Thought I’d share with you some of the progress we’ve been making on background art. Folks backing at the $5+ tier get to see this in game, but why not show everyone?
Backgrounds are being done by Taylor Rose of the Portland Indie Game Squad, the same group our co-author Aenne Schumann comes from. She’s got a different style than our all-digital character artist, which helps characters stand out from the backgrounds.
Here’s the Funplex, for instance. This took a lot of iterations to get the right amount of color and screen glow, to really make the place feel bright and cheerful while still being a relatively dark space (like, y’know, arcades are). The Funplex is a unique scene in that it pans left-and-right across the viewable area, instead of being a single screen.
Next we have your player character’s apartment, shared with Juniper. It’s a warmer and more muted color palette as this is meant to feel homey and a little bit run-down. It’s the cozy place you return to after a day of craziness.
Lastly there’s the overall shot of The City of 20XX, where our story takes place. It’s an urban sprawl, very busy, but we wanted a sense of brightness and optimism to it — where there’s a promise of excitement rather than a doomed megalopolis like in most near-future tales.
We’ve got more artwork on the way in the future — this is just a sampling of what’s in store for you in Arcade Spirits, the kind of look and feel we’re going for. Bright, cheerful, modern, electric, and fun.