IAHGames

Granado Espada recently concluded the Andre Costume Design Contest, and we were impressed by the many faaabulous entries sent in from all over the world.

This week, we interview one of the participants, Pedro from far-flung Portugal. He shares his design process and how Granado Espada appeals to him at a personal level.

Say hello to everybody.

Hi there, I’m Pedro, known in-game as the Traumend family and in the forum as AurIon! 

I’m from Portugal, and yes I’ve been to the real Coimbra and there isn’t any Grace Bernelli. I’m 19-years-old and currently in the second year of pharmaceutical sciences at college. 

How long have you played Granado Espada? What attracted you to the game?

I have played GE ever since open beta, almost 3 years ago. I got to know GE after I tried some MMORPGs that turned out to be visually unappealing. By mere chance I visited a video game site and there was an advertisement for GE (I think it was the Sword of the New World version).

It immediately caught my attention! I had never seen a game that had artwork that could appeal so much to me since I always liked the whole baroque period, an era rarely used in video games. Some time passed since I had first seen it, and then a friend of mine made a wallpaper of GE on her Deviantart page. I asked her if it was playable, and that was when it all began.

Besides the gorgeous designs, I think the unique gameplay of GE makes it so much more enjoyable than other similar games. The fact that you can control three characters is a really big bonus; I’ve always found controlling one character, like in other games, very dull.

Do you have any art/design background?

As you can notice from my introduction, I’m a student from something that is hardly related to art, but drawing has always been a great hobby I’ve had, even though I’ve never considered turning professional. 

What were your inspirations for the winning entry?

When I was about five-years-old I went to Paris and visited Versailles. It marked my interest in baroque since that place is truly the epitaph of the art of that period. I wanted all my entries in the contest to never lose the feeling that makes me adore GE, and that was to maintain the baroque/rococo fashion even if it is something a bit more sensual.

To my “Poker Face” costume I was inspired by crinoline which is something that GE has not used, and adapt it into a more dominatrix/stripper style dress. We all know that Hellena is a performer so I thought this was the kind of costume she would wear on a show (hopefully not on the streets). Obviously Lady GaGa was an influence to the work since Hellena’s got the whole card theme and the song ‘Poker Face’ is one my favourites this year.

What was going through your mind as you turned your concept into reality?

I remember posting on the forums that people should not make entries that were too provocative (like Elementalist dresses with panties showing). So when I decided to make my first costume for Hellena I wanted to keep her style separate from the regular Elementalist style – making Hellena the naughty sister.

Poker Face was supposed to be a more sensual attire but in a ‘fashionable stage persona’ kind of way. I hope that people enjoyed it and didn’t think it was too revealing or some everyday anime fetish.

How long did you take to finish the design?

As soon as I heard there was a costume design contest I made two dresses, one for a female Elementalist called Cancan and Poker Face for Hellena. The concept for the costumes was created in my head really early, but the minor details like bows, the tattoo, and stockings took about a day to decide.

What was your design process?

All my works were made by traditional pen, paper and colour pencils. At first I made a draft and then the final version on another piece of paper. I tried using digital art several times (even got a tablet) but I was just not good with it. So I stuck with the good old pencil.

Got any wish list for the future of Granado Espada?

Yeah plenty hahaha! I wish there were more wonderful costumes (some created by me hehe); I wish that there were more guy RNPCs and some girlie ones like Gavin; I wish so many great NPCs like Gerard Sierra and Cherlyn were playable; and don’t forget to make the le blanc hat for the female Elementalist since it appears on the artworks but not in-game, because no outfit is complete without a hat!

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As you can see, Granado Espada’s universal appeal wins fans from all corners of the world. Find out what this game is all about!

Look out for our interview of the WINNER of Andre Costume Design Contest, coming real soon…