Obsidian’s Creepy Orlans: From Isometric Foes to Avowed Allies

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Transforming monsters and characters from an isometric viewpoint to a first/third-person 3D perspective in the game world of Obsidian Entertainment’s Eora, as seen in the Pillars of Eternity series, into the world of their upcoming first/third-person RPG, Avowed, is an intriguing challenge. Every aspect, from sporelings to orlans, needed careful thought during this transition.

Previously, I’ve discussed this particular development process concerning monsters like sporelings with members of the Avowed team. The aspect that continues to intrigue me is how developers initially envisioned the undersides of these creatures, a concept they had never tackled before. In the realm of game development, it was revealed by art director Matt Hansen that the sporelings in Avowed were given a playful nickname – “juicy booties.” For Game Rant Advance, I also delved into the language translation process regarding the companion Yatzli and the orlan race, two distinctive inhabitants of Eora. Katie Tenney, Associate II narrative designer at Obsidian, shared that the orlans needed to be reworked at least once during the development process.

In the game “Pillars of Eternity,” orlans are depicted through small isometric figures and painted portraits. For the upcoming game “Avowed, however, the orlans needed to be completely reimagined as the original representation wasn’t always seamless.” This underscores the importance of refinement in video game creation and even has a humorous anecdote attached:

Initially, the initial group of orlans needed to be revised due to developers being genuinely alarmed by their appearance. However, they’re in a much better state currently. Some of the team’s favorite characters happen to be orlans, such as Yatzli and Garryck these days.

It’s not difficult to envision orlans becoming truly frightening creatures, almost like a swarm of Gremlin-esque beings roaming Eora. Fortunately, developers have refined their designs to ensure that these terrifying versions of orlans never become reality. Thankfully, the orlans in Avowed, including Yatzli, maintain the classic orlan appearance but with some modifications to suit the new setting.

In many instances, companions in Path of Exile often exhibit flirtatious and suggestive behavior, as observed with Yatzli. However, what sets her apart is her unique perspective on such interactions. It will be intriguing to witness how this physical, mental, and verbal dynamic unfolds in a non-isometric view for the first time. Keep in mind that Orlans, though one of Eora’s more distinctive races, possess a deeply human essence. This was Tenney’s emphasis when discussing character design in Avowed and the broader franchise: they aim to portray characters that feel human at their core.

One delightful aspect of the Pillars universe lies in its characters, who despite having elven ears or scaly skin, possess deeply human qualities at their very heart.

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2025-02-18 18:35