DND DARK FANTASY PROJECT - LUCIENS'S CENSOR - (WEAPON SCULPTING - PART 3)
Church Censer – Weapon Design and Development Breakdown
Hey everyone!! Here is the last weapon I had made recently for my group project!
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Song of the day...
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As part of my work on the dark fantasy turn-based game Decree of the Lich King, I developed the healer’s primary weapon - a church censer designed to function as both a symbolic object and a magical focus within the cathedral-based environment.
This weapon plays an important role in supporting the healer character’s identity and visual language, as it directly connects to the healing abilities and ritualistic magic used throughout the game. The goal was to create something that feels grounded in religious and gothic design while still functioning clearly as a gameplay asset.
Design Intent
The main idea behind the church censer was to create a weapon that reflects the healer’s role as a spiritual and supportive character. Unlike the knight’s sword, which represents strength and combat power, the censer was designed to feel more ceremonial and ritualistic.
In religious and gothic architecture, censers are often associated with purification, prayer, and spiritual rituals. Using this object as a weapon helps reinforce the cathedral setting and supports the dark fantasy theme of the game. It also helps visually communicate that the healer draws power from faith, ritual, or arcane religious energy rather than physical strength.
The shape and structure of the censer were designed to feel slightly aged and worn, fitting the abandoned cathedral environment while still maintaining a strong silhouette that reads clearly in-game.
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Symbolism and Character Identity
The censer is closely tied to the healer’s identity and abilities. The inclusion of engraved glyphs and markings helps suggest that the weapon is not just decorative but actively channels magical energy.
These glyphs represent the idea that the censer is a tool for drawing out healing power, connecting the physical object to the visual effects used in gameplay. This creates a clear relationship between the weapon and the healer’s abilities, making the design feel intentional and cohesive.
The overall visual language focuses on controlled and ritualistic magic rather than chaotic or aggressive energy, helping differentiate the healer from other characters in the game.
Connection to VFX
One of the most important aspects of the censer design is how it works alongside visual effects. The censer acts as the anchor point for healing magic, meaning that effects such as magical swirls, healing projectiles, and energy bursts originate from or connect to the weapon.
This helps create a strong visual link between the character, the weapon, and the abilities being used. Instead of effects appearing randomly, they feel grounded in the object, which improves both immersion and gameplay clarity.
The censer was designed with this in mind, ensuring that its structure supports the emission of magical effects and works naturally with the VFX system in Unreal Engine.
Material and Visual Approach
The material approach for the censer focuses on maintaining a dark fantasy gothic aesthetic while ensuring the weapon remains readable in the environment.
The surface detail and engraved glyphs help break up the form and add visual interest, while the overall structure keeps a strong and recognizable silhouette. The aim was to avoid overly complex materials that could distract from gameplay while still maintaining enough detail to make the weapon feel believable and unique.
This balance helps the censer stand out without overwhelming the scene or competing with visual effects.
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Readability in a Game Environment
Because the censer is a gameplay object used frequently during healing abilities, readability was an important consideration. The weapon needed to remain visually clear from the player’s perspective and easily identifiable during combat.
The strong shape, hanging structure, and engraved details help create a recognizable form that players can quickly associate with the healer. This ensures that the weapon supports both character identity and gameplay clarity.
In a turn-based game, where players have time to observe actions and abilities, having a visually distinct and thematic weapon helps reinforce immersion and understanding of character roles.
Workflow and Development
The development of the church censer involved focusing on shape, structure, and symbolic detail to ensure it fits naturally within the cathedral environment.
Key focus areas included:
• creating a strong and readable silhouette
• incorporating gothic and religious design elements
• adding engraved glyphs to support magical storytelling
• designing the weapon to work closely with VFX
• maintaining consistency with the dark fantasy theme
This process helped improve my understanding of how weapons can act as both functional gameplay assets and storytelling tools within a game world.
Reflection
Working on the church censer helped reinforce the importance of connecting weapon design to character identity and gameplay mechanics. It showed how even a smaller or less aggressive weapon can play a significant role in visual storytelling and world-building.
The project also highlighted the importance of designing assets that work alongside VFX and environment elements, ensuring that everything feels cohesive and intentional.
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The Price on Kael is still in development, and the game is currently available to test on itch.io:
https://joelseguin.itch.io/the-price-on-kael
I’ll continue sharing more development breakdowns, including VFX, environment assets, and additional weapons as the project progresses.
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