Hinter den Kulissen von The Last Artifact

Die Reise
Valar und Aglaée im Observatorium, unter einem Sternenhimmel
Skytale presents:
The Last Artifact

“Live the The Last Artifact experience.”

5 islands torn from the mainland. An endless storm. One last crew sent into the skies of Maska.

Gameplay ansehen Scroll down ⌄
Animatic des Trailers, Shot 16

The Last Artifact is an adventure game. You play Valar, the King's Claw, sent into a sea of clouds to save a land that magic has torn apart. A story of destiny, doubt and sacrifice, told across 5 flying islands and a world hidden behind the real one.

Die Bühne des Abenteuers

The region of Maska

The duchy of Maska and the lands torn apart by the Cataclysm: forests, Moon mountains, rivers and villages that Valar crosses from one floating island to the next.

Karte der Region Maska, das Herzogtum und die Länder der Katastrophe
Karte des Herzogtums Maska
Der Traumweber im Zentrum der Welt, auf seiner Säule, umgeben von den schwebenden Inseln, Pixel Art
Die Kosmologie

A world woven from magic

Eine Leserin, blinde Priesterin, liest den Astralabdruck eines Ausgestoßenen

The kingdom of Luzmo lives under the gaze of a single god, the Dream Weaver. At birth, every soul receives an astral imprint that sets its place in the Great Constellation. Only the Readers, blind priestesses, can read it and ink it onto the skin. But some are born with no readable imprint: the outcasts. The hero is one of them.

Before Luzmo, a now extinct civilisation reigned: the Ancients. Their magic, blended with technology, gave birth to wonders, and to a weapon able to bring down a god. Its source is a parallel world invisible to the living, the astral world, whose passage only the Ancients had mastered. That is where the true nature of Krystal, the last station still standing, lies hidden.

Eine Festung aus dem Anbeginn der Zeit, über dem Nichts
Der Bruch

Three months ago, the sky split open

At sunrise over Maska, a light with violet reflections burst out of the mountains. The birds fled. The earth split open. Whole swathes of the region tore away towards the sky. Today, 4 islands orbit above the void, around a fortress risen from the depths of time.

One man is responsible. Goran Dragomir, once the greatest general of Luzmo. Everyone believed him gone since the massacre of the Order of the Mycelium, which he carried out on his king's orders. That crime broke his faith. 20 years later he returns, set on seizing the last Artifact and ending the Weaver's reign.

King Ekoh sent his fleet into the skies of Maska. Almost every ship broke against a storm steeped in magic. Not one man came back.

Goran Dragomir
Dragomir
der gefallene große General
The crew

The last ship

Der Windbrecher, Tornadojäger, gleitet zwischen den Inseln
Der Windbrecher, leichter und schneller Tornadojäger
Valar wird vom König in der großen Halle zum Ritter geschlagen

The king placed his people's hope in the hands of his Claw: Valar. A master spy, an outcast rejected by society but respected by his crew. Aboard the Windbreaker, a light and fast storm chaser, one last crew flies into the storm. The ship falls; a mast comes down on Valar. And there, in an ancient garden bathed in mist, Rita Vandergarde chooses him as her champion. To complete his quest he will have to bind himself to the 4 pillars of the Krystal catalyst, and stop Dragomir from seizing the Artifact.

Der Abstieg

5 islands, 4 pillars

Sie dringen Insel um Insel vor, bis ins Herz der Astralwelt. Jede Insel hat ihr Licht, ihre Kreaturen, ihre Säule. Die Karte von Maska liest sich, während man hinabsteigt.

Der Verzauberte Wald
01

Der Verzauberte Wald

The Windbreaker ran aground on a forest long believed cursed. During the war it was cut down to build ships. It grew back faster than it was felled, and the workers began to disappear. Since then a single man lives there, Timblin, a lone woodcutter, with his dog. When creatures pour out of a stone circle and attack, he is the one who reaches out to Valar. At the foot of the island's oldest tree, the hero is pulled into the astral world and binds himself to the first pillar.

Die Säule der Erde, ein riesiger Baum in der Astralwelt
Die erste Verbindung, in der Astralwelt

The Pillar of Earth

der Gedanke

At the foot of the island's oldest tree, the veil tears. Valar leaves his body and tips into the astral world, the parallel world invisible to the living from which all magic comes.

There, the laws of physics turn abstract: a sea of stars and violet mist. To bind himself to the first pillar, the hero must pass a trial of the mind. This is the pillar of Thought.

Concept Art, die Astralwelt und ihre Rätsel
Die Säule der Erde, der Gedanke
Die Astralwelt, Studien
Die Astralwelt, Studien
Die Säule der Erde, Studien
Die Säule der Erde, Studien
Pillar, sketch
Pillar, sketch
Der blaue Gedanke
Der blaue Gedanke
Höhle der Insel
Höhle der Insel
Gegenstand aus der Astralwelt
Gegenstand aus der Astralwelt
Das Dorf Visina
02

Das Dorf Visina

Visina was a peaceful herders' village on the edge of the mountains. Since the island began to float, its garrison has been decimated and the Rooks, miners turned bandits, besiege it. To reach the sacred cave and the second pillar, Valar must obtain what is never granted to his kind: that the Reader inks his imprint. Deep in the cave, he meets Dragomir's gaze for the first time.

Concept Art und Illustrationen von Visina
Das Dorf im Norden, seine Krähen und seine Höhle
Das Dorf Visina, künstlerische Leitung
Das Dorf Visina, künstlerische Leitung
Die Leserin
Die LeserinTemplate, Béatrice
Trough, line-up
Trough, line-up
Barriers, line-up
Barriers, line-up
Hängender Gegenstand der Leserin
Hängender Gegenstand der Leserin
Taschen der Leserin
Taschen der Leserin
Juwelierlupe, Farbstudie
Juwelierlupe, Farbstudie
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Gegenstand aus Visina
Die Säule des Wassers, ein antiker Tempel, versunken in der Astralwelt
Die zweite Verbindung, in der Astralwelt

The Pillar of Water

die Gefühle

Deep in the sacred cave, a new passage opens onto the astral world. This time it plunges into an ancient world, a legacy of the Ancients, drowned in the flow of ages and emotions.

The pillar of Water tests the feelings. To bind himself to it, Valar must face his own, and solve the puzzles the Ancients left behind.

Concept Art, der versunkene Tempel der Alten
die Gefühle
Der Saal der Säule des Wassers, finaler Render
Der Saal der Säule des Wassers
Studien zum Mechanismus der Säule des Wassers
Der Mechanismus der Säule, Studien
Architektur-Kit des Wassertempels
Architektur-Kit, der Tempel
Gegenstände und Zauberbücher in Pixel Art
Gegenstände und Zauberbücher
Saal der Säule
Saal der Säule
Saal der Säule
Saal der Säule
Saal unter dem Brunnen
Saal unter dem Brunnen
Saal des Schachts
Saal des Schachts
Frog statues
Frog statues
Säule des Wassers, Lichtsetzung
Säule des Wassers, Lichtsetzung
Wall lighting
Wall lighting
Lighthouse, jetty and buoy
Lighthouse, jetty and buoy
Gegenstand aus dem Tempel
Gegenstand aus dem Tempel
Wasserspeier, Kreatur der Astralwelt
Gargoyle
Die Universität für Magie
03

Die Universität für Magie

A piece of the great city of Maska, torn away with its famous university. In its streets: automatons gone mad, a well-established underworld, and a peerless researcher, Aglaée Brisedété, pioneer of the astral mist. To enter the forbidden library, Valar will have to outwit, build a jammer and learn to cross the veil. The third pillar is barely won when a warrior falls upon the university: Methena, Dragomir's sword arm.

Concept Art, die Stadt Maska
Das größte Gebiet des Spiels, hunderte Studien
Außenansicht der Bank
Außenansicht der Bank
Requisiten der Bank
Requisiten der Bank
Vornehmes Haus in Maska
Vornehmes Haus in MaskaModel, Margaux
Mobiliar der Universität
Mobiliar der Universität
Brunnen der Universität
Brunnen der Universität
Central chimney
Central chimney
Duellpodest, Studien
Duellpodest, Studien
Bakery, props
Bakery, propsDelenn
Bakery, props
Bakery, propsDelenn
Bakery, props
Bakery, propsDelenn
Die Adligen von Maska
Die Adligen von Maska
Brodik
Brodik
The apothecary
The apothecaryTemplate
Der Sergeant Bertov
Der Sergeant BertovTemplate
Aglaée Brisedété
Aglaée BrisedétéTemplate, Giulia
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Gegenstand aus Maska
Die Fortsetzung wartet auf Sie

The adventure is only beginning

Beyond Visina and Maska, the descent goes on. Other islands still float in the storm, other pillars wait to be won, and deepest in the void the last Artifact lies hidden.

The rest we are keeping for you. It belongs to those who will take the helm of the Windbreaker.

6
Six locations to come
to discover by playing
✦
Das letzte Artefakt
im Herzen der Astralwelt
∞
Ein geheim gehaltenes Ende
we hint, we never spoil
Gameplay ansehen
Das Casting

120 characters,
a voice for each one

From the King's Claw to the humblest sailor, from the researcher to the hermit, every character in The Last Artifact has been drawn, modelled, animated and voiced. 120 characters, written by a dozen authors, carried by 328 dialogues.

Valar
↗
Valar
Rita Vandergarde
↗
Rita Vandergarde
Goran Dragomir
↗
Goran Dragomir
Captain Olav
↗
Captain Olav
Sergeant Saraï
↗
Sergeant Saraï
Gordik
↗
Gordik
Timblin
↗
Timblin
Die Leserin
↗
Die Leserin
Sergeant Bertov
↗
Sergeant Bertov
Vorôcko
↗
Vorôcko
Aglaée Brisedété
↗
Aglaée Brisedété
Brodik
↗
Brodik
Lime
↗
Lime
Methena
↗
Methena
The Dream Weaver
↗
The Dream Weaver
⊕
120 characters
all voiced

Click a character to open their profile: description, traits and a voice sample.

Die Enthüllung

All of this was built by hand

5
Jahre Entwicklung
400
personnes ont contribué au jeu depuis 2020
1 100
3D models, made by hand
Die Welt
5flying islands
12Spielstunden
25Hauptquests und fast genauso viele Nebenquests
20battles
Die Erzählung
45+narrative cinematics
3 128Dialogzeilen
120voiced characters
Der Klang
25original tracks
500+sounds
The commitment
0generative AI
100 %freiwillig, ohne Geschäftsmodell
50 000hours of volunteer work
Freegiven to the community
Die Musik

Music born in Sofia

The main theme of The Last Artifact was composed by Arthur Chanson and performed by the European Recording Orchestra in Sofia. 84 musicians, 20 choristers, 6 traditional Bulgarian singers. 110 people for a single piece of music. These same choirs recorded the soundtracks of Fantastic Beasts, The Witcher and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Alongside them, well-known voice actors lend their voices to the game, among them Brigitte Lecordier, Marie Chevalot and PADG.

Das Orchester von Sofia beim Einspielen der Musik von The Last Artifact
The Talon, the orchestra session
Arthur Chanson dirigiert die European Recording Orchestra in Sofia
Conducted by Arthur Chanson
The team behind the orchestra, in the recording studio in Sofia
Das Team hinter dem Orchester, im Studio
Die Grundsätze von Skytale

Made by humans, for real

0
generative AI

0 generative AI in the artistic production. Every drawing, every model, every note comes from a human hand.

100 %
Freiwillig

Close to 400 contributors since 2020, including 80 active volunteers today, with no commercial model.

Free
Für alle

The game will be given to the community, with nothing asked in return.

The tool behind the adventure

Built with the SME

Le jeu repose entièrement sur le Skytale Map Editor, développé en interne depuis 2020 : 16 bibliothèques et 26 modules, qui ont permis de bâtir les îles, d'animer les personnages et de scénariser les énigmes. Sa publication en open source est prévue à la sortie du jeu.

When the game is released, it will be opened to everyone.

Der Dialogeditor des Skytale Map Editor im Einsatz
Behind the scenes, the editor at work
Das Spiel in Bewegung

The gameplay, keyboard in hand

Beyond the sets and the music, The Last Artifact is something you live: you explore, you solve, you fight. A gameplay sequence, captured straight from the game.

Gameplay-Sequenz von The Last Artifact

Live the The Last Artifact experience.

The Last Artifact
2027
Follow the adventure Discover Skytale Schreiben Sie uns

A Skytale work. An independent non-profit video game studio.

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Music by Arthur Chanson and the European Recording Orchestra of Sofia.