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This will be the last blog update for the space shooter project, tomorrow we will present our final project and there will be no further work. I suspect that we still have to update this blog so even though it’s the end of the project it will continue.
So what does an artist do the last day of a project when all of the actual work lies on the programmers? The answer, mostly random small additions that might not even make it to the final project, like maybe background visuals that mostly just looks pretty. So let’s write about something that will probably make it in to the final game, like a checkpoint marker.
See we estimated that we wouldn’t have enough time to design multiple levels, so the solution was to make one giant level instead. But the game is pretty hard since you die in one hit so having to replay on long level just as you reach the end would keep people from trying to beat the game. So we added checkpoints, because we’re nice like that.
So there needed to be some visual representation of were these checkpoints are located, so I give to you “the five space bears”.
The current in game explanation for these bears are that they are other attempts of experimenting on earth animals. The aliens needed something durable to direct space traffic so they mutated bears so that they could withstand the pressures of space, since bears have such thick and warm fur they became the ideal candidate for the experiment. The real life explanation is that we really needed something as checkpoints and I thought that space bears would be fun and cute. It fits with the theme of the game in some nonsensical way it makes as much sense as a giraffe in space.
On the technical side of things, I wanted the bears too look simple yet noticeable so they can’t be distracting but they still have to convey what they represent. The bear itself is more grey brown so it doesn’t stick out but it has some green details similar to the giraffe so that it looks alien and experimented on. What had to be noticeable is the sign it’s holding, especially the text. It was hard finding bright colours that were still pastel, but I think the little more brighter orange and the green text still fits with the other colours. There was some debate on it being the wrong choice but we are in the last hours and we can’t really change it now. Still the bears look cute, weird and serve their purpose so I guess that’s a success.
This project has been fun although stressful and I see it more as a learning experience than anything else. If the game doesn’t turn out as expected it won’t really matter in the end, fail faster as they say. I will take everything I have learnt from this project and take it to the next to make a better game.
About Lucas Pålsson
2015 Graphics
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