Valorant's new map Lotus will feature a classic Indiana Jones moment

Valorant's Episode 6 Act 1 will introduce players to a sea of new meta-defying content, including the brand new map Lotus. In addition to featuring three Radianite-harvesting sites, Lotus houses many mysteries and flexible structures, capturing the influence of the iconic Indiana Jones.

In a press release dated January 6, 2023, Brian Yum, the Art Lead for Valorant's concept team, spoke about the inspiration behind Lotus. According to him, the world of talented archeologist Indiana Jones contributed to the thematic idea for the map's design.

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How did Valorant incorporate an iconic Indiana Jones moment in its newest map Lotus?

Brian Yum revealed that a celebrated Indiana Jones moment has been embedded in one of Lotus's plant sites. Fans of the popular action-adventure franchise will no doubt be overcome by nostalgia as they tread into the map's C-site, which features a beautiful rock-cut cave with an intricately-designed rooftop that lets the sunlight in from above.

"For the visual experience for players, we wanted players to experience an Indiana Jones moment. For example, going into C-site, you are greeted with the Rock-Cut cave and a stream of sunlight from above gives a sense of wonder and discovery of a lost city." - Brian Yum, Art Lead

Lotus's visual representation may lead fans to reminisce about the introductory scene from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones discovers a golden idol in a rock-cut cave and attempts to steal it. In yet another memorable scene, a strong beam of sunlight falls on Dr. Jones as he uses the Staff of Ra to discover the location of the Ark of the Covenant.

With Lotus, the developers wanted fans to experience the feeling of making mystical discoveries while uncovering the secrets of a lost city, just like Dr. Jones did during his expeditions.

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Valorant's Lotus is rich in history, features many popular mysterious structures from Indian archeology

The new three-site Indian map will be added to Valorant's roster on January 10, 2023, alongside Episode 6 Act 1. It will be playable through various game modes and custom matches right after launch.

That said, the developers may not add Lotus to Valorant's competitive map rotation immediately. Like Pearl, Lotus will likely be added to the unranked modes and Custom first. Chances are that it will be introduced to the Competitive/Ranked mode after a week or two, letting players familiarize themselves with the map's features first.

Valorant's Lotus is set in the Western Ghats of Omega Earth's India. The intriguing structures feature elements of iconic Indian architecture, namely traditional Indian stepwells and rock-cut Dravidian architecture. The developers also took inspiration from archeological spots like Badami Cave Temples, Ellora Caves, and Rani Ki Vav to bring their vision to life.

To every fan's delight, the developers' ideation of Lotus aligned perfectly with Indiana Jones' premise, allowing for a wonderful, informal collaboration.

"In Lotus, we were more free to explore more fantastical visual elements since Kingdom was not present on this map. We wanted to explore the theme of grand adventure, mysteries lost to time, and a lost ancient structure. Indiana Jones was one of the thematic inspirations we drew from." - Brian Yum, Art Lead

The map's lore is associated with the Guardians, a popular mythological group from India. They were powerful deities who supposedly used the Radianite relics stored in Lotus's structures and mutated plants to drive technology of their kind.

To support the aforementioned theory, the developers have added rotating doors to Valorant's Lotus, which can be opened with the push of a button. They close automatically and cannot be left open. While players cannot destroy these doors, they can spam bullets through them.