Dev Log 1
[h3]Greetings, everyone![/h3]
It’s always a bit emotional to look back at old work, especially when you realize how far things have come. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on something that began over 6 months ago: our first comic storyboard for Apes Warfare.
At the time, we needed a strong visual storytelling piece to showcase the mood, tone, and humor of the world we were building. Dave, one of our core artists, helped kick things off by creating this early storyboard sketch. It was rough, gritty, full of energy, and exactly what we needed to prototype the comic page style.
As many indie devs know, building a game means wearing a lot of hats. Sometimes you're designing levels, sometimes you're hiring freelancers, and sometimes you're scrapping a whole art style that just doesn’t click. That happened to us more than once. Trial, error, learn, repeat.
We explored multiple art styles based on Dave’s sketches. These prototypes helped us narrow in on the emotional tone we wanted: fun but intense, expressive but clear. And that led us to an exciting transition point: welcoming LEO to the team.
Since joining, LEO has helped reshape the character designs with fresh eyes and strong vision. We’re now in the process of updating our comic pages with his work, reworking scenes with refined expressions, stronger silhouettes, and a more unified tone across the project.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
It’s wild to look back at what we made half a year ago. It reminds us how much has changed and how much Apes Warfare has grown. And yes, while the ARC CORE is still missing... we promise it’s all coming together soon 😏
Every strategy game needs that one unit that changes how you think about the battlefield. In Apes Warfare, that’s the Sniper.
This unit isn’t something you’ll find in Advance Wars, and that’s exactly why it was such a fun challenge for us to design. Giving a unit long-range might sound exciting, but in early tests, the Sniper had too few weaknesses. Sitting across a river and picking off enemies without retaliation? That’s not balanced. That’s domination.
So we started tweaking, testing, and tuning. The solution? We introduced a counter-unit: the Drone, a mobile scout and strike unit that hunts down Snipers with precision. We’ll talk more about the Drone in an upcoming Dev Log, but let’s just say Snipers won’t be safe for long.
One of the Snipers’ standout mechanics is their vision. They see farther than most units, and even better, when they climb a mountain tile, their vision increases by +2. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference, and it mirrors real-world logic. Higher ground means a better line of sight.
But the Sniper isn’t invincible. Up close, they’re vulnerable. A single unit slipping past your front line can take them out. That makes every placement decision matter and adds layers of strategy we’re excited to see players explore.
[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/WR0hV_vufNg[/previewyoutube]
As for animation? The Sniper’s combat pose, scope glint, and firing frames are some of our team’s proudest work. There’s a certain rhythm and weight to it. One shot, one impact.
Up Next
In the next Dev Log, we’ll show you the updated comic pages with LEO’s designs fully integrated, share how those visuals are being used in both narrative and gameplay, and introduce the Drone, how it works, why it exists, and how it brings a whole new level of counterplay to Apes Warfare.
It’s always a bit emotional to look back at old work, especially when you realize how far things have come. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on something that began over 6 months ago: our first comic storyboard for Apes Warfare.
At the time, we needed a strong visual storytelling piece to showcase the mood, tone, and humor of the world we were building. Dave, one of our core artists, helped kick things off by creating this early storyboard sketch. It was rough, gritty, full of energy, and exactly what we needed to prototype the comic page style.
As many indie devs know, building a game means wearing a lot of hats. Sometimes you're designing levels, sometimes you're hiring freelancers, and sometimes you're scrapping a whole art style that just doesn’t click. That happened to us more than once. Trial, error, learn, repeat.
We explored multiple art styles based on Dave’s sketches. These prototypes helped us narrow in on the emotional tone we wanted: fun but intense, expressive but clear. And that led us to an exciting transition point: welcoming LEO to the team.
Since joining, LEO has helped reshape the character designs with fresh eyes and strong vision. We’re now in the process of updating our comic pages with his work, reworking scenes with refined expressions, stronger silhouettes, and a more unified tone across the project.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
It’s wild to look back at what we made half a year ago. It reminds us how much has changed and how much Apes Warfare has grown. And yes, while the ARC CORE is still missing... we promise it’s all coming together soon 😏
Every strategy game needs that one unit that changes how you think about the battlefield. In Apes Warfare, that’s the Sniper.
This unit isn’t something you’ll find in Advance Wars, and that’s exactly why it was such a fun challenge for us to design. Giving a unit long-range might sound exciting, but in early tests, the Sniper had too few weaknesses. Sitting across a river and picking off enemies without retaliation? That’s not balanced. That’s domination.
So we started tweaking, testing, and tuning. The solution? We introduced a counter-unit: the Drone, a mobile scout and strike unit that hunts down Snipers with precision. We’ll talk more about the Drone in an upcoming Dev Log, but let’s just say Snipers won’t be safe for long.
One of the Snipers’ standout mechanics is their vision. They see farther than most units, and even better, when they climb a mountain tile, their vision increases by +2. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference, and it mirrors real-world logic. Higher ground means a better line of sight.
But the Sniper isn’t invincible. Up close, they’re vulnerable. A single unit slipping past your front line can take them out. That makes every placement decision matter and adds layers of strategy we’re excited to see players explore.
[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/WR0hV_vufNg[/previewyoutube]
As for animation? The Sniper’s combat pose, scope glint, and firing frames are some of our team’s proudest work. There’s a certain rhythm and weight to it. One shot, one impact.
Up Next
In the next Dev Log, we’ll show you the updated comic pages with LEO’s designs fully integrated, share how those visuals are being used in both narrative and gameplay, and introduce the Drone, how it works, why it exists, and how it brings a whole new level of counterplay to Apes Warfare.