Sunday 29 April 2012

Research for the map from Spyro 1

In order to make the arrangement of all the worlds as realistic as possible, I've been focusing on the evolution of the dragons. To see, based on their characteristics, which dragon families would likely be neighbours.

I got a bit distracted with the evolution. There was a lot to think about.

For instance, I don't think it's ever mentioned in the series how long the average dragon lives for. Is it 1000+ years? I'm leaning towards yes, as I really liked the idea of the elder dragon at the beginning of the third game actually remembering the forgotten worlds from his youth. But I haven't decided.

The small family numbers mean evolution takes hold quickly. This leaves it open to a lot of interpretation as silly mutations like double horns and multi-spined-beards spread easily throughout the small populations.

Here's what I've settled on for now:

  • The first split divides the dragons into nose horned dragons (Dreamweavers and Peacekeepers), and non-nose horned dragons (Artesans, Magiccrafters, Beastmakers).
  • The second split, with the Forgotten subspecies (species?), is more for fun. I imagine the Dreamweavers are closely related to the Forgotten.
  • Third, the Magiccrafters split off and hide in the mountains.
  • Fourth, the two remaining dragon populations split into the four other families.
Ancestor Dragon?

Again, I believe this is pretty solid, but I'm open to any suggestions. I'm going to go into the geology of the worlds next. That, coupled with all this research I just did on the evolution, should tell me the most logical place to position all the worlds.

EDIT: I have made a mistake. Upon watching the Spyro 3 cutscenes, the old dragons from the forgotten worlds are the ancestor to all modern dragons - if dragons live for considerable less than 1000 years. If that's the average age for a dragon, then the families would already have to be established. In my defense, my Spyro 3 save was the one my sister saved over the least when we were younger.