Led Hero Design
Visual Design
Audio Design
Lyth was originally code named "Cyra" and I was tasked with reworking the character.
Problem: Cyra did not align visually with her gameplay and thematic.
Originally the gameplay with Cyra was to be a somewhat "light bringer" support character. However, the dark color palate and "eyeball" thematic did not really sell that theme.
Creating playable characters in a game with ever changing game systems had its own challenges. When the core game mode is constantly in flux you need to create characters who can float between changes.
I used the eye thematic of the original Cyra to create a kind of "watcher" gameplay theme based around recon and debuffing foes.
For a much slower paced game I think the recon theme would have been more useful. However, Slimecore had such high base mobility enemies would reveal themselves before the need for vision arose.
Cyra also gained "Turrets" with an ability to slip out of combat as well. The idea would be Cyra would create these trap zones and would bait enemies into them while she slipped out. Apply a debuff to make enemies take more damage. Then Cyra would finish them off with her wall piercing ultimate.
NEW PROBLEM: With the high base mobility of the game basically the turrets were useless. Enemies would just fly through them taking almost no damage. Another problem began to become apparently as traditional "shooter" characters could just hold down LMB to spray damage while ability based characters had to work for their damage.
For budgetary reasons I'd always have a "work with what I got" approach to hero work. Instead of pushing for all new animations and VFX how can I take a base design and re-purpose it to something playable.
Creating a sentry type character in a game with no objectives to fight over was a big challenge.
One of my main inspirations was watching high level Symmetra gameplay from Overwatch. The high rank Symmetra players would play the character aggressive instead of focusing on setting up. That playstyle inspired me to make the gameplay about wanting to actively deploy turrets in combat vs setting them up.
Solutions: Having Cyra's debuff allow her to do ramp up damage at the rate shooting focused heroes could do. Her debuff also allowing her turrets to focus whoever had the debuff reducing the frustration of a player having them attack random things.
Cyra became a character whose kit had great symbiosis and was really defined by using her turrets to build up and give her utility to maximize her primary fire DoT damage.
Examples of the marking enemies while throwing out turrets in active combat.
The turrets would also ramp up the damage she did on her primary fire allowing the DoT on it to ramp up stacks faster.
Cyra also received a visual overhaul.
The original design was very fantasy/western but Slimecore was aimed at being Japanese inspired aiming to capture a younger audience.
I pitched to the art team something along the lines of "aeon flux as a sorceress" but overtime the concept became more clownish and was heavily inspired by Night into Dreams.
The visual overhaul was proved very successful and a lot of people reacted positively to it on social media.