Mar 29, 2024

Atomic Heart - Team_Mundfish

Warning: this article contains spoilers for the main game and DLCs!
Hello!
We are back with a new installment of our Creating series, and this time we want to tell you about our dear Zinaida Muravyova!

It's hard to imagine the Atomic universe without its heart—Granny Zina. She has been one of the central figures in Artem Galeev's concepts since the 2000s.

Granny Zina is an imposing character in the world of Atomic Heart. Zinaida Petrovna Muravyova, despite being 52 years old (at the start of the main game), remains an indomitable fighting spirit, capable of defeating enemies on her own.

Granny Zina maintains secret government communications under Sechenov, but reports directly to Khrushchev. However, after tragedy befell her daughter, she began to doubt Sechenov's ideals and blamed him for what happened to Ekaterina.

Granny Zina's character is a mixture of strength and determination, which she often hides behind a mask of temper and hysteria, tactfully playing on stereotypes about the incompetence of female officers. Despite this callous facade, she does care deeply for her daughter. Actress Irina Shanaeva helped bring the character to life in the game.

Granny Zina has extensive knowledge of activities inside the Facility, a high level of combat training, and access to various secret systems. With her powerful but well-disguised intellect and physical strength, she has become a superhero of sorts. Employees have long regarded her as a local celebrity. By studying various records and materials within Facility 3826, players will notice the high level of authority that she has earned among other employees.

Granny Zina's original image has undergone some changes since the early iterations of the game.

High-waisted tweed trousers, a shirt, and a sports coat are the key elements of her final costume, which is very much in keeping with classic British riding and sporting fashion. Granny Zina often went on business trips for government affairs, which inspired her to adopt English style for her image. She wears a headscarf to finish off her look. This style may seem unusual, but it definitely stands out to the general fashion of the Atomic Heart world.

Comment by Artem Galeev:
"Her image and relationships with other characters are full of folklore motifs. For example, Sechenov represents Koshchei the Immortal, while Granny Zina represents Baba Yaga. Their relationships and roles have long been captured in various fairy tales."

As a reference to her fairy tale inspiration, she has a flying hut. The original plan was that the hut would function as a store, flying from place to place, but this idea was canceled during development, and NORA was created instead. Maybe she deserves her own story?

In addition to the hut, Granny Zina also has a miniature version. It acts as a sort of pet, and Granny Zina refers to it as a "chipped chicken." Initially, Sechenov discovered this creature in the world of Limbo and took it as a trophy for research.

In the game, her role has changed many times, from a friendly granny, ready to help, to an antagonist. But her concept remains the same—she is an éminence grise, able to manipulate everyone for the benefit of the world's socio-political goals.

If you were inspired by the story of Granny Zina, you can become her with the help of our new cosplay guide. {LINK REMOVED}Follow the link to download it!

Don't forget to check out our previous entries in the Creating series. Dive deep into the world of Atomic Heart!

https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/668580/announcements/detail/4118049834324441918?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/668580/announcements/detail/4044863802194034222?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/668580/announcements/detail/3907498939971262998?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/668580/announcements/detail/3827557510049261496?snr=2___

Mar 1, 2024

Creating: LImbo

Atomic Heart - Nick_Mundfish

CREATING: LIMBO

The story of making a world where everything started

Hi, everyone!

Although the world of Atomic Heart as a whole is full of mysteries, encouraging our players to ask new questions and create new fan theories, Limbo remains the most mysterious part of it.

With the release of our 2nd story DLC Atomic Heart: Trapped In Limbo, the twisted world created by visionary Artem ‘Artep’ Galeev has opened its veil of secrets even more.

But to better understand this world, we decided to trace back its origins and share the backstory behind the concept that started the Atomic Heart universe.

In the late 90s, Artem became fascinated with creating a world of the unconscious, a world of fairy tales—an alternative to technocracy. This was purely a passion project he pursued in parallel with his primary work. That's why the first concept was finally formed only in 2004-2006. And the working title for it was "Varoli’s Bridge".

The main protagonists of this world were the heroine Belka, dressed in a white fur coat with a tail, and the already well-known hero—Newton.

They traveled through a surreal world filled with towns, and villages populated by various marvelous characters. Each of these places had a different economic, political, and social structure.

The protagonists' goal was to reach the lighthouse, the Varoli’s Bridge, to find the way out of the world.
But the inhabitants enthralled the heroes with the vicissitudes of their destinies, involving and twisting their path into dead-ends and strands of endless adventures.

The world map looked like the divisions of the cortex and brainstem. The very name "Varoli’s Bridge" is a section of the brain passing through the middle of its hemispheres:

It symbolizes the social unconscious—the part of the brain where everyone is all the same in their functional abilities. This whole world was full of profound themes and ideas. Even the images of the main characters dressed in white fur coats represent the perfectionism and deification of man’s essence and the unrestrained attempt of society to bring itself to the ideal and to rise above nature.

But with the concept's further development, it became clear that it was getting too complex and the ideas it contained would be more difficult to convey in simple terms while retaining the original meaning.

So at this point, it was necessary to go back to the origins of world creation and focus on technology and science as a prologue to Limbo, which, by then, had already got its famous name. Thus, all Limbo characters were moved to a more familiar alternative real world.
For example, Sechenov was created based on Mr. Sponger's character, who lived in a sponge in the Limbo world. The current image of Granny Zina was created based on the fact that back then, in the world of Limbo, she originally had supernatural powers and personified matriarchy. And there are many similar examples!

But it wasn't just Limbo's characters who were able to find their place in the new environment—the world structure of Limbo with its political and social specifics was embodied in Facility 3826.

As Artem mentioned in his last interview on the PCGamesN portal:
“To us, everything in the world of Limbo may seem absurd, and to the inhabitants of Limbo, our real world also seems absurd. Everything became interconnected—worlds are spliced together like a DNA helix”.

Also, one of the most common questions about Limbo's visual identity is about the meaning of the polka dot pattern. Actually, it’s one of the natural fractals that can be found in cellular structure, bee honeycomb, matrix, etc. This pattern was chosen to highlight objects in Limbo that emerged from the natural world. This way, they attract the attention of insects and animals in order to be eaten for the sake of reproduction and increasing the population.

(photo by Mik Bromley)

With the release of Trapped In Limbo, our second story DLC, some players were surprised by this variation of this world. Considering all of the above, it’s the same place but a different part of it, and now it’s much easier to spot some connections: sugar carbohydrates, calories, cold fusion for energy, a jellyfish-shaped turbojet engine, bacteria, eating carbohydrates from which houses are made, and much more.

There’s also another direct quote from Artem from the last interview that is worth mentioning:
“Since the world of Limbo is strikingly different from the real world, the gameplay, its mechanics, and the overall mood are also different now. These unconventional mechanics were specifically chosen to blow minds”.

Get DLC#2 here

The music and soundscapes of Atomic Heart's world are completely different as well and have a bigger story behind them that we may be sharing in the future.

But Geoffrey Day, one of our talented music composers and a lovely human being decided to share a sneak peek. Just recently he posted a video detailing the creation process behind the “Cookie Crumbler”—one of the tracks from the Trapped In Limbo DLC#2 and OST VOL.4 as well:

Limbo is the source of the entire Atomic Heart’s universe. And it’s almost like a gift box from which new surprising details of the setting emerge each time—like a fractal generating its copy in the process of formation. And this is how this mad and colorful world in the end created itself.

Feb 6, 2024

Atomic Heart: Trapped in Limbo DLC#2 is available! Check it now!

Atomic Heart - Nick_Mundfish

We're glad to release the second DLC for Atomic Heart!
Trapped in Limbo DLC#2, the Atomic Pass’ second phase of additional content, welcomes you back to the twisted world of Limbo with new insane gameplay to complement the exciting story continuation.

To celebrate the release, get up to 50% off on all of Atomic Heart’s editions and its Atomic Pass and get a glimpse into the heart-pounding action and Limbo-flavored challenges in a new Trapped in Limbo Launch Trailer:

Dive into the Mind-Bending Story of "Trapped in Limbo" DLC

Rules have changed. Trapped in Limbo DLC#2 picks up right where the main game ends, exploring a different ending from the Annihilation Instinct DLC#1. Venture into new sections of the twisted Limbo world, brimming with fan-favorite challenges with a unique Limbo flavor. Along with the help of a new old companion, guide P-3 through dizzying obstacles, unravel the secrets of his past and the enigmatic world of Limbo, and engage in a true combat extravaganza with uniquely designed opponents and weapons.

Experience the contrast of Atomic Heart’s worlds with unconventional mechanics selected to blow you away. Collect apples to unlock skills and weapons and gold coins to access up to 7 unique weapon skins for use in the main campaign!

Atomic Heart’s original soundtrack adds an explosive Vol.4!

The Trapped in Limbo DLC#2 release also marks the addition of the game’s fourth album to its Original Soundtrack, which is available for free for all current owners! New dynamic and atmospheric tracks from the fresh DLC will help to immerse yourselves back into the strange and stunning world of Limbo any time you want!

HOW TO LAUNCH THE DLC:

Purchase the Trapped in Limbo DLC#2 separately or as part of the Atomic Pass*;
Start the game, then select and launch DLC** through the New Game menu of the game’s main screen.

*Atomic Pass allows you to expand your Atomic Heart experience and receive four unique DLCs opening up access to new areas, as well as new weapons, new enemies, bosses, exclusive skins and more! The Atomic Pass is also included in Atomic Heart’s Gold and Premium Editions.

**This content requires the base game Atomic Heart on your platform in order to play.
To get the latest info and upcoming exclusive offers for Atomic Heart, sign up as a Focus member!

Jan 31, 2024

Creating: P-3

Atomic Heart - Nick_Mundfish

Hi, everybody!

Since the release of Atomic Heart: Trapped in Limbo is just days away, we thought that this time it would be interesting to tell the creation story of our hero - Sergey Nechaev aka P-3.

And it's worth starting with the fact that there was actually no Sergei Nechayev in the earliest story concepts! The whole story was supposed to revolve around Larisa Filatova and Viktor Petrov, who were then called Fred and Laura.

But that's a whole other story…

And as with any story being created, the choice was to go with what works best for it. So the team settled on a single character. It was immediately decided that it should be a special agent - since this Atomic Heart is supposed to be an action-oriented game, it means that the protagonist should have combat skills.

The first prototypes of the character design, as in the case of the Twins, have nothing to do with the final version.

Since the beginning of development, the image of the P-3 has changed several times.
With each artistic decision, our hero became stricter, more focused, and more intertwined with the atmosphere of Facility 3826

It is worth mentioning P-3's hairstyle, which looks quite modern, and although it has quite a long history in the real world, it is unlikely that any of the inhabitants of even the alternative USSR would wear it.

As in the case of Larisa Filatova's absolutely impossible hairstyle - is at the intersection of the past and the future.

As you can see from the early concept arts, it was implied that the main character would be using an exoskeleton. But this idea was abandoned in favor of more elegant and futuristic concepts for justifying P-3 abilities.

And speaking of his abilities, we can't help but talk about his main tool/companion - the polymer glove.

The glove should look interesting and intriguing, but it should not raise questions about how it can be used in everyday life.
Originally it was intended to be more "military", modeled on the equipment of elite units and some of these ideas have since been realized.
However, the main idea - to present the glove as a kind of living creature, a symbiote - led the artists' imagination towards insect body parts and engineering devices.

That's how we came up with the wires that would later become the manipulators of CHAR-Les.
We won't spell out the history of the creation of CHAR-Les at length (maybe later) but we will clarify that adding a companion to the main character who's always talking to him, allowed us to create a “buddy movie” character chemistry.

And since we play as the protagonist, he should be the "hands" and "man of action" then CHAR-Les due to his "features" acts as the brain and mind.

But Nechayev wasn't always been so gruff and scowling. In the past, he had been much more cheerfully open and even adventurous, while remaining a professional. But something (plot-wise) changed him, seemingly forever. He's on the road to being better though.

Funny thing, that despite the rather polar attitude of our community towards the main character (yes, we read your reviews), when we conducted a narrative survey in May 2023, Sergei took the top spot as the most popular character!

Maybe Sergei Nechayev is different for everyone after all.
And what's your P-3? Describe how you see him in the comments.

The other side of Nechayev - Newton was created as a concept character by our art director Artem Galeev long before the game's development began.

So, to avoid unnecessary spoilers ahead of the release of Atomic Heart: Trapped in Limbo, all we can say right now is that it's not some separate entity... it's just a dude in a fuzzy suit.

While you still have time, you might want to read our articles about creating different aspects of the Atomic Heart world:

Creating: VOV-A6
Creating: The Twins