Progress Blog #2 - April Update
Hey there, my name is Vladimir, and I'm part of the programming team here at Fury Studios, blogging at you live asynchronously from beautiful Zagreb, Croatia. Today I'll share more about what we've been up to in the last couple of months. You've probably guessed that this post is going to get more technical, but fret not; all the techno-babble results in some wonderful upgrades to the look of Kingdom. But you won't have to trust me on that; I come bearing gifs!
Today is a gift, that's why they call it the Present!
[h2]Today I'll focus on a new effect we added to Kingdom Eighties: Emission.[/h2]
Emission is best described as a property of an object to glow independently, highlighting itself and objects around it. It's achieved by drawing pixels that should emit a glow into a separate texture and then adding that to our final image. Since it's all done dynamically, it allows us to play with the intensity, color, and spread of the glow to achieve the look we feel is perfect for Kingdom Eighties. Plus, it's fun to add to different objects in the game and see what a rad glow-in-the-dark deer would look like.
Ghost Glow Intensity Example
Ghost Glow Color Example
Deer Glowing in the Forest
[h3]So why add this to Kingdom? And why now?
Two reasons.[/h3]
Kingdom has that "wow" factor in its presentation, and a lot of that comes down to the water and reflections, combined with the crisp pixel art. We knew we could expand our palette of visual effects and make it even more enjoyable to boot up a Kingdom game and just vibe out.
Kingdom Eighties is special and stands apart from other Kingdom games and settings. While I know the 80s aren't exactly "modern times", our comparison points are the knights and vikings of Two Crowns, so I'll just go ahead and call this a Modern Setting. And so we've included a lot of sprites of modern architecture, some of which glow. Ferris wheels, shop signs, street lights... Plus, we also have a bit of a sci-fi twist, so it's not uncommon to see lasers.
Background buildings lit up in the night...
[h3]I hope you enjoyed this quick peek into just one of the techniques we're applying to make this the richest Kingdom experience yet. We've been working mad hard on it, and we can't wait for you to get your bodacious hands on the game! And, like, hella soon too![/h3]
Today is a gift, that's why they call it the Present![h2]Today I'll focus on a new effect we added to Kingdom Eighties: Emission.[/h2]
Emission is best described as a property of an object to glow independently, highlighting itself and objects around it. It's achieved by drawing pixels that should emit a glow into a separate texture and then adding that to our final image. Since it's all done dynamically, it allows us to play with the intensity, color, and spread of the glow to achieve the look we feel is perfect for Kingdom Eighties. Plus, it's fun to add to different objects in the game and see what a rad glow-in-the-dark deer would look like.
Ghost Glow Intensity Example
Ghost Glow Color Example
Deer Glowing in the Forest[h3]So why add this to Kingdom? And why now?
Two reasons.[/h3]
Kingdom has that "wow" factor in its presentation, and a lot of that comes down to the water and reflections, combined with the crisp pixel art. We knew we could expand our palette of visual effects and make it even more enjoyable to boot up a Kingdom game and just vibe out.
Kingdom Eighties is special and stands apart from other Kingdom games and settings. While I know the 80s aren't exactly "modern times", our comparison points are the knights and vikings of Two Crowns, so I'll just go ahead and call this a Modern Setting. And so we've included a lot of sprites of modern architecture, some of which glow. Ferris wheels, shop signs, street lights... Plus, we also have a bit of a sci-fi twist, so it's not uncommon to see lasers.
Background buildings lit up in the night...[h3]I hope you enjoyed this quick peek into just one of the techniques we're applying to make this the richest Kingdom experience yet. We've been working mad hard on it, and we can't wait for you to get your bodacious hands on the game! And, like, hella soon too![/h3]