Undead West News

[h3]Buckle up - Undead West is here![/h3]

Hey everyone,

I'm koschei, developer of Undead West. I started working on this prototype project on December 10th 2022 in the Unity Engine with the intent to make a small pixel-art game with black and white visuals to finish in a couple of months, put on Steam and move on to the next. It became a side project I could only work on in my free time, until mid-way through 2023 when Retrovibe reached out to chat, and after pitching Undead West to them we agreed on a partnership and this became a full time effort!

I'm very happy that they did, and for all their support because now almost exactly 2 years from the project's first steps, Undead West is now available for all of you to play! It's been a long journey and as a solo developer I've had to wear a lot of hats - art, animation, programming, and learning things I've never done before (like putting in Steam achievements!).

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

When I look back at all the work that's been accomplished over the last 2 years, I'm very proud of this game. All the different enemies, bosses, environments, and wild western guns come together to make a charming roguelite, inspired by games like Enter the Gungeon and Nuclear Throne. I've also been fortunate to have Australian music artist Voltz Supreme making all of the music, boss themes, and boss sound effects for the game - he's a very talented musician and just so brilliant at composing tracks that eminate the vibe of classic western movies.



After a closed playtest, open playtest, and the launch of the free Steam demo, We're excited to finally share the full game of Undead West with you today and we hope you enjoy!

Get ready for 6 stages, 20 guns, 15 whiskeys, 8 outfits, a wide variety of undead and not-so-undead enemies.

Thank you for your support, and keep watching this space for news of plans for the next
year ahead.

[h3]Get Undead West now:[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2527880/Undead_West/

Hey everyone,

Get ready to lock, load, and dodge, as we have some exciting news for you!

[h3]UNDEAD WEST IS LAUNCHING ON DECEMBER 9, 2024![/h3]


Pick up the mantle of a mysterious cowboy resurrected by Death, bound by a pact to collect souls in exchange for a second chance at life. Driven by a thirst for revenge, you’ll travel through demon-infested lands, dodge waves of bullets, and avoid deadly traps, all leading to an epic showdown with the enigmatic Man in Red.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Every soul collected brings you closer to revenge and unlocks new tools for destruction. As you progress through the game you'll gain access to powerful whiskey boons which will help you on your journey. But surviving the unavoidable encounter with the Man in Red will demand every ounce of skill, strategy, and grit you can muster.

Are you ready for the western noir adventure? Prepare yourself for a journey filled with danger, bullets, and vengeance. Saddle up for the ride of your (after)life.

Hey,

We’re getting closer to the release of Undead West, and very soon everyone will be able to embark on their journey to the Wild West—filled with cowboys, whiskey, and dangerous enemies waiting for our hero.

For now, you can still download a free demo of the game and put your skills to the test.

This week, we’d like to share some behind-the-scenes magic happening during the development of Undead West.



[h3]💀 The Art Process of Undead West[/h3]

The art of Undead West is created with Aseprite, a program that is specifically designed for drawing and animating in small canvas pixel format. The main character is 17x26 pixels in size and the environment is drawn in 16x16 tiles to maintain proper scaling.
The decision to create the art for the game in a 2-bit black and white color palette was intended to provide a ‘retro’ impression similar to games like Downwell, Minit, and even all the way back to the original first of the genre, Rogue, as well as both time-efficient and challenging in it’s limitations.

[h3]💀 Sprites[/h3]

Undead West sprites are often first sketched out in physical form as a concept in my artbook, which helps get the ideas out and down on paper. Next in Aseprite on a black background, the sprite - whether it’s a boss, enemy, or environmental object - is roughly blocked out in white to get the general shape or pose, usually with the sprite of the player character next to it to make sure that the scale of the sprite will work coherently with the rest of the art assets in-game.



Then come shadows, details (which are usually only a couple of pixels themselves, intended to imitate the idea of something like nails in a crate, or a nose on a 5x5 pixel face), and when the sprite is all cleaned up it usually gets copied and pasted a few times to play around with variations: alter this, change the color of that, erase one pixel here / add one pixel there and finally I choose my favourite version to take into animating or import into Unity, usually as one big spritesheet consisting of ten-twenty or so sprites to get sliced into individuals in the game engine.



After the first few concept sprites of the player character, NPCs, some enemies, and environment tiles, I added a bright red to the color palette as a way to make a handful of objects (like fire) stand out, especially using it for enemies and enemy projectiles.
The player outfits are also an exception to the black and white rule, giving the outfits bright vibrant colors helps the player easily see where they are on the screen versus all of the enemies and also makes you feel unique.

[h3]💀 Animation[/h3]

Animation is often the most time-consuming process of working on enemies and bosses to put in the game. When a sprite is done, it gets it’s own canvas and animation tags which cover a handful of frames for things like spawning, moving, attacking, and death. The short animations are about 8 frames long that loop continuously, you’ll see this in animations such as idling, while unique animations like special boss attacks can be 20 to 60 frames in length.



For some animations, it’s easy enough to rotate parts of a sprite - then clean it up so it doesn’t look messy - to achieve the effect you want. In retro-style games like this, an idle animation can be as simple as moving the body and head one pixel up, then one pixel back down. For more complex animations, I use a varying degree of lines and blocking out methods to get the general position, weight, and timing before adding the final sprite back in and making it match the blockout on every frame - which is why for animating, I split the sprite into each separate limb and put each limb on a different layer.

Example: Animating a run cycle for a side facing sprite (like a horse). Using the base sprite we draw a line (or blockout in a thicker pixel brush size) over each limb, in a different color for each line. This way, if the lines intersect at any point, crossing over or behind each other during a frame, you can tell which line belongs to which limb.
The lines also help you to maintain the length and size of each limb, and using a feature called ‘Onion skin’, you can see a faint version of the previous frame to the one you are currently on so you know where your sprite’s limb was which will help you figure out where it should move to next. Then you can bring the individually split apart limbs and parts of the original sprite back in, rotating them or redrawing them to make them match the lines.



[h3]💀 Level Design & Variation[/h3]

Undead West’s levels are comprised of sequential linear ‘rooms’, often rectangular spaces where enemies will spawn in and initiate combat. These rooms are painted onto tilemaps with Unity’s tile palette using 16x16 tiles. With all the tiles being 16x16 pixel size, they fit onto the tilemap’s grid together seamlessly, which is why I design the tiles in Aseprite drawn each in their 16x16 square with Aseprite’s grid overlay as a guide, with walls and corners all touching so that I know that they line up together and later when the spritesheet of environment tile sprites is imported into Unity they get split up into their own small individual squares, ready for painting in.



The contents of the room are randomly chosen from a set of pre-determined layouts, for each room the game manager script picks 1 out of 3-5 layouts using a variation of hand-placed game objects of decorative wall items, destructible barrels and crates, and sometimes passive traps like proximity activated floor spikes.

[h3]💀 Double Feature[/h3]


If you’re drawn to the gritty, pixelated world of Undead West, you’ll find Janosik 2 equally captivating with its own retro-inspired art style. Especially since our friend Marcin from Onix Games just shared his story of creating the art for Janosik 2. Check it out, and don’t forget to add it to your wishlist!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1640400/Janosik_2/

[h3]💀 UNTIL NEXT TIME![/h3]

That's all for today. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.

-koschei, lead developer and artist

[hr][/hr]
[h3]Wishlist now![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2527880/Undead_West/

[h3]Connect with us on our official channels:[/h3]



Follow Undead West on Twitter Follow Developer on Twitter Follow Retrovibe on Twitter Visit Retrovibe Publisher Page

Hello Gunslingers,

We’re proud to let you all know that Undead West is a part of the Steam Next Fest October 2024!

Undead West picks up right after the cowboy you play has been killed in a revolver duel against the Man in Red. Death agrees to resurrect you so that you may carry out your quest for revenge. But there is a catch. Death requests that you pay back your revival debt in souls. Now you’re trapped in the endless cycle, seeking revenge.



Shoot your way through enemies, dodge through numerous traps, unlock new guns and whiskey boons as well as colorful outfits in a free demo for this western-themed roguelike bullet hell.

The Undead West demo features:

• 2 stages
  
• 6 weapons to try
  
• 6 whiskeys to boost your abilities
  
• 2 outfits

[h3]Download Undead West Demo now: [/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2527880/Undead_West/

Hello,

It’s been two weeks since the release of the demo and we hope you’re enjoying it.
If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to let us know in the comments or on Discord here.

This week we’d like to talk about music in “Undead West”.



Undead West’s music is created by VoltzSupreme, a musician with a real talent for creating authentic feeling and energetic ‘spaghetti western’ tracks. Voltz Supreme is a versatile Australian audio storyteller who thrives on producing unique and experimental works. Whether through music composition or other forms of narrative, his passion for crafting immersive atmospheres and engaging stories remains a unifying theme across all his creations.

The music in “Undead West” itself has all the feel of old wild west movies with banjo twangs and high trumpet notes but sometimes it’s combined with some really heavy electric guitar riffs to emphasize the power of the bosses at the end of the level.

As well as each boss having their own theme, and each level having a distinct tone that represents the different visuals of the environment - for instance, the Graveyard ost inserting the use of the organ across the level - the way Undead West’s ost is implemented is also unique, being specifically designed not as lengthy tracks, but short loops that lead into one another as the player progresses through the rooms of the stage.

As a very fast-paced game, we’ve made it this way so that we can increase the adrenaline, the atmosphere generated by the music alongside the player’s progress, starting out slower and quieter, each room’s own loop adding something new to the music until it accrues all together for the big finale of the boss fight.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Here’s what Voltz tells about creating music for “Undead West”.

[h3]💀 Dynamic Music[/h3]
As a big proponent of dynamic music in video games, I’m always looking to implement music and sound in ways that best serve a game’s story and gameplay experience. For Undead West, a game centred around progression—both in terms of the player's journey through the game and their personal growth in perseverance and skill—it was crucial for the music to reflect and enhance this theme.

We settled on a simple but effective method of dynamic music in which the music was composed and produced as unique loops for each room. As the player moves to the next room, the music shifts to the next loop. Instead of looping the same song throughout the entire level, this approach allows the music to evolve alongside the player's progress, highlighting the journey from the start of the level to its completion. It also gave us the flexibility to highlight unique events in specific rooms and build intensity and suspense at particular points, all while seamlessly transitioning from one part of the composition to the next.
While this is a simple and effective approach, there are some minor challenges on the compositional side. For example, a well-crafted composition typically uses the end of one section to smoothly transition into the next. For Undead West, the loops needed to be able to transition not only into the next loop but also back to the start of the current loop. This was particularly challenging when working with chord progressions and sections that required dramatic shifts in mood.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]💀 Musical Themes & Inspirations[/h3]
The musical themes for Undead West drew heavily from the western genre, particularly old spaghetti western soundtracks, with a subtle touch of gothic influence to represent the theme of death and the macabre atmosphere. These themes are consistent throughout the game, with each level receiving individual musical treatment based on its location. Some instrumentation examples include using a church organ for the graveyard, industrial percussion for the mines, Indigenous instruments for the outskirts, and chugging violin rhythms (performed by Shauno Isomura) for the train. Then there are the bosses and minibosses, each with their own unique characteristics that influence the music.

Specific influential composers were the classic Italian Spaghetti Western film composers such as Ennio Morricone (whom I had the pleasure of seeing in concert), Luis Bacalov, Alessandro Alessandroni and others. I’ve been soaking up the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone since I was a child and there’s a lot to learn from his unique blend of classical and avant garde. However, Undead West doesn't sound like a traditional spaghetti western film soundtrack. While those influences provide a strong foundation, a rogue-lite pixel art game ultimately requires a fresh approach. We've worked to deliver not only a new and exciting take on the classic video game genre, but hopefully a uniquely original soundtrack that complements it.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]💀 Double Feature[/h3]


If you’re enjoying the spooky western tunes in Undead West, you’ll love the folk-inspired soundtrack of Janosik 2. The music blends traditional Eastern European instruments like fiddles and flutes with a modern touch, creating a unique atmosphere for your adventure in the Highlands. It’s the perfect backdrop for exploring the game's world, adding to the fairy tale feel while keeping you immersed in the story.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1640400/Janosik_2/

[h3]💀 UNTIL NEXT TIME![/h3]

That's all for today. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.

-koschei, lead developer and artist

[hr][/hr]
[h3]Wishlist now![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2527880/Undead_West/

[h3]Connect with us on our official channels:[/h3]



Follow Undead West on Twitter Follow Developer on Twitter Follow Retrovibe on Twitter Visit Retrovibe Publisher Page