The Birthmark That Formed Atlantica Island
The idea behind the Atlantica Islands didn’t start with a map. It started with a birthmark on my left arm. The main island in the Atlantica Islands archipelago wasn’t generated, sketched, or copied. It was traced from a birthmark on my left arm.
When I began designing the islands, I didn’t want them to resemble real-world landmasses or rely on randomness. I wanted something entirely original, something that felt organic but couldn’t be replicated. That’s when I realized the shape had been with me all along.
I opened Photoshop and traced the general outline of my birthmark, preserving its asymmetry, branching features, and irregular shoreline. That form became Atlantica Island, the largest landmass in the archipelago and the core of the entire region.
The two smaller islands, Scoria Island to the southwest and Helion Island to the east, were added through creative liberty to serve the needs of lore and gameplay:
- Scoria Island became home to Mount Scoria, a climbable volcano inspired by subduction-zone geology.
- Helion Island was kept flatter and more open, giving arriving ships a clear approach to the main island.
But everything begins with the birthmark. Even Lake Atlantica, near the center of the island, falls within the peninsula formed by the original shape. The invisible Helioshield, which hides the islands from outside detection, radiates from the center of the main island, Atlantica Island.
In a game world where compasses spin and explorers lose time, the shape of the land remains constant, a fictional place anchored in something real.
The Location of the Atlantica Islands
Screenshot centered near +21.105°, −65.17°.
Source: Google Maps. Map data © Google.
The Atlantica Islands are located at:
- Latitude: +21.105°
- Longitude: −65.17°
Source: Wikipedia — “Bermuda Triangle” schematic.
This position places the archipelago in the southwestern end of the Bermuda Triangle, surrounded by strong currents, navigational anomalies, and electromagnetic interference that render the islands undetectable by conventional means. The entire region is cloaked by the helioshield, a plasmic energy field that deflects satellite imaging, radar, and visual detection—except during rare ring-of-fire eclipses.
Source: Wikipedia — scan of the original Big Ear ‘6EQUJ5’ readout.
The coordinates themselves appear to align with an anomaly in Earth’s recorded history: the Wow! Signal (6EQUJ5), a powerful narrowband radio transmission detected in 1977. It was never repeated, and its origin remains unexplained.
The signal has since inspired decades of speculation and fascination among astronomers, theorists, and science fiction creators alike.
Though the origins of the signal remain unexplained, its alphanumeric structure has an intriguing correspondence with the coordinates of the Atlantica Islands:
| Symbol | Value | Interpreted as |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | Integer prefix. |
| E | 5 | E = 5th letter → reference to longitude decimal. |
| Q | 17 | Q = 17th letter → corresponds to −65.17 longitude. |
| U | 21 | U = 21st letter → corresponds to +21.105 latitude. |
| J | 10 | J = 10th letter → reinforces lat/long seconds precision. |
| 5 | 5 | Closing numeric, echoing the prefix. |
The Helioshield Perimeter
Coincidentally, the center of the islands map is the Atlantica Lake shoreline made possible by small peninsula. The circle that surrounds the map will be the invisible shield that hides the island.
The precise location of the islands, while fixed, is never easily accessed due to the helioshield’s spatial redirection and navigation equipment interference. Any vessel or aircraft nearing the perimeter is seamlessly redirected to the opposite side of the field, continuing along its original heading. Compass and GPS systems fail entirely within range.
For this reason, the islands remain unmapped… and undiscovered. This mechanism protects the Atlantica Islands from discovery, and ensures that only those present during a ring-of-fire eclipse may witness or access them, only to be stranded once the cosmic event ends.
The Stellargates of the Atlantica Islands
There are 12 stellargates on the Atlantica Islands archipelago. These gates teleport stranded island inhabitants to the Atlantica System during the rare ring-of-fire solar eclipses.
- Each gate corresponds to one of the 12 core planets in the Atlantica System.
- The gates are in the order of the planets from the closest to the Atlantica Sun (Hadea) to the furthest (Arctica).
- The Hadea gate faces the volcanic Scoria Island, which is fitting since Planet Hadea is a scorched world.
- The Helion gate faces Helion Island.
- The Oceana Major and Minor, and the Arctica gates are in the ocean, which matches the majority of wildlife on the corresponding planets.
Stellargate Prototype (UE5)
The stellargates I have in mind are a work in progress in Unreal Engine 5.
The stellargate you see here is a first-pass blockout in Unreal Engine 5: an A-frame silhouette with a circular entrance, placed on a low, reflective plaza for scale tests. The model shares proportions with the off-world versions so silhouette language stays consistent across the Atlantica System.
The stellargate prototype is formed with the Alpha and Omega symbols.
Atlantica Islands Stellargate Video
- The player character running a clearance pass around the gate to showcase the design.
- Temporary materials and lighting while I iterate on geometry and proportions.
- The plaza pad that will become the standardized base kit for all twelve island gates.
Stellargate Travel Lore and Rules
- Local: Manual gate travel can be done between gates on the islands, and between gates on the planets in the Atlantica System.
- Islands ↔ System: Controlled travel cannot be done between the islands and the planets, except for uncontrolled teleportation from the main island to the planets during rare solar eclipses.
- Orientation: Each island gate faces inward toward the helioshield core. Compasses point to the magnetic helioshield core.
- Scale intent: System gates are sized to accommodate larger vehicles and caravans; the island prototype uses the same proportions.
Stellargate Design Notes and Next Steps
- Create a control interface for the gates.
- Finalize the plaza kit (stairs, ramps, safety rails, foundation details).
- Add activation sequence VFX/SFX and a readable “safe entry” cone.
- Add symbols or signage for each gate and clock-ring index.
Atlantica Islands Protype
Take a guided flyover of the Atlantica Islands, a work in progress in UE5.
Atlantica Islands Flyover Tour Video
- Start at the Atlantica Prime gate.
- Reveal Mount Atlantica behind the gate.
- Pull back to show the broader island.
- Circle Mount Sayon and trace the outside of the mountain range.
- Follow the circular gate path around the plain.
- Head toward the southern end of the island.
- Fly over the Mount Scoria volcano.
- Pass over the ocean gates along the southern rim.
- Make a long flyover of the mountain range from south to north.
- Land on the gate pathway near the Sayon gate.
- Go on foot onto the Sayon gate plaza for a clean scale read of the prototype stellargate.
Next Steps
Thanks for reading this first look at the Atlantica Islands. Next up: rivers and deltas, biomes, the stellargate design and controls, and much more.
- Subscribe to the Atlantica Islands YouTube channel for build updates.