While working on the concept for Aetherus, I made several additional notes of ideas that I thought might be able to fit within this world and the gameplay. One set of these notes covered color schemes: sets of colors for different aspects of Aetherus, including factions, loyalties, etc. In these notes, I focused on the game’s two main “factions,” Aetherus and the Malevolence.
I wanted to give the city of Aetherus a minimalistic yet elegant color scheme. This would include Aetherus White, the main color for the city’s many structures, and a shade of blue, which would represent the Aureum crystal’s main color. However, I needed secondary colors for both; a secondary color for Aetherus’ structures, and a secondary color alongside the Aureum crystal’s blue that would act as a tertiary color for the city.
I also wanted a distinct color scheme for the Malevolence. True to its evil, corruptive nature, I wanted purple as its main color, and a lighter shade of purple for the corrupted Auria. I drew inspiration from the Void color scheme in World of Warcraft, and Starcraft’s Zerg.
The problem with my early experimenting was the fact that I didn’t have 3D models to work with, which would be much better than the 2D sketches I was using. Testing colors on 3D models would allow me to see exactly how colors would look on an in-game model, and would let me test how different lights would affect the color scheme. Eventually, I’d like to start designing rough 3D models to better test these color schemes; however, the demo level design will come first. Fortunately, this early experimenting gives me a foundation off of which I can base the eventual final color design.