Kinfallen Forest

The first major area the two brothers explore, this was the site of the last battle to hold off the corrupted Yami users and allowed the flight from the Yami Empire to succeed. Still within are dark and terrible creatures, as well as the remaining spirits of those who have fallen.

## **Looks and Feel:**

Upon entering the Kinfallen Forest, a traveler will notice a swirling mist knee-high. If someone were to stare at the mist long enough, they may see hands and arms...or even faces. Very shallowly buried are the remains of those dead citizens of the ancient Yami Empire, the brave who were able to flee from the Imperial City before its fall. Many were soon near death, finding their end within the forest from exhaustion or at the hand of corrupted Yami users, which gives the Kinfallen Forest a bumpy ground and littered with old bones and remains. Within the undergrowth of the forest, it is dark and shaded by even the noon sun, as the oldest trees are huge and imposing. Looking up, the outline of their canopies can barely be seen from their height. The leaves of the trees are purple, giving the air a purplish tint.

On the floor of the forest, there are also twisting roots and vines, and dark shrubs which provide cover for the beasts within the forest such as the uprooter and shrubble. In some areas, there are outstretching branches upon which the brothers can climb, allowing them to reach the higher levels of the forest. Unfortunately for them, there are also new enemies in the canopy, such as the tresswing. The lighting of the forest becomes brighter the higher you climb, until it is a bright purple.

At the far end of the level, there is a large crater in the earth, where there is little vegetation. Here is the spot where the Forgotten Defender NPC can be spoken to about her sacrifice to ensure the survival of the remaining refugees. She perhaps gives them an item or spell to help on their quest.

Full of purple mist, knee-height-mist has images of hands and faces of spirits

Ground has some bones and skulls, ground is brown and gray with some green vegetation, small plants and bushes

Forest floor is shaded dark and misty, looks similar to nighttime.

Forest floor also has some vines and roots.

There are branches the brothers can climb on, getting into the canopy of the forest: Much lighter up in canopy, brighter purple-color from the tint of the leaves.

Special Area: big crater in middle of forest, has the NPC ‘Forgotten Defender’

Contains some portals for puzzle solving to get items/treasures, some broken remnants of buildings and statues that show old history of Forest(to be determined by level designers)

## Sounds of Kinfallen Forest

When first entering, there is a gentle yet ominous music, giving the player a sense of the dual nature of the Forest. This is a place of beauty, yet also of loss and an invasive evil.

There is an echoing trill of a tresswing call as it sounds from above, a short cutscene occurs when the brothers first enter, showing a few tresswing in the foreground.

In the background, there are occasional chirps and raspy mutterings of the shrubble and scavengers, respectively.

Wherever there are fallen leaf piles on the forest floor, the brothers will make a crackling noise as they walk atop it.

Possibly a soft piano tone as some purple leaves fall from the canopies?

Wind will blow through the trees, making a twinkling rustling sound.

When the brothers climb/jump atop the trees into the higher canopies, the music quiets and fades into a more muted tone, opening up to the sky above, changing to a more pleasant mood.

When deep in the woods, the music is slower and in a deeper pitch, with slow drum beats and a distant sound of pipes/flutes?

When the brothers jump into a pool or lake within the forest, there is a splashing sound effect, followed by a smaller trickling of water noise as the water falls back into the pond.

Deep, louder drum-beats when the brothers get closer to the Apex Tree and center of corruption within the forest, and the mighty crater.