Recent AnnouncementsView All (3)Update 03: Art pipeline insights27 March -Mango ProtocolHere we are again. We wanted to share with you some of the key parts of Agatha Knife's art pipeline.
Let's start by explaining why we are not following the usual steps that any common art department would be. The thing is that Mariona, our art director, comes from the analog world artistically speaking. She's worked with all sorts of paint, crafted many kinds of merchandising, sewn her own designed clothes and even worked as a candy maker. That's why her art style is so analogish. And we considered that this uniqueness needed to be preserved for Agatha Knife as we did with MechaNika. But we also wanted the advantages of digital concept process. So, how to combine both?
This is the pipeline we came up with to be able to keep Mariona's style as much intact as possible in the final digital game:
- Step 1 - Idea: All the art is based on original stories based on the Psychotic Universe that the team comes up with.
- Step 2 - Concepts in paper (Yes, paper!): Mariona creates the concepts by hand, focusing on style, and mood more than in polish level. Things are pretty low-tech. All the concepts are drawn in tracing paper using technical pens. This paper is used to make the traditional animation process easier. Once the background designs are on paper, all the props and characters are added in separate paper sheets respecting scales.
- Step 3 - Scan: Files are scanned so the hand drawn lines prevail.
- Step 4 - Digitalizing the drawings: Once scanned and back in Photoshop, some defects on the lines are corrected and some are left there on purpose to stress the handcrafted effect. Colors are applied.
- Step 5 - Layers and pieces: That's the part where the design department steps in. Depending on the particular backgrounds or character animations, we must decide what can be fused with the background, what should be a standalone asset or if any assets can stick together for optimization reasons.
- Step 6 - Animate!: All the characters are animated frame by frame in traditional style with an intended low frame rate.
- Step 7 - Export and import: Strict naming rules are applied for the PNG sprites. This allows us to take advantage of libGDX packing algorithms and generate optimized atlas that will later be imported into the game and placed in the world coordinates.
- Step X - Fixing problems: Obviously, we hunt and fix every mistake during any of the steps. Sadly, some art has to be redone from scratch. We cry a lot when this happens.
Aaaaaaand, that's how we do it. We know it's not the best pipeline, but we've polished it a lot with practice and it's more optimal than it seems. It also gives our games a unique coat of craftsmanship that's hard to find elsewhere. And after all it's our pipeline and we love it with all its defects =)
Read MoreUpdate 02: Agatha's long journey24 March -Mango ProtocolToday we bring you a blast from the past. We want to share with you some footage we have put together.
Agatha was born on 2007 as part of Mariona's (Mango Protocol's art director) final project for her degree in Fine Arts. She was part of a series of twisted girl designs called Psychotic Girls. It was a merch related project covering from illustrated books, dolls and clothing to badges and lollipops. That was the seed that some years later brought Javi and Mariona into the video games industry.
In 2013 Mariona modified Agatha's design to fit as the most charming of Nika's classmates in MechaNika. The audience loved her and her background story so much that it gave us the idea to give Agatha a game of her own. That's how Agatha Knife (the game) was conceived.
As Agatha Knife turns 10, her own video game is finally a reality. We are really close to completeness and the only thing we need is your support to publish our second, longest and deepest game to date.
Thanks for your support all this time, we hope you liked this walk down memory lane. Enjoy Agatha's evolution.
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DescriptionRelease date:Spring 2017
Experience life through the eyes of seven-year-old Agatha, an insomniac who finds herself conflicted between friendship with the animals in her mother’s butcher shop and her unwavering love for eating meat. Embark on a satirical narrative point-and-click adventure as you go on an unpredictable journey through Agatha Knife’s quirky and hand-crafted world. Aiming to make the animals unafraid of their inevitable fate in the butcher shop where Agatha works, you’ll head into the whimsical Psychotic Universe looking for answers.
Upon her discovery of religion, Agatha quickly realizes it could be used as a valuable tool to win over the animals, quash their fears, and make them unafraid of death. Join Agatha as she undertakes the challenge of creating a new religion of her own, Carnivorism, and works to convince the animals that the sacrifice of their flesh is the secret to eternal happiness.
Taking place in the same world as Mango Protocol’s first title, MechaNika, Agatha Knife is riddled with dark humor, geek references, and challenging puzzles. Utilizing humor and wit to boldly explore controversial issues, players will find themselves immersed in Agatha’s struggles while experiencing the world through the eyes of a naive child.
- Satirically humorous narrative adventure that lures you to the dark corners of everyday life.
- Create your own religion piece by piece.
- Uniquely colorful and hand-crafted art.
- Tackle controversial topics through the eyes of a child.
- Explore a dynamic and vibrant world that unfolds as your adventure progresses.
- Interact with diverse characters and uncover their stories during your quest.
- Original soundtrack created to suit each environment.
- Dive into the whimsical Psychotic Universe, the same world as the Mango Protocol's beloved first game, MechaNika.
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