that it is part of the process to fall in love with each of the ideas and, as new illustrations emerge, to let them take the place of the previous ones.
I also don’t think there is a specific reason that makes me have these illustrations as my favorite at the moment. Sometimes it is the concept or the storytelling that fascinates me, in others it is basically a well-executed drawing, or even some emotional connection that I have established with the idea.
