Let me tell you, the journey from a tiny, top-down sprite to a fully realized 3D character you can look in the eye is a wild one. As someone who's spent countless hours in the isometric world of Eora, the thought of Obsidian Entertainment translating everything—from the tiniest sporeling to the most flirty orlan—into the first/third-person realm of Avowed is equal parts fascinating and hilarious. I mean, imagine having to design the underside of a monster for the very first time. It’s no wonder the art director, Matt Hansen, confessed that Avowed's sporelings ended up with what he so eloquently called "juicy booties." If that’s the level of detail we’re starting with, you know the companion characters are in for a treat.
Now, take the orlans. In Pillars of Eternity, you knew them as these small, fuzzy folk seen through tiny models and painted portraits. Fast forward to 2026, and they needed a full 3D makeover for Avowed. According to Katie Tenney, a narrative designer at Obsidian, this "process of translation wasn't always perfect." Understatement of the century! The first attempt at bringing orlans into the third dimension was so... impactful... that it had to be scrapped. Why? Because, and I love this, a lot of the devs were genuinely scared by their looks. I can't stop picturing it: a team of seasoned game developers, people who conjure dragons and demons for a living, huddled around a monitor, nervously pointing at a 3D orlan model and whispering, "Make it stop." It’s the kind of game development lore that makes this industry so wonderfully weird.
They essentially had to avoid unleashing a horde of Gremlin-like terrors upon Eora. After some serious reworking, they found the sweet spot. Tenney assured us that "they’re in a great place now," with beloved characters like the companion Yatzli and Garryck proudly representing the orlan race. Phew! Crisis averted. The iconic look is preserved, just slightly adjusted for our new, more intimate perspective. No more nightmare fuel, just classic, fuzzy adventurers.
Speaking of perspective, that’s where things get really interesting for a character like Yatzli. Tenney notes that orlan companions in PoE often had a risqué and flirty streak, so "Yatzli isn’t treading new ground there." But oh, what a difference a camera angle makes! Experiencing that charm, that verbal sparring, and that physical presence from a first-person view is a whole new ball game. It’s one thing to read a flirty line of text next to a portrait; it’s another to have a charismatic, fully-animated orlan deliver it while standing right in front of you. The dynamic shifts entirely, adding layers of physicality and subtle expression that isometric games just can't capture.
This whole saga highlights a core truth about Obsidian’s approach, one that Tenney perfectly articulated. Despite the elf ears, blue scales, or in this case, fuzzy orlan features, the characters of Eora are profoundly human at their core. That’s the magic. Whether they’re making us laugh, flirting with danger (or the player), or simply sharing a campfire story, their motivations, flaws, and hearts feel relatable. The technical challenge of moving from 2D to 3D wasn't just about polygons and textures; it was about preserving that essential humanity through a completely different lens.
So, as we gear up to explore the Living Lands in Avowed, I’ll be giving a special nod to Yatzli and her kin. They’ve been through quite the glow-up—from isometric sprites, to briefly terrifying 3D models, and finally to the charming companions ready to join our party. It’s a reminder that behind every polished character in our favorite games, there’s a history of iteration, a few scared developers, and a relentless pursuit of getting it just right. And sometimes, that journey involves vetoing a design because it’s too spooky. Game development, folks. It’s never boring.
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