3DT: How was the look of the different realms decided upon?

MG:It was something of an evolution. The original design document didn't really focus on specific looks for the demon realms. I think as characters and storyline were fleshed out, the visual nature of the environments started to come together. We wanted the four realms of Oblivion to have very different styles and mood and we were keen to avoid much of the generic 'Dark Ages' period detail so commonly used as a backdrop for fantasy games. Additionally we were determined to steer clear of traditional fantasy character types. There were to be no Orcs or Dwarves in Primal. We created unique races and hopefully interesting environments for them to inhabit. When designing the game, we crossed several historic time periods looking for reference and inspiration. The Aetha realm has the feel of 17th Century Baroque Europe with a distinctly Gallic flavour to the Wraith that live there. Solum by contrast, mixed a pagan Ferai society living in the ruins of a higher Romanesque culture. Aquis had a sub-aquatic, Art Nouveau\Steampunk style, which proved a little difficult to define initially and Volca mixed ancient Babylonian art with more contemporary Middle-Eastern designs. I would say that the characters defined their environments. Primal is very much character driven so our heroes and villains tended to come first. In Solum for example, the Ferai are a doomed race and we wanted to give them a savage, tribal appearance. To highlight the fact that they're a people in decline we chose to show them living a primitive existence within the crumbling ruins of their once high civilization. I think that helped to give the Ferai a certain melancholic charm.