ARTBO O K

Prologue 4 Alone 56
Main Character 9 Romance 64
Statues 14 Fruit 71
Sorrows 22 Ashes 78
Memories 27 Solace 85
Key Art 30 Old 91
She 33 Hope 100
Joy 39 Final Words 107
Away 49
 Prologue
Arise is all about simplicity - the simplest, most universal story. It features ten
chapters, ten emotions, one life. We represented life through four ages: childhood,
youth, adulthood, and the old and linked them to color palettes representing Spring,
Summer, Fall and Winter.

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 Main Character
Characters change a lot during preproduction. We evolved from thin to burly because
we wanted the player to feel his age and weight while playing. It also gave him more
screen presence since we wanted the camera to be far from the action.
We only hinted the eyes, gave him gloves and didn’t rig the face to force
the animators to work only with body language. And he does have a name: Dimetu.

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 Statues
We didn’t use faces for the statues. Memories are not perfect and details can fade
away. It is only the moment that matters.

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 Sorrows
We call them the Sorrows - fears and past mistakes that come to haunt us.
We tried different designs but in the end, simplicity prevailed once again.
The Sorrows are nothing but ourselves.

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 Memories
We depict memories of a lifetime through light-hearted illustrations, giving players
a reason to explore space and time through each level. Memories help to better
understand the nuances of a simple yet universal story.

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 Key Art
We explored many ways to explain our story with a single, key image. We ended up
with both characters meeting in the limbo between life and dream.

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 She
To us, art and design are the same thing. Artists and designers have to work
together from early sketches to final polish. Everything serves one single purpose.
SHE is all about meeting the one person that will brighten your life, so we go from
Winter to Spring. But it is also about discovery. Some fun puzzles were removed
because they felt like work and didn’t fit the emotions.

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 Joy
JOY is an adventure - a day in the forest. Safe, colorful, and playful, everything
is out of scale because this is how we see the world as kids. This level was meant
to end with the player running over the clouds, but it was cut because the extra
length would hurt the pace of the game.

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 Away
As a teenager, everything is so intense and absolute. The idea of being AWAY from
the ones you care for feels like your entire world is being torn apart. The cloudy sky
hints of an incoming storm. The environment changes from round, gentle shapes
to sharp and edgy. The tribe’s statues have even less detail because for the main
character their memory is less important.

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 Alone
Coming of age, defying authority and starting a life on your own can be terrifying.
For the first time, you are ALONE with your fears and insecurities. The storm
symbolizes the conflict but also the uncertainty. But if you endure, there is light
in the end, and luckily someone to walk the path with you.

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 Romance
What is ROMANCE but an endless dance and being carried away by a stream
of emotions you can barely control? We wanted players to touch solid ground as little
as possible. The shapes are back to being round and gentle. The colors are warm.
The whole level is a tribute to Walt Disney’s „Fantasia”.

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 Fruit
We can only guess how it feels to be inside a womb. We went with warm colors,
a fluffy environment and a lullaby playing in the background. As the FRUIT of their
love grows, so too do their expectations. We reduced the gravity in this level by 10%
so the old man felt less heavy, and all land animations were disabled so every surface
felt welcoming.

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 Ashes
When tragedy hits, everything stops making sense. Soft, glowing plants become spiky
brambles because memories hurt so much. Darkness engulfs everything.
We keep seeing images of what could have been and will never be. Fire is a force
of destruction, but it also brings light and cleansing. The only way forward
is through the flames.

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 Solace
SOLACE is all about helping someone overcome a tragedy. We do that by putting
fragments of a life together. She starts as the center of an imaginary explosion,
isolated from everyone. Lunar gravity emphasizes that she is stuck in this painful
moment. We can use all the good memories that we share as building blocks of a path
back to her. Playing this section requires a level of attention as it does healing.

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 Old
As we grow OLD, everything becomes quieter and calmer. Though everything gets
colder, there is a sense of warmth as we are at peace with ourselves and who we are.
Simple things become increasingly difficult. Inevitability floats in the ambience
- distant but unavoidable.

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 Hope
We try to carry on as long as possible. It is difficult to let go of your loved ones.
As darkness falls upon us, we can only HOPE there will be someone waiting for us.

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 Final Words
Looking back at the memories of his entire life, the main character chooses
one moment to keep. Arise doesn’t pretend to have any answers, only a question:
What can we do in life but live?

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2022 Untold Tales S.A. and Piccolo Studio S.L. Arise: A Simple Story logo, the Untold Tales logo and Piccolo Studio logo
are trademarks of Untold Tales S.A. and/or Piccolo Studio S.L. All rights reserved.