Hunters,
We hope you are enjoying Judgement of the Fool so far! Our new Hunters for this event are the formidable Pale Judge and his lawless counterpart, The Fool. It's clear from community feedback that players are enjoying these new characters in the Hunt mythos, and so we wanted to share a little more about their creation and inspiration.
In this new 'Behind the Scenes' blog, we have talked with our design teams to bring you a slice of what goes on behind the curtain when we bring new Hunters into our world.
Judgement of the Fool – where did the idea come from?
The inspiration for the whole event concept is linked with its place as part of our Tarot series. We wanted Judgement of the Fool to feature Hunters inspired by two important Tarot cards – The Pale Judge and The Fool.
Early on, we knew we were interested in exploring the conflict between chaos and order. For chaos, we created a character on the run – looking to escape not only the law, but from the repercussions of their actions.
This concept grabbed us immediately. So, we began building a Hunter rooted in chaos, in a state of conflict with not only the law but the natural order of consequence itself. Acting without regard towards himself or others, and on a more sinister level, feeling entitled to be entirely free of repercussions. This became the Fool. We perceived him as a character exhibiting all the traits of a God Complex; but crucially, rather than being attracted to control, he was instead drawn to anarchy and discordance.
As for the Pale Judge, we wanted to introduce a character who was challenging the fundamentals of what it meant to be lawful. Amongst our roster of law enforcers we've got Sheriff Hardin, Marshall Brewer, and The Statesman, but none of which have gone beyond the point of return. There was an opportunity there to introduce a character who had.
This descent into chaos would make The Fools journey and The Judge's hunger for justice the perfect antithesis of each other. A story that would almost write itself...
The Fool
The Fool was a great opportunity to pick up a story we'd started a long time ago. We previously established Doc Redmartin, a snake-oil salesman (or sawbones), and wanted to explore not only his downfall but the contribution he made towards the treacherous state of the bayou. Some eagle-eyed fans may have caught Doc Redmartin in a previous trailer in fact! Originally we were going to introduce him earlier, but it made sense for him to be a part of the return of mighty DeSalle.
Once we made the Fool a doctor and wrapped that into his identity, it was clear where we had to go with it.
We had another excellent opportunity to explore the Fool's journey by illustrating two distinct stages in his life, highlighting the pivotal moment that transformed him. These contrasting stages vividly exemplify a crucial turning point during a fateful encounter with The Pale Judge. Prior to this interaction, the Fool is depicted as a character on the brink of insanity; however, afterward, he is redirected towards a newfound purpose.
In a traditional Tarot deck, The Fool is the first Major Arcana card, symbolizing innocence, foolishness, spontaneity and new beginnings. In its reverse state, these traits flip to become recklessness, disarray, negligence. We know we had to include this iconic card in our lore, and we also wanted The Fool to have his opposition in the character or theme of “Judgement", an equally powerful Major Arcana in the world of Tarot. This sat perfectly with us from a narrative point of view – which brought us to the creation of the formidable Pale Judge…
The Pale Judge
The team have always wanted to do a Judge type character in-game, actually. The inspiration came loosely from the character in Blood Meridian, the iconic Judge Holden. A polymath of forceful intelligence, an enormous man that according to those that knew him, never appeared to sleep or age. Additionally, the narrative team has a passion for referencing classic westerns in Hunt lore, making the inclusion of our judge character a natural fit for the storyline.
The color palette of The Pale Judge also stems from two influences. One inspiration comes from a scene featuring Baron Harkonnen in the Dune films, where he is seen bathing in mud. The striking contrast between his pale skin and the dark mud served as a key element for the color scheme. Additionally, we introduced Silver Spur, whose striking combination of silver, black, and red further contributed to the visual identity of The Pale Judge.
Originally, The Pale Judge was conceived of as the selfsame Judge that Silver Spur worked with. Cut from the same cloth, but also completely different in so many ways. We have retained this association throughout, and The Silver Spur and The Pale Judge still work closely together with interwoven narrative elements.
Finally, when it came to characterizing The Pale Judge, we wanted him to be different from our other law-abiding characters. We came to the idea of someone who strictly follows their own code, but that is inscrutable to the outside world. In keeping with the Tarot theme, we concluded that he read his judgements from the cards.
Does he really believe in their power, or does he merely use them as a medium to enact his own will? Introducing that dynamic to the character presented us with another question to answer: what was it that made him ultimately turn his back on the institution of the law? And thus, there was an invitation for the Fool to complete the circle, and the legacy of Redmartin's “Cure-All" to close the loop, with the victor of this fight to still be decided in our community Kill Contest...
As of last week, you can get involved with the lore of Judgement of the Fool by taking part in our community Kill Contest: pick a side – Team Judge or Team Fool and play with selected Hunters throughout each round, working together to accumulate the most total kills. The winning team for each round will be able to influence the story of Judgement of the Fool as well as unlock some discounts and other in-game prizes. (More info & changes coming soon in Round 2). Make sure to watch our partners too as they'll be giving away some cool rewards too!
Finally, please check out some never seen before concept art of The Pale Judge below from our art team too!
We hope this has been an interesting peek behind the scenes, as always leave us feedback via our socials and we hope you continue to enjoy Judgement of the Fool.
Your Hunt: Showdown 1896 team