Lost Ark | Smilegate RPG Magickal Enchanter Collection Q&A
- What was the general approach to creating anime-style cosmetics? Did the team take any inspiration from any popular manga or anime from the 90s and 80s?
When designing skins for female characters, one of the inspirations was Sailor Moon. Not just Sailor Moon’s outfit, but also 80-90s animation along with live-action dramas of magical girls/boys. Additionally, the team watched old super hero cartoons and TV series so as not to miss the finer details of magical girls/boys in terms of outfit textures, and lively vibes.
For male skins, the focus of the concept design is on the core/jewel designs of magical girls for overall design, and the recent super hero visuals in popular media for the shape.
Marvel’s tight bodysuit design of Black Panther and many other characters were inspirational when creating the designs, because we believe that the magical boys have so much in common with super heroes.
For pets, we tried to combine the image of a typical humanoid mascot with magical girl/boy animations. To make the pets look friendly to the players, we didn’t try anything too out of the norm, and instead we stuck to the cliché design with extra cuteness for the main concept. Of course, we also tried to make a design that can be unified as one set along with the skins. The anime ‘A Little Snow Fairy Sugar’ was one of the pet design inspirations.
With the key word of ‘magical mount’, the first thing that came to our mind was a broom. It can be too cliché, but to us this was the most iconic image to depict characteristics of heroic girls and boys wielding magic. Wicked, Harry Potter, and Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service all played a part in the inspiration.
- What details in the cosmetics did the team find important to get right?
For starters, we wanted to focus on the main object, which is a typical source of magical powers. In typical magical girl/boy animation series, there is always a crucial object that the main character uses to transform into a magical hero. Thus, we added the jewel on the forehead, ringed necklace, butterfly pendant on the chest, and most importantly, a big core at the center of the chest to get this concept right.
When magical heroes transform in animations, there is always sparkling effects and smooth lines that envelop the character. To recreate this, we wanted to keep the shiny, somewhat SF-ish texture to show off the delicate body shape. For male skin, we wanted to keep the waist emphasized, and because the magical heroes’ combat is action oriented – wanted to make the shape fluid and active.
Generally, we kept color pallets for the series ‘cute’ and lively with a feel of a complete set that goes well together. We added the magical mascot, and the butterfly broom that will go perfectly well with the skins.
Last but not least, we wanted to have something that was uniquely our own, while still keeping it real with the magical girl/boy theme. The butterfly symbol is added for this as a pendant, and fluttering around the brooms.
- Did the team face any unique challenges when designing the cosmetics? If so, how did they overcome these challenges?
Typically, sailor-style school uniforms are what people think of when it comes to magical girls. Trying not to stay in this comfort zone too much, while trying to keep the signature magical girl vibes, was a challenge we faced.
Plus, cuteness is another crucial factor for both magical boys/girls. Since the male character figures of Lost Ark are muscular, how to deal with two clashing characteristics in one design was a huge challenge. In the end, we decided to keep the body line, but added cute star-shaped accessories which surprisingly went well together.
The challenge for pet designing is that there are so many concepts we could try! Especially since the team had special attachments for the magical boy/girl concept, it was hard to settle down with just one concept for the pet. This passion led to more than 10 designs of animal types and humanoid types, though we eventually had to settle with one. Still, we are happy with the final result and this was a great experience and opportunity to learn many different art styles.
- What are the team’s favorite outfits, mounts, and/or weapon designs? Which were the most fun to create?
Every single item is our favorite, so it is hard to choose just one. But we can talk about some details of the design we especially loved. The butterfly detail at the back of dress and the broom, the sparkly skirt detail of the female character skin, and also the star-shaped earring accessory of the male character skin are just some of the details that are part of the team’s favorite pieces to work on.
Additionally, we really loved working on the weapon skins. Magical girls/boys always have signature weapons at hand. We put immense efforts to make the skins evoke the very theme of the animations.
- How did it feel when working on the Magical boy/girl theme?
Working on the magical boy/girl theme definitely took the team down memory lane. Magical boy/girl themed animation series and cartoons were childhood favorites of so many team members. It was a big part of being a child, because we always ran to the TV to watch Wedding Peach, Sailor Moon, Saint Tail every afternoon after school.
Thus, when we were studying the references, or having discussions, it evoked sweet childhood memories and dreams. Also, the fun thing was that each teammate had their own favorite cartoon/animation, which was an opportunity for all of us to learn different styles of magical boy/girl concepts when exchanging ideas.
- What do you hope players take away from this new cosmetic release?
We just hope that the players will enjoy the new cosmetics and have fun with them!
- With fashion/cosmetics being a large part of the Lost Ark community, especially on social media, is the team planning any community fashion events/competitions in the future?
To celebrate the release of the exclusive series this year, Amazon Games is planning to giveaway skins via Discord, Twitter, Reddit channels. In the past, there have also been community events surrounding cosmetics. We held a contest for reworking the existing Helgaia Pets, and put the winning pieces in-game, and we’ve also created whole new in-game emoticons based on player contest entries. Social fashion events where players can show off their fashion sense with Lost Ark cosmetics also get regularly held.
- Are there plans for cosmetic exclusives in global markets in the future?
Actually, exclusive cosmetics are to be produced every year for the Western players. Our very first exclusive series was the Northern Lawmaker series with Northern European Theme that resonates Viking motifs. The second series was cyberpunk-cowboy theme. However, since these cosmetic items are so well-liked, we do offer them to other territories eventually. This way, players around the world will get to enjoy these special items after some time.
So, we can happily say that we will continue to create Western-exclusive cosmetics. To assimilate the Western trend or themes that would work well, we will continue to work with Amazon Games to come up with the key concepts in the future as well. Please look forward to future exclusive series for Western territories!
