Behind-the-scenes episode highlights the cross-disciplinary approach to building immersion in a decopunk noir setting
Issaquah, WA, USA – April 23rd, 2026 – Seismic Squirrel today released the seventh behind-the-scenes developer diary for Aether & Iron during the Second Wind Games Showcase. Titled “Creating Immersion”, the episode features Narrative Director Tyler Whitney, who explores how the team builds a cohesive world by aligning narrative, design, art, and sound to support a unified player experience.
Rather than treating immersion as a feature, the team approaches it as a shared foundation across development – where every department contributes to reinforcing a cohesive alternate 1930s New York. From grounded character writing and internally consistent world-building, to environmental storytelling and systems designed around player identity, each element is shaped to support a single goal: making the world feel lived-in and reactive.
The episode highlights how this philosophy extends into both visual and gameplay design, ensuring that tone, mechanics, and presentation all work in service of the player’s role as a smuggler navigating a vertical, decopunk city.
Aether & Iron is now available on Steam for Windows and MacOS, featuring full English voice acting and text localization support for English, Spanish (Spain & Latin America), French, German, Polish, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese – Players can purchase Aether & Iron and try the demo today on Steam!
About Aether & Iron:
Set in an alternate 1930s New York transformed into a vertical city by the discovery of “aether”, a key component to newfound anti-gravitational technology, Aether & Iron follows Gia, a smuggler navigating crime syndicates, political conspiracies, and fragile alliances. Players shape Gia’s story through meaningful decisions, with every choice influencing relationships, outcomes and the fate of the city itself. The game features writing talent with credits on Mass Effect, Far Cry, and Sovereign Syndicate, with an original score composed by two-time Grammy Award winner Christopher Tin and Grammy nominee Alex Williamson, best known for their work on the Civilization series.
About Seismic Squirrel
Seismic Squirrel is a talented and passionate team of both industry veterans and enthusiastic newcomers. We share a strong desire to tell fascinating stories supporting engaging gameplay mechanics.
