Thread by @proximity_sound

The one question I get asked the most is about the art for the game, so let’s dive into the process for #pixelart!

Thread...

After proving that the mechanics could work, I needed to prove that the graphics would be doable. Since Warp Coins was the focus of the game, trying to convert the label art from them made sense.

GameBoy graphics have a few limitations. Each screen is 160 x 140 pixels, and 8x8 pixels make up one tile. A background can have up to 256 tiles, or 192 if text is present. And of course, 4 colours only. There are many apps that work well for pixel art, but I chose Pixel Studio.

This is an affordable iPad app (there are Desktop versions too) that has some nice features for my workflow. It integrates with Google Drive decently, and I wanted to use the Apple Pencil to draw, even in low res, I felt I had more control.

So I took the label, applied the palette, scaled it down and voila, amazing potential title screen. Now I knew that getting @CinnriStreusel was the right choice because, hey, they made this label! We’ve also collaborated before and I think we work well together.

I showed them the test image and explained the scope of work as best I could. We tried one sketch, tested and yep, it was going to work. Their art really is amazing and it translated so well to the GameBoy style.

We used a shared Google sheet in conjunction with the itemized script to essentially create a Bill of Materials, a series of 30 sketches that Cinnri would need to make in order for me to have all the assets for the game. I totally took this method from @wintergatan’s MMX.

We’d have a little back and forth regarding concept and style, but they nailed everything pretty quickly. Little details emerged - I reached out to @redbullgaming to see if I could use their logo for @GrandPOOBear’s hat. That was a no go, so pigs with wings it is.

Upon receiving the renderings, I darkened them and placed them on a green background. The bottom third of the image was blacked out since text would occupy that space (and save on tiles). I then applied the palette and scaled them to the correct size. PixelStudio does this well.

The converted image then needed to be filled in and had detail added. You can see how things progressed comparing how @Jaku looked when first starting, compared to the finished product. I like the aesthetic of the white outline, it was used in Link’s Awakening.

Many of the scenes were drawn 100% by myself. I sketched the layout according to the needs of the game. Made a dark outline of the key items, then scaled it down. From there I cleaned everything up and added shading/details. Lots of inspiration from @Klonoz at this stage.

And one or two images were actually rotoscoped (traced) from real photos.

There’s also some very low res work done in the ASCII layout to allow for emotes to show in the dialogue boxes, including the “Objection!” text which was vital to this game.

Finally, Cinnri rendered the gorgeous box art which was also used for the label, manual and post card. If you want a chance to win a copy of the post card, check out this tweet:

https://twitter.com/proximity_sound/status/1202708770117300230

Again, Cinnri’s art and skill were vital to the success of this game. Should the Kickstarter be successful, they’ll be getting a nice cut of the sales and it is more than well deserved :)

10 days left to go and 62% funded!

kickstarter.com/projects/warpw…