This week I'm continuing to iterate on my video game idea. Trying to draw inspiration from this week's theme, abstraction , I've decided to use pixels (in their most basic form) to define the aesthetics of my game. A lot of the discussions and readings seemed to revolve around the idea of details and memory. Borges put it succinctly in his story about Funes:
"To think is to forget differences, generalize, make abstractions. In the teeming world of Funes, there were only details, almost immediate in their presence"
I'd like to bring some attention back to the details, but in a simple way, one that won't overload our memories or burden our short attention spans.
I've always been drawn to pixel art in every shape and form. I particularly enjoy this aesthetic for video games because of its simplicity, minimalism and elegance (as in Sword & Sworcery) . I find all of the game's aspects compelling, from its aesthetics, music and sound effects, to its game mechanics and controls. The game is incredibly simple, yet delivers a compelling experience and intriguing storyline.
I know I won't be able to create such a rich experience in the short timeframe I have, but at the very least I hope to replicate some aspects of this style of video game.
I began to create some "pixel creatures" as a means of brainstorming the overall aesthetics of the game. I'm picturing something that involves multiple people playing the game at the same time (or at the very least exploring the game world) and interacting with each other. These are my initial sketches, followed by the digital ones.
initial Sketches
Pixel Creature 1
Pixel Creature 2
Pixel Creature 3
Pixel Creature 4
I created these little guys in Illustrator. I don't think the game will involve traditional linear gameplay, but instead have more exploratory, open-ended mechanics. I spent a considerable amount of time working with the CreateJS Javascript library once again, but got stuck debugging for hours so I haven't been able to animate these creatures yet. It seems like I was working off of a sprite sheet example that has since been deprecated. For now, I have the code for this on Github if you'd like to take a look. More updates to come!