In Forspoken, Frey, a modern young woman from New York City, is magically transported to Athia, a once beautiful and peaceful land that has been beset by a corrupt force known as Break. No one except Frey, strangely enough, is immune to corruption, which turns everything she touches into a twisted and often bloodthirsty facsimile of himself.
We’ve shown how the split affects Athia’s animals and creatures in our previous trailers, and there’s no doubt that Frey has his work cut out for him when it comes to taking on them. Today, however, I wanted to dive deeper into the real big bad guys that stand in Frey’s path: the Tantas.
The Tantas are the ancient rulers of Athia. Each embodies a different virtue and has a unique strength. They were once loved by the people of Athia, who lived in abundance under their leadership. However, without warning, the ancient protectors mysteriously became oppressors, becoming aggressive and hateful. As Athia’s most powerful witches, they pose a dangerous threat to Frey.
Being who she is, when Frey first arrives in Athia, she shows very little interest in Tantas. But after being accused of trespassing on its territory by Tanta Sila, Frey becomes an enemy in their eyes. Unfortunately for Frey, there’s no coming home to New York without defeating them first.
We’re excited to unveil the second and very naughty Tanta that stands in Frey’s path: Tanta Prav. Played by The Walking Dead’s Pollyanna McIntosh, you can see Tanta Prav in action in the latest trailer for Forspoken, which premiered at the Game Awards earlier this evening.
Nailing the Tantas’ design concept was essential in establishing the overall look, feel and tone of Forspoken. Forspoken Artistic Director Yuuki Matsuzawa was instrumental in designing the concept for Tantas early on in the project, which remained consistent throughout development. Tantas were a central theme of the game, so it’s no exaggeration to say that all of Forspoken’s art was designed around them: their virtues and corruption, their beautiful but terrifying appearances.
Concept art for Tanta Sila
Tanta Sila is the “Tanta of strength” who once commanded Athian troops to protect the earth from external threats. She fought on the front lines, displaying unprecedented combat prowess, and was revered by the people for it. But, sadly, she has now grown into a cruel bully who trusts only her own skills in combat, mercilessly eliminating anyone who offends her.
We have an amazing team of designers at Luminous Productions who have worked on each of the Tantas. The choice of color for each Tanta was also important, as we wanted it to signify the corruption of virtue that each Tanta represents. For example, for Tanta Sila, which represents the virtue of strength, Matsuzawa imagined her dress flapping as she gets lost in battle, so we opted for a flamenco dancer dress and an aggressive red color by theme. .
As Tanta Sila confronts his enemies (Frey included) with brute force, our newly unveiled Tanta Prav takes a decidedly different approach. Being the “Aunta of Justice” who administered Athia’s legal system before the breakup, she judged right from wrong with her incredible ability to perceive untruths and bring order and peace to Athian society. Now, she’s a ruthless executioner with a warped sense of justice, relying only on her own judgment.
Matsuzawa also added that the team saw her as being adamant in her own removal, so she was given a restraint outfit that is a resolute blue. Despite the different looks of Tanta Sila and Tanta Prav, it was important to the artistic team that both Tantas sport dresses with unique lines and elegant decorations that are more modern than traditional medieval European outfits, bringing this mix of modern and modern elements. fantastic that run through the entire game. Gold ornamentation is present in the costumes of both Tantas, which represents their magical properties. Because these are two major bosses, their essences and virtues are also deeply ingrained in their actions and the types of magic they use.
First concept art for Tanta Prav
Bringing Tantas to life, from concept art to full 3D models, was no small task, and the art team guided each design through three major evolutions. The first when the scan models for each character had been selected, as that indicated what each Tanta would look like, and the team adjusted the designs to match the models accordingly. The next step was the completion of the physical production of each Tanta’s outfit. It might sound a little extreme, but Matsuzawa and the art team wanted the distinct construction of their dresses to be as real as possible. So they created them in real life and digitized them in 3D.
The final evolution came when the actors in the performance brought the characters to life: Janina Gavankar as Tanta Sila and Pollyanna McIntosh as Tanta Prav. Both actors articulated the virtues and corruption of Tantas envisioned by the team, solidifying them not only as characters but as individuals.
Although both Tantas are powerful witches with a certain gravity, our cinematic director, Toshiyuki Momose, was careful to portray them as ordinary people with semi-ordinary concerns (such as Frey’s alleged intrusion) and not not make them divine beings. On the animation side, host Kiyoka Hatakeyama kept in mind that since the battles in Forspoken are all based on magic and do not rely on weapons, it is important to keep the movements of the hands and gracious tantas arms to convey clearly. their strength, their beauty and their corruption. For Tanta Prav, she found figure skating a huge inspiration to create her animations.
Janina Gavankar in full mocap outfit
The progression of Tanta Prav’s visual development, from the first CG concept art to the final product
Tantas were a real labor of love for us at Luminous Productions. Believe me when I say the team here are just as thrilled to see them fully expressed and animated as we hope viewers back home are, seeing them for the first time. We are also all incredibly excited that the time for people all over the world to face the Tantas themselves is fast approaching.
Just months away from launch, Forspoken will release for PlayStation 5 on May 24, 2022, and you can pre-order the Digital Standard Edition today. By pre-ordering the Digital Deluxe Edition, players can get several exciting bonuses including the Rare Resource Kit, Mini Art Book, Mini Soundtrack, and Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust prequel DLC *. Additionally, pre-ordering the Digital Deluxe Edition will allow players to receive unique gear and items to aid them on their journey through Athia, including the No Limits Cloak, Symbol Combo Necklace, Happy Nails, and the craft starter kit.
* Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust DLC coming in Winter 2022, after the game launches. Players who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition will get early access to this prequel story DLC when it releases .
