Devlog 01: Why We're Making AVERNWAKE

This is the written version of Devlog 01. The video version is in production and will be added here when it's ready.

I don't want to make a game you finish because the quest log says there's more to do. I want to make one you finish because somewhere along the way, you started caring what happens to these people.

Because a character made you laugh. Because someone made a choice you hated. Because you lost something. Because you need to know whether all of it was worth it.

That's the game we're trying to build.

Who we are

I'm Daniel, and this is Iron Daydream Works. The studio started with a simple idea: imagination matters, but imagination by itself doesn't build anything. Making something real takes work, discipline, failure, revision, and the willingness to keep going when the thing on the screen still doesn't look like the thing in your head.

That's where our name comes from. Every world begins as a daydream. Making it real takes iron. AVERNWAKE is our first world.

The premise

At its heart, AVERNWAKE is about Elias Ward. He isn't descending into Hell because he's destined to save the universe. He's going because the woman he loves was taken from him, and he refuses to accept that the boundary between life and death gets the final word.

The dead belong there. Elias doesn't. When a living soul crosses a boundary it was never meant to cross, Hell notices the disturbance left behind. A wake. An Avernwake.

But the deeper story isn't only about how far Elias will go to bring Helena home. It's about what the journey does to him, and whether strength means carrying everything yourself.

Seven realms, and one rule

The campaign is built around seven major infernal realms. We don't want seven variations of the same red cave. Each realm needs its own architecture, culture, rules, enemies, visual language and emotional purpose.

We're holding ourselves to a difficult rule: length isn't the goal. Meaning is. If something exists only to make the playtime number bigger, it probably shouldn't survive development.

The weapon isn't the power

Early in the story, Archangel Michael gives Elias a blade. Michael can help awaken something inside Elias, but he can't give him experience his body has never earned. So the blade acts as a conduit. At first, Elias needs it. As the journey continues, his relationship with that power changes.

We want combat to feel fast, physical and readable, and we want the progression to tell the same story as the narrative. Power isn't something Elias simply receives. He has to become capable of carrying it.

Choices, without spoilers

AVERNWAKE has meaningful choices and three established final outcomes. I'm not going to tell you what they are. We don't want a button at the end labeled good ending or bad ending. We want the decisions, relationships and consequences along the way to make the ending feel like something you helped create.

Why the quiet parts matter

One of the standards we use has nothing to do with polygon counts: could someone who doesn't normally play games become interested enough in these characters to sit down and watch?

Huge battles matter. So does a quiet conversation between two people who know each other well enough to recognize when the other one is lying. If we only make the big moments big, eventually none of them are big anymore.

Where development actually is

AVERNWAKE is in development. You're going to see temporary things. Systems will change, art will improve, ideas will fail, and some things we love today will probably be gone six months from now.

When something is concept art, we'll call it concept art. When something is a prototype, we'll call it a prototype. And when something finally works, you'll get to see that too.

One question for you

What made you care so much about a game character that you had to see their story through to the end? Tell us the game, the character and the moment: contact@irondaydreamworks.com. We read every answer.