Project Interlink
Cameron Hallsted
Artist Statement
Project Interlink is the working name of my own Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TTRPG) that I am developing from the ground up. After playing so many systems and having integrated this hobby into my day to day life I wanted to try and develop my own system as an appreciation to the genre. I want to create a setting where both high fantasy, and cyberpunk-like aesthetics can exist.
One aspect I want to focus on during development is the ease of newcomers. Many times I’ve seen newcomers to this hobby get turned off from it either by a bad playing experience, or more commonly, they just don’t understand how the system works. So my primary goal for this system is to make it approachable to those trying out TTRPGs for the first time, while still being enjoyable to people who are neck deep into the hobby.
I have a big appreciation for storytelling, especially through how people present themself, and strive to develop designs that tell one just by a glance. I am constantly learning how to represent new types of people and genres alongside new techniques to help hasten this process. A big part of what got me so invested in character design and storytelling were tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. During the course of the year, this project has been a combination of world building and learning how to better my design skills along with learning how to illustrate landscapes, a form of illustration I have never done before.
The World of Nora
A millennium has passed since The Scar of the Consul, a catastrophic event that sundered the world of Nora. The once opposed two nations united for survival and now a peaceful era has swept the lands. Some deny how devastating the event truly was, but it’s hard to deny that it happened now that relics of that war litter the landscape. You are a Meiker, someone gifted the technique to harness and use the natural energy of the world, Aether, a technique thought lost. But you are not the only one, day by day new Meikers arise being able to interact, use, and reactivate these relics of a time long past. A new era is on the rise, do you use your gift to put Aether back in the hands of Nora’s people, or do you seek to destroy Aether once and for all out of fear that it will be the spark of another cataclysm? The path is yours to make…
Due to this project not just being about art I created a Process Book to help formulate ideas and keep them all in one place. I’m only showing eight pages, but it has grown in size the more and more I world build and flesh out how the system works.
The Floating Capital, Ulma
After an age of ruin many structures, forms of literature, and knowledge was lost about how this world works. While now that the damages have been mended, there remains only one concrete reminder of what this world once was. The Floating Capital, Ulma.
Path of the Vesper
One of the offensively aligned Paths a Meiker can take, most well known for its mobility and ability to keep pressure on its targets. Its defining feature are the floating wing-like scabbards that follow them, The Aria Engine.
Path of the Aero Strider
One of the defensively aligned Path a Meiker and take, most well known for turning any battle into a performance. With the world as their stage and the wind their instructor, Aero Striders feel the natural beat of the world and let the breeze guide them.
Path of the Grantier
One of the supportive aligned Paths a Meiker can take, most well known for its ability to lead any battle. Its defining feature is the spear with an attached banner, The Sprados Engine.
Core Trio
These three Paths make up the first of many classes players will be able to play, mix, and combine with in my TTRPG. There are still many in the works, but in the end each Path will have an associated piece or art to display what it could possibly look like if a player took that role.
