9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek News

Comrades!

Before we announce some more details about the Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love (which you can still add to wishlist by the way), we have something very special for classic adventure games fans!

Although Matryoshkans love potatoes the most, there’s also one more thing close to our hearts. It’s eggs. Easter eggs to be exact.

Irony Curtain is set in the 50s, but we did our best to spice it up a little with pop culture references from modern movies, comics, games and classic point & clicks. It’s kind of mandatory thing when creating the classic adventure game.

Overall, we keep the balance between the story and the references, and there are places you will have a hard time finding them, but sometimes we literally go crazy with Easter eggs in some locations.

Just look at the screenshot below and try to find all the references we’ve hidden there. There’s also a hint under spoiler below:




ANSWERS:
1. key in the shape of Sauron's Eye
2. shape of the island from Monkey Island
3. sketch of a key game from Machinarium
4. crow from Enigmatis 2
5. Pirates of the Carribean key
6. Konami Code


The medals are more monothematic because they are all inspired by the works of one studio. Can you guess what every one of them refers to?





Don't forget to add Irony Curtain to wishlist!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/866190/Irony_Curtain_From_Matryoshka_with_Love/

Comrades,

Usually, d̶i̶c̶t̶a̶t̶o̶r̶s benevolent Fathers of a Nation don’t tend to answer questions – they ask them!

But today the tables turn – go ahead and ❓ask anything❓: the Irony Curtain dev Team will answer all your conundrums in an Irony Q&A!

Ask away in the comments below and at the beginning of February we'll answer them all in a Q&A video. 🎥

Meanwhile, don't forget to add Irony Curtain to your wishlist!

This time we’d like to acquaint you with the creative process that goes into creating the scenes in the game. Here, for example, we have one of the first locations in the game – the conference Evan attends in order to present a speech on Matryoshka.

If you'd like to support the game, don't forget to add Irony Curtain to wishlist!



1. First off, we begin with a very rough concept art - mapping out the placement of active elements of the scene (the interactive parts that will contain moving objects), and on this, we build the gameplay (with placeholder dialogues and text and placeholder screens instead of minigames). This is usually the fastest part of the process. If we don’t like it or something doesn’t play out quite as well, we re-do parts of it until everything fits the way we want it to.


PS. Drawing each location out by hand means, that we have concept arts for each and every location in the game! Would you like to see them as bonus material?


2. After the sketch is completed we create a mood board, which sets the color schemes for all locations (we wanted it to not only be cohesive throughout the whole game but also reflect the passing of time – morning, afternoon, evening, etc). This is possible thanks to the “macrolocation” system we have – once you go through a set of locations you will not return to them again, so we can give you this sense of passing time.



3. Based on the concept we then proceed to fill in the details – this leads us to a complete lineart. A lineart is (just like the name suggests) a picture that has only the outlines, usually in black. If you haven’t seen one, it resembles a page taken out of a child’s coloring book.




4. When we’re happy with the result we create a color palette from the mood board and roughly place them on the lineart. At this stage, we check out if everything works together – if the scene conveys what we wanted to say and if it’s also pleasant for the eye.



5. Then come the flat colors – literally filling in the line art with flat colors. Just one color layer, no shadows, no color blending. You could think of it as colorful paper cutouts placed on the lineart.



6. The second-to-last step is creating all the shading, light reflections, and all small details that will make-or-break the picture, bringing it to life and helping us tell a story even before there’s a single word spoken or even before we introduce any of the main characters.

7. Then, of course, with games comes the step of creating the animations, different states of interactive elements (etc. closed/open doors), etc. But that’s a different part of this tale.

So, did you enjoy this little tour? Would you like to see more from Irony Curtain?

In the world built on the shoulders of sleeping giants, join your sister Adrianne to prevent a terrifying annihilation that may irreversibly change the world. Explore the history of a forgotten civilisation to save the citizens of Skyland and reveal the mystery of your father's death.

Skyland: Heart Of The Mountain will be available at a discount for 7 days after the launch.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/949800/Skyland_Heart_of_the_Mountain/

There are very few things as great as the Matryoshkan Nation - but The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity - WOŚP - is definitely one of them. It's a Polish charity dedicated to improving medical care for the youngest and oldest patients - if you'd like you can read more about them at the English WOŚP website.

Long story short - for 27 years now they have been running a fundraiser in order to help provide equipment to hospitals, improve neonatological and senior patient care and even provide CPR lessons in schools. In that time the organization has raised 825 million PLN - that is roughly 198 million EUR!

This year we have decided to join this grand cause by submitting two auctions featuring unique and interesting items, which you will not find anywhere else.


You can bid on two auctions - one is My Brother Rabbit themed, the other is all about Irony Curtain:

1. IRONY CURTAIN AUCTION



You get:

• a guided communism-themed tour in Krakow, Poland in the company of the developers of Irony Curtain
  
• the Irony Curtain game (when it's out)
  
• all and every Irony Curtain gadget ever produced and ever to be produced
  
• a deerstalker-type hat called ushanka with an Irony Curtain Pin
  
• Matryoshkan flag, 90cmx120cm
  
• two Irony Curtain matryoshka cups
  

as a bonus - eternal glory and the approval of the Supreme Leader of Matryoshka!

2. MY BROTHER RABBIT AUCTION


You get:

• the My Brother Rabbit game
  
• a plushie, artbook with a dedication from the whole team
  
• a studio visit and an opportunity to attend a creative workshop with MBR lead artist Łukasz Sałata
  
• all Artifex Mundi games for Steam
  
• a limited, box edition of the game
  

All auctions run till Jan 21st, 12:15:10!

Join in today and become a proud supporter of WOŚP! There are many awesome rewards to gain, but the biggest one is supporting a good cause!