Fans of Nickelodeon’sAvatar: The Last Airbenderseries are all painfully aware that none of its adaptations, be they film or video game, have done the series justice. However, the up-and-coming fan-made creation calledAvatar [Aang Project]currently being built using theDreamsgame creation system might change that, among many other fan-recreation projects going on inDreams.
TheAvatarseries has suffered through plenty of adaptations, including a universally reviled movie and some old PS2 games that just didn’t capture the magic of the show. Elca Games, aka Colin Gluth, is working to finally giveAvatarfans something they’ve wanted for a long time: a video game adaptation that feels like an authentic recreation of the source material–and as withotherDreamsrecreations, this one is being made for fans, by a fan.
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As of right now, Gluth has put over 700 hours of work into his massive passion project, which is intended to follow the story of all threeAvatarseasons from Aang’s awakening near the Southern Water Tribe all the way to his battle with the Fire Lord Ozai. Gluth’s main reason forpickingAvataras the subject of a fan-made game is his belief that the early PS2 games lacked a whole host of mechanics that would’ve been perfect for a game set in that world; hisAang Projectincludes some fun-sounding (and show-appropriate) mechanics already. There’s puzzle-solving as Momo, flying as Aang using the Avatar’s glider, and something even more impressive: Gluth is also working on complete movesets for each of the show’s four elemental Bending styles, which fans will recall are all based on different types of martial arts.
“As a huge fan of the series, I want to create an Avatar game that has the vibes of the show,” Gluth told IGN. “You will be able to visit locations and explore them, relive moments from the show, andjust feel like Aang.” His love ofAvataris clear throughout the playable pre-alpha version currently online and in his future plans for the game, which is probably why Elca Games' YouTube channel boasts over 8 million views across itsAang Projectvideos. Right now there’s no specified release window, as Gluth isn’t putting pressure on it, but he’s got a loose goal of finishing it sometime next year.
Elca Games’Aang Projectappears to be doing something that none ofAvatar’s other adaptations have managed yet to do: win the respect and admiration of longtimeAvatarfans just waiting for more content to dig into. Whether there’ll be trouble on the copyright side of things remains to be seen, though it should be said that Gluth is doing his part to be transparent and communicative, and it helps that he couldn’t sell the game anyway since it’smade withDreams.
Hopefully,Avatar’s creators acknowledge Gluth’sAang Projectas the passion project it is, especially considering the impressive fact that Gluth has no prior game design experience: he’s just letting his love ofAvatarandknowledge of theDreamstoolsetcarry him where it will.
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