HaxeNME looks interesting and is a slight hedge on this game getting good enough to sell as a native app. I've done 2 flash games before and really like the fact that they're so easy for others to play. I've got a really sweet custom C++ engine built on SDL just sitting here but I'm planning to use HaxeNME for this project. I kinda did the same thing with Helsing's Fire and that turned out ok. If I decide to turn this in to a commercial game it's possible I'll do that for all the art.
I've made some rough experiments with converting the small character portraits to full vector images and they don't look half bad. It works great for indies and people close to the scene, but my feeling is that most mainstream players prefer a smoother non-pixelated look. When it comes to most commercial games however I think pixel art may not be a good choice. Pixel art is just way easier, faster, and more enjoyable for me. You can already see a few places in the mockup like that.įor the initial version of the game I'm going to do everything in mid-res pixel art.
That's not a hard rule and if it doesn't look good I'm flexible. Instead of choosing a global palette though, I'm going to try limiting individual objects or backgrounds to ~3 shades. One thing I like about some of the better pixel-art games is the limited palette. I don't have any formal art training so I'm just gonna copy what I see elsewhere. I guess that would be a technical task so we'll see.
I'm also considering a system to create face variations from my initial drawings. A big part of the game is the traveler portraits so I want to spend a fair amount of time creating those. I'm envisioning lots of cool little pixel portraits and documents and not so many technical challenges. This time I'm going to try to focus on the art. The last few games I've worked on have been programming-first, art-second. Turns out he just gained some weight so he's clear to pass. In this case, you now need to run a metal detector over the guy or even strip search him. Highlighting these two pieces of information in the UI will open up further options. For example, if a traveler's passport says they weigh 70kgs, but their current measured weight is 74kgs, you have reason to be suspicious. I haven't completely worked out the precise mechanics yet, but it's probably going to boil down to inspecting all the documents and trying to find any two pieces of information that don't match. People will enter the inspection booth, you click on their documents and vet them by looking for discrepancies, then you either approve their entry visa or deny their crossing (with or without prejudice). Travelers will queue on the top left, pass through your inspection building, then on to enter Arstotzka on the top right. The top of the screen is the actual border checkpoint and the bottom is inside your booth. The enemy country is on the left and your country is on the right. Some elements of this are pretty similar to my other game, "The Republia Times". Using only the documents provided by travelers and MoA's primitive computer dispatch system you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Your job is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia.
The glorious and free country of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin. Instead of working in a nice modern airport booth, you're assigned to the Ministry of Admission in the war-torn dystopian nation of Arstotzka. Release info in the announcement post here <<Įver taken an international flight to a foreign country and felt nervous passing through the immigration checkpoint? Papers, Please aims to turn that around and put you in the role of immigration inspector.