In Norse mythology, Ragnarok is the end of the world. The game centers on an unknown protagonist sent to recover the stolen necklace, Brísingamen, for the goddess Freya. For this atmospheric horror title, which was one of the first virtual reality (VR) games from Denmark, Zakarian drew inspiration from the original Norse myths, which are full of dark prophecies and a strong emphasis on the forces of nature.
Zakarian developed a "staged realism": using tightly composed, dramatic environments, detailed textures and iconic characters to support the narrative, explore the full impact of VR, guide player attention and encourage immersion.
Alpha demos of 2 levels were exhibited at international game conferences such as Game Developer Conference, Gamescom, REZZED, Poznán Game Arena etc.

Target devices: Oculus Rift DK1, DK2, GearVR, HTC Vive.
This was an indie production by a small team of 8-12 people. The game was cancelled and the team disbanded due to ethical differences before production was completed in 2015.

PRODUCTS:
Asset Bible, mood boards and style guides
Environment, object and character design
Concept art and turnarounds
Storyboards and level design
Lighting in Unity

Fenrir's Cave

ENVIRONMENT DESIGN: Fenrir's Cave is a dark system of labyrinthine tunnels that open up to a large central cavern. The tunnels are quiet, very dark and lit only by torch light. The player must find the central cavern, but on their way they will hear the sounds of a large wolf in nearby tunnels, howling and chasing after them in the dark. Only the wolf's dramatic shadow will be visible on the walls of the cave, warning the player to select a different path.
A strong color contrast is present between cool, dark areas and warm, bright areas, guiding the player through the tunnel maze together with the ancient cave paintings found on the walls.

Central Cavern and Fenrir's Lair

ENVIRONMENT DESIGN:
The large central cavern of Fenrir's Cave has stalactites, stalagmites, water puddles, spiderwebs and creepy bugs crawling on the walls, as well as bats flying past the player when torches are lit. The echo of footsteps and dripping water bounces around in the space.
Fenrir's leftovers are found various places in the cavern: Skulls, bones and rotting corpse parts of animals, humans and giants.

ENVIRONMENT DESIGN:
In the middle of the central cavern the player will find Fenrir's Lair:
A giant carcass of a Jotun.
This is where the trickster god Loki has hidden Freya's stolen necklace Brísingamen. Behind its ribs of the dead carcass, the eyes of Fenrir will be shining from the light of the torches. The player will be attacked by the wolf and will have to flee, unable to get to the necklace.
Meanwhile, the ravens Huginn and Muninn will swoop down and grab the gold necklace, carrying it out through an oculus in the ceiling of the cavern.
The player will finally escape through an ice passage, exiting the cave and Wolf Mountain.

Brísingamen

ITEM DESIGN:
Freya's precious necklace stolen by the trickster god Loki and hidden in the central cavern inside Wolf Mountain, guarded by the wolf Fenrir. The player's first objective in the game is to find the necklace and return it to Freya.
In some of the Norse myths, Freya has the ability to turn into a peregrine falcon and gold is her metal, so the necklace was designed to look like a string of falcon skulls dipped in gold, holding emeralds and and strings of golden feathers. The light and highly flexible strings were designed to move and shimmer in the sunlight when the necklace is stolen and carried away by the ravens Huginn and Muninn.
Materials used: gold, emeralds and brown leather string.