Developer Ninja Theory has released a third developer diary for its upcoming action title, Hellblade, detailing the process of creating a new, unique lead character.

Dominic Matthews, Product Development Ninja, and Tameem Antoniades, Chief Creative Ninja, speak about the creation of the game’s protagonist, Senua. After Antoniades came across an article about a 1600 year old shrine to the previously unknown deity, he decided to fill in the mysterious past of Senua in an action game featuring the ancient Celts and Vikings. The team created a unique body shape for the Pictish warrior, describing the heroine’s figure as, “not sexy, not skimpy, not young, not skinny; but stunning, compelling and believable.” For Senua’s face, Ninja Theory used a technique called photogrammetry, using multiple pictures of a models face to create a 3d model. The team used this model as a base for a strikingly realistic sculpted face that includes individually modeled eyelashes.

As Matthews states, games with female protagonists are often seen as risky by publishers, but Ninja Theory’s status as an independent, self-published, self-funded studio allows them to take the kind of risks other studios might not. Based on the early images we’ve seen so far, this risk is looking like it could pay off. With Hellblade set for a 2015 release on PlayStation 4, we’re looking forward to seeing Senua in action as Ninja Theory drops more developer diaries.

More From Arcade Sushi