Angel Wings Dev Update II: Art Design (Sep 2020)
Hi all,
As Angel Wings marches on towards completion, we figured it would be a good time to let you in on some of the art process and thoughts behind our design decisions.
In essence, this Dev Update will answer the question "Why is this taking so long?"
With only one artist working on the entirety of Angel Wings, it's often a daunting task when considering the vast amount of content that needs to be created for a game of this magnitude. With a final script that's longer than most fantasy novels, there is a need for diverse and varied environments for the player to encounter - we certainly don't want the game feeling stale halfway through!
[h2]Environmental Detail[/h2]
Initially, we envisioned Angel Wings as a light and simple school simulation game, similar to classic titles such as Clannad or Kanon. This simple design philosophy was reflected in some of the first environments for the game, illustrated all the way back in 2017.
However, as the development progressed and we gained a stronger understanding of our vision for the story, we realized that the backgrounds and environments are just as important as any of the other visual assets. As a result, some of the art has evolved over the years to meet our new standards of quality.
In the current build of Angel Wings, the game boasts over 140 backgrounds for the player to experience. This includes day/night variants as well as other exciting visuals.
[h2]Character Design[/h2]
In the initial 2017 conception of Angel Wings, the characters maintained a very minimal, anime-styled approach. This initial design choice was made in order to facilitate a quicker turnaround time for the complete art assets. As the story evolved, so did our character designs. Each character has gone through multiple iterations in order to create a high quality model that captures some of their best personality traits.
For example, while Hyedong's pose has remained more or less the same throughout the years, her outfit and posture have been updated to reflect her bouncy and outgoing personality.
[h2]Special Scenes[/h2]
For key moments in the story, we wanted to leave a stronger impression on players by making specialized art for those specific moments. These assets take the longest to create, but if you ask us, they're worth the effort!
The art journey for Angel Wings has certainly not been an easy one - more than anything, it's been a learning process filled with blood, sweat, and tears (not literally, you won't find any blood or sweat in the graphics for the game). We hope that those who have shown support for our team can continue to do so as we tackle the final stretch of development!
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or comments. We're always happy to provide updates on the game whenever we can.
-RumR
As Angel Wings marches on towards completion, we figured it would be a good time to let you in on some of the art process and thoughts behind our design decisions.
In essence, this Dev Update will answer the question "Why is this taking so long?"
Art Design
With only one artist working on the entirety of Angel Wings, it's often a daunting task when considering the vast amount of content that needs to be created for a game of this magnitude. With a final script that's longer than most fantasy novels, there is a need for diverse and varied environments for the player to encounter - we certainly don't want the game feeling stale halfway through!
[h2]Environmental Detail[/h2]
Initially, we envisioned Angel Wings as a light and simple school simulation game, similar to classic titles such as Clannad or Kanon. This simple design philosophy was reflected in some of the first environments for the game, illustrated all the way back in 2017.
However, as the development progressed and we gained a stronger understanding of our vision for the story, we realized that the backgrounds and environments are just as important as any of the other visual assets. As a result, some of the art has evolved over the years to meet our new standards of quality.
In the current build of Angel Wings, the game boasts over 140 backgrounds for the player to experience. This includes day/night variants as well as other exciting visuals.
[h2]Character Design[/h2]
In the initial 2017 conception of Angel Wings, the characters maintained a very minimal, anime-styled approach. This initial design choice was made in order to facilitate a quicker turnaround time for the complete art assets. As the story evolved, so did our character designs. Each character has gone through multiple iterations in order to create a high quality model that captures some of their best personality traits.
For example, while Hyedong's pose has remained more or less the same throughout the years, her outfit and posture have been updated to reflect her bouncy and outgoing personality.
[h2]Special Scenes[/h2]
For key moments in the story, we wanted to leave a stronger impression on players by making specialized art for those specific moments. These assets take the longest to create, but if you ask us, they're worth the effort!
Final Thoughts
The art journey for Angel Wings has certainly not been an easy one - more than anything, it's been a learning process filled with blood, sweat, and tears (not literally, you won't find any blood or sweat in the graphics for the game). We hope that those who have shown support for our team can continue to do so as we tackle the final stretch of development!
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or comments. We're always happy to provide updates on the game whenever we can.
-RumR