A centuple look of Somnipathy’s art journey, Pt. 1

• "How did you get the game to look like that?" 

Hey guys, VixenMink here. First time doing a devlog. I know this game is totally not the art style I am used to but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and learn on the fly. Hopefully I can encompass what goes on from the art side of things, as well as answer any questions you might have about this process for your future game journey! 

Essentially,  everything begins from a brainstorming session with our team, to decide what theme we are going to proceed with.  

• Brainstorming 

While ideas are being thrown around, it is helpful to do sketches and look for quick reference images to get a better understanding of how to proceed with the idea being presented. 

Our first idea we grew attached to was in relation to the gradual loss of memories. We couldn't figure out an appropriate way to approach this so we ultimately proceeded with our game, now know as Somnipathy.

You can come check it out here:  https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/50/somnipathy

@WhiskeyBadger introduced us to Aggy and her menacing monster.  Our entire team was thrilled and horrified at the same time.  From there, I tried to match the pixel style behind Aggy to help build up our rooms for Aggy's descent into madness. 

I designed some of the furniture/household items, and animated some of the creatures. I also did some promo videos and animations based off of the splash screen @WhiskeyBadger designed.

• How do I emphasize madness? 

We were trying to imagine what something looked like in the dark, to try and push the shape of our household items.  I really wanted to make a lamp look like a cat, but I needed to find a way to make it maniacal. In the end, this is how he was sketched out. And c’mon, every game needs a cat.

The stove seemed like another item that could look quite posessed, but figuring out what it would look like was my next challenge. I stretched and morphed its geometry until I came up with this concept. My favorite part is the eyes, which are gas stove grates!

This was my first attempt at trying to do pixel art for a game so trying to get it down to ‘pixelized’ was my biggest challenge. I had an idea for a few more items like the chair but we ran out of time to refine them.

With that being said, art tends to have tons of background work and manipulations until it finally becomes the finished product you see. 

• Our centuple journey and beyond 

We appreciate all of the love everyone has given this game, art side and all.  As of yesterday, we reached an amazing milestone of 100 people who have played our game! Thank you for your test plays and a big thanks to those who have left their valuable feedback. ‘You’ are what help us grow on our game making journey! We hope you can follow the evolution of this game (and our other future projects) to fully understand the depth of how meaningful your words have been for us.

Until next time fellow jammers.  Thank you again for such an amazing week 😍