NOTE: At the time of writing, Chivalry is Not Dead has finished production and is now undergoing beta testing. Visit the official website on Saturday, October 13 for its grand unveiling!
Conventional wisdom often states that you can't judge a book by its cover, implying that the ideas and themes behind a work of art are far more deserving of one's attention than its surface elements. While I do agree with this sentiment to a great extent, this isn't to say that such surface elements are unworthy of attention altogether; on the contrary, putting a decent amount of thought into a game's aesthetic style can go a long way in actually enhancing the ideas present within. This article, therefore, will delve into the art direction and interface design of Chivalry is Not Dead.
In the same vein, I also did not wish to go the pixellated retro 320x200 route, as seems to be popular with many Underground adventure games in recent times. This is due to the fact that, ultimately, Chivalry is not a game about nostalgia; while its roots and inspiration may derive from classic adventures, it isn't meant to emulate classic adventures. My goal is to demonstrate that I am attempting to create something new and forward-thinking, and I, personally, feel that if I were to use low-resolution graphics with a such a distinctively retro aesthetic, I would not be sending that message across.
Looking at the screenshots, you may notice that I have gone for a very minimalistic look in comparison to many adventure games, with sparse backgrounds and few objects to interact with. This, too, is very deliberate, as Chivalry is primarily about people rather than things; most of the gameplay, after all, is dialogue-based rather than inventory-based. Character sprites, on the other hand, are a bit more detailed, but still very iconic and cartoonish, and are animated very simply rather than realistically. I have done this first and foremost as a matter of personal taste and talent, but also because cartoon characters, by nature, are far more adept than realistic ones at conveying symbolism, favouring my artistic tendency towards abstract ideas as opposed to concrete representations.
The end result of all this, in my opinion, is a product that looks and feels very smooth and polished, while at the same time possessing a stylistic flair that gives the game an unmistakable personal touch echoing the independently-developed nature of its content. Next time around, I'll be posting the final article in this series, which will entail taking this finished product I've created and finally unveiling it, first to a small group of testers, then to the world at large.