Hi guys!
Our adventure changed a lot since we last post in here. And for that, we decided to start a fresh new blog :D go check all the recent updates!
You can continue to read all the cool stuff and be updated on our latest changes in the development.
Cheers
https://outoflinegame.blogspot.com/
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As an indie game developer, I come to a conclusion. I need to have a very strong visual language in other to make a good first impression. This is after all, the biggest entertainment industry of the world.
For me, the main first impression will happen with a good trailer. But, easier said than done. Having a “good trailer” with “something” a little different from
the norm, is really hard to do.
One thing for sure, in Out of Line trailer I want to tell a story in a “animation
short film way”, and also show how the game is going to be played. All that in
less than 2 minutes. Having this challenge in mind, I spliced the trailer into 3 different parts:
1. I will introduce the player to the main feeling of Out of Line, presenting to him who are the characters, and
what is happening in this world.
2. I will show him actual
gameplay where the player will learn Out of Line
main mechanics.
3. I will need to close the “story”
of the trailer without closing the game itself, because I want the player to be
engaged on going in a new adventure. Just like saying “I invite you to control the story of San! Do you want to know more?”.
Also, my challenge with Out of Line is what kind
of feeling I want the player to have while watching my trailer for the
first time. I do hope that he will find it intriguing and wants to be a part of San awesome adventure.
This is a tricky topic. And definitely one of the most important aspects of a videogame - especially in a platform
game. Naturally, for a game like Out of Line, the level design is definitely an important subject.
The first step, it’s always the hardest one. Basically, the two main questions are: what are the game core mechanics and how are they shown in the level design? After a little brainstorming session with some colleagues, I made (probably) the most important decision for Out of Line level design. The puzzles and
the level design should highlight the core mechanic of the game - San’s spear.
For me, creating a puzzle is a process divided in 3 stages. First, finding the mechanic to explore, next, creating rules for that particular mechanic, and finally, establish the consequences of the interactions with that mechanic. If you can do achieve this 3 topics, well… You can make a puzzle (if it’s good or bad, that’s a different subject).
For Out of Line, my early process was to sketch
a couple of levels. These very first ones are aimed to produced the game vertical slice, that (hopefully) will highlight the potential of Out of Line puzzles mechanics*.
Above: It might seem like a simple thing, but, drawing a level in millimetric paper is really a good process. Hey, if Nintendo did it, why not do the same? After all, we are just learning from the best.
So far, we are trying our best to give a fun time on San getting through some of the (hopefully) awesome levels in Out of Line!
*you might now be asking, “why not draw the tutorial
first?”. Well, its much easier to draw a tutorial, after knowing HOW we
are going to explore the game mechanics in further levels.
Above: The Last of San. Maybe a future cross-over? If Naughty Dog wants, I can discuss the terms of our future partnership… Please?
For the music in Out
of Line I want to make something very sensible, but very
strong at the same time. Unfortunately, I’m not a sound designer or a composer (despite
liking doing it a lot), so, I don’t have the necessary skill-set to make it. But I know what I want.
I want the soundtrack to have a
very atmospheric feel, where the player can find and feel the main character in the sound. I want the music to represent the
feelings and challenges that San will find in different steps of is journey. In conclusion, I want the music to be a significant part of Out of Line.
Having that in mind, for me one of the best example I have is the Last of Us soundtrack and sound design. In Last of Us (one of my favorite games) you can feel everything in the game just by listening to the soundtrack alone. This works as a very powerful tool in gameplay, and even more, when supporting the narrative and characters. That’s the kind of feeling I want for Out of Line.
I know San is no Joel or Ellie, but i think he can have a bad ass soundtrack in is own way!
One of the main visual aspects I want to keep through out the all game is the roughness of the paint strokes either in background, enemies, or items. I want Out of Line to be a game where you get this feeling of abstraction, not because the game itself is abstract, but because the game doesn´t tell you everything in therm of visual cues.
With that in mind, I mainly use 3 brushes with that purpose - just in case you are wondering, they are pretty easy to find them for download - and yes, they are free. I manage to get these from collecting the brushes used by my favorite artists and arrange them in a way I feel most comfortable.
I mainly use the first brush, I feel that I can either do sketches, paint or texture a surface with that brush.
Definitely my favorite of the three.
The second one I use most for blocking shapes or colors, I prefer using a rectangular brush to a round classic Photoshop brush because I feel more comfortable using a more strong shape in contrast with a circle
The third one I use for painting and texture. I really like this brush because I can get a lot of texture range with a simple stroke.
Above: this is the end result with only those 3 brushes.
In case you’re wondering, these brushes are basically the main art core for Out of Line. I really don’t use any others. The rest of the elements, I get from drawing and playing around. Simple and effective!
For me, when I´m making new projects, I tend to get strangled a lot, and stuck
multiple times. Either with deadlines or getting demotivated for
not achieving the kind of result I want in my drawings and concepts - a pretty normal
thing when you trying making a new project. In other words, I need a pause.
So when I go on a break or a vacation I tend to just let go all of my projects and rest my mind for a while. And in fact, I can easily just let go of everything and be with myself and friends, but after a few days I start thinking about my projects again. I love that feeling. It’s so exciting and I feel like my work passion is back.
Being away from my desk, away from my
everyday computer in a completely different kind of environment, really helps me to think a lot straighter, and more clearly of what I want. Those days of pause, are really magical. They give me a fresh look, and I get eager to start working on new ideas again.
So, when I get back home, the first thing I do is to jump on my sketchbook I start drawing and writing all the ideas and get back to work as soon as possible. And so, Out of Line gets a fresh new loaf of (creative) air.
Stick around, I will tell you more about it in the next weeks! :)
With the colors of Out of Line I tried to stay in the same area of many other games. Classic titles like: Ristar, Lion King, Super Mario Bros.,and many others, proven that color, is an essential part of their gameplay. Not only because of contrast, but also, in bringing the world up to life.
Above: consider the colors scheme of Super Mario Bros., Ristar, and Lion King. The color contrast is used in such a brilliant way!
It’s not a coincident, that in all those above mentioned classic titles, you can clearly spot the main character in the screen. This is due to the color contrast. It gives your brain a constant strong spot in the screen, highlighting where your eyes can quickly locate the character. Of course, this isn’t a lucky accident. For this to happen, you need to have at least one strong color
in your main character, that contrasts with the background. A simple and elegant solution.
When I was developing the first concepts of Out of Line, I toke in consideration those examples. Long story, in short words: I decided to make San’s face more or
less white, with a strong orange helmet, so that it would contrast with the blues
and grays of the backgrounds. Using this clever trick, the player can quickly spot San in the screen. And in the platform genre, having an easy to spot character is essential.
Above: can you easily find San in the screen? I surely hope so!
For the backgrounds and environment tests I made four of Out of Line, I knew I wanted to make something in between a factory and a
laboratory. But I didn’t want to do a typical factory with a lot of
machines with loud noises and rumblings. So, what to do?
First, I started with the basics. What I really want to do? So, I did know that I wanted to make something a little more silent and abstract, something with a lot of empty space, with ambient elements of fog and dust that indicates that despite being “empty” is also living and a delicate place. Something that resembles a kind of limbo. Where you are in an “empty space”, but that space is alive and controlled by a stronger force.
For example, I found this feeling while playing the most recent Playdead game Inside - one of the big inspirations for Out of Line - where the environment around the
character had a very strong and scary feeling. Although not because it present itself as it, but because you get a constant feeling
that what you are seeing is not the big picture. I find that particular feeling a very powerful tool in storytelling because it can open
a lot of doors for narrative development.
With the graphical style of the
game I would like to have a more spontaneous and
expressive style, without compromising the gameplay, or the player visual experience. And that is the tricky part - where to find the balance
within a more “raw” look, and the industry standard.
I feel that my chosen art
style, is not very explored in games, and maybe it’s comes down to the visual expression of the entire project. If I compare Out of Line in
contrast with the more clean “Super Mario Bros classical style”, or the standard mobile art
style, its clear that I’m doing something different. And that, bring other questions, or challenges.
Above: so many art styles in videogames projects. How can I present something new and fresh? Or even, should I do it?
Despite that, I want the visual style of Out of Line to
support the narrative and the overall feel of the game. I want to achieve the feeling of something that is trying to find it’s form and in constant evolution. That’s my aim.
I always try to find inspiration outside the media of
vídeo games. In movies, short-films, music, or even classical or modern art,
and taking all that into consideration I try to converge it to one single
product.
For San, the main character of Out of Line, I found a lot of inspiration in Hayao Miyazaki animation movies. In movies like, My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies or Spirit Away where you can find as a main character, a young kid - in contrast with American animation movies, but that can stay for another topic). And I think that has a lot of power as a narrative component or even as an icon for the audience to relate to.
Everybody that
saw a Miyazaki movie was once a child, so the character stays relevant true all the movie and familiar to
all kinds of audiences.
A more adult audience can review
themselves in the magic and in the memories of a child
and for a young audience can relate to the character in a more direct way
putting them selves in the same range of the character emotional age. And I think that is a very powerful “tool” where you want to move emotions and
convey a magical feel to a bigger audience, even in games.
meinpantz
Good afternoon to our fellow followers! Today we’re showing you our game’s logo evolution from the point when it started to be called Mein Pantz! The bottom one is our currently and definite logo that we’re going to be using forever and ever after. We started by using a more eagle-like approach and then after changing the characters to become cats with decided that a bird language didn’t suit anymore and this was the solution we came up with. What do you think?
Next week, one of our artists will be sharing with you what it’s like to create art for a video game, so stay tuned for next week’s update!