Hiya
I’m more nervous about this process than anything that’s come before. I think marketing is the only threat to the threateningness of this task. I need to make this game look as good as possible. The main focus up to this point has been on the systems the game uses, the functionality of the code and physics. But the visuals are what gets peoples attention at first (I think). Art isn’t new to me but I’m far from an expert, I know the basics of colour theory, composition, perspective, etc but I’ve never really applied it to anything outside of sketchbooks.
Honesty will be my guiding principle here. I believe people appreciate genuine art, regardless of comparable quality. This starts with being honest about what I can achieve with my very limited resources. So, let me be honest. I don’t think I can make gorgeously evocative parallax scrolling backgrounds that the player will stop and admire. (I do have a layered parallax background but it will be basic: trees, mountains, power lines). The artwork I’ve seen lately from fellow indie devs is mesmerising. (I’d point them out here but I’m unsure of the etiquette for references in a dev diary from an absolute nobody). But I can make nice and engaging and small (very small) pixel animations that will liven the game up. I’m an expert at making a blinking light for instance, no one can add a bright pixel in one frame and remove it in the next frame quite like I can. If there is movement then I believe I can create a world that players can be immersed in. Small details, but lots of ’em.
When I started this project it wasn’t a pixel art game, I was going for more of a Child of Light style of art. A few months into development I had to cut it down to a 64X64 pixel size, which then had to be cut down to 16X16 because pixel art is fecking hard. Games like Owlboy and Celeste are huge inspirations for the look of this game but I won’t be able to achieve the visual splendour of either, but I will try my best to use this influence to make something coherent and appealing.
(To be clear as country air, pixel art requires just as much dedication and skill as any other art form but is just on a smaller scale so a single developer can manage the vast quantities of art required.)
Game feel! My most loathed of terms. The way those words feel in my mouth is unpleasant. I love the content, hate the title. Game feel (last time I type that) is basically the little details which on their own are small enhancements but combined make the game come alive. Muzzle flashes when the gun fires, audio cues when navigating menus, near imperceptible particle effects, camera shakes, controller vibrations, etc, etc, etc all add up to provide extra immersion for the player. I need to be careful not to get too carried away here, I can absolutely see myself getting obsessed with the smallest detail. Ve is my primary focus for now. Here is my current task list:
There is more I plan to do later, like controller vibrations, but my next deadline is March 6 2026 (just after the Steam Next Fest) when I plan to have a public demo available so I had to prioritize certain things.
Demo. March 6. Polish, polish, polish. Variant tiles, foreground art, slick menu transitions, music fade-in and -out. Again I believe honesty has to be a part of this. The demo needs to have a professional feel but at the same time, I’m a solo developer and I kind of want that to be clear. So I won’t be aiming for the moon here (what would I breathe?!) but I want it clear that I love this game, I love games in general, and I care deeply about making something fun. Enough polish will hopefully help achieve this.
Focusing on code and getting the character controls right at the expense of absolutely everything else may not be the most advisable course of action but it’s the one I took. I thought if I got the primary gameplay loop solidified, got all the UI working, then I could assess the games potential before worrying about the visual appeal. The game is really fun (I’m sure most will agree), but it’s so boring to look at. Time to really focus up on fixing that.
I’d love to tell you that I have no financial interest in this game, but unfortunately that’s not the case. I can tell you that making money isn’t my primary motivation but double-unfortunately it’s why I’m working hilariously silly hours. The market is weird and I don’t even know if solo indie games sell anymore. But several autoimmune issues, several episodes of sepsis, a motorbike accident and a dodgy hip have made my employment potential non-existent. (I used to be a software engineer…wore suits and everything). Games are all I know. If I have any shot at financial security, it’s through games. If I fail, I can live with it. If I don’t try my hardest, I can’t. So, let’s get back to it.
Bye for now.