Song of the Firefly

[Hoeloe]

Hey there! I know I haven't been around for a while, but here I am, and with something new. This is my first foray into professional game development, and I hope everyone else can be as excited about the project as I am.

We're hoping to release the game on Steam, and have started on Greenlight concepts, from which we'll work our way up.

So, let's see a little about the project:

The apocalypse has left the world barren and broken. Most of humanity has succumbed to the toxic fumes throughout the atmosphere, and the sky is shrouded in dark mist. Samuel and Sarah are two survivors, struggling to stay alive in an unforgiving world. Their survival relies on Sarah's ingenious gadgets, but when she goes missing, Sam begins a journey in order to rescue her and discover the truth about the past, armed only with a lantern that Sarah left behind, and the advice of the scientist Doctor Williams.

Song of the Firefly is an exploration platformer. Explore the streets of post-apocalypse England as Sam, making use of gadgets left by Sarah and her firefly lantern to find your way around the world. With the lantern, you can make use of both light and dark to explore the world and use your gadgets in different ways. But be warned, total darkness will press in around you, and you may find yourself assaulted by shadows, which shun the light.


So you've got a summary of what it's about, now have a couple of pieces of concept art!

And finally, a couple of useful links!

First off, here's our website!

Secondly, we have a Kickstarter campaign, and we really need your help to fund us!

Thirdly, there's a Facebook page you can find the project on.

And finally, the Steam Greenlight page:

Please have a look at some of these links! There's more art and more information on them, as well as bigger versions of the art I've posted. If you're interested, then help us make this game a reality by supporting the project!

[puggsoy]

This looks quite interesting. The story is actually quite intriguing and if the gameplay is put together equally well then I think this could be very promising.

Will follow on Greenlight!

[Hoeloe]

So, since London MCM Expo is at the end of this month, some of our team will be going along (myself included) to promote the game. If anyone is going, keep an eye out for us! We're almost ready to put out the Kickstarter, too. We've been making sure we have some great stuff to show before we do, so keep an eye out for that, too!

[Hoeloe]

Our Kickstarter has finally started! We really need the funding to get this project made. We've also started a campaign on Steam Greenlight main, so help there would be much appreciated, too!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arp...he-firefly
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/fi...=329184556

[Kosheh]

This looks really, really great - the game looks straight-up gorgeous, and I'll do what I can to follow this game on Greenlight, but if you don't mind a little criticism in the lead artist's direction - what's with the protagonists' heads?

It's not entirely clear how old Sam and Sarah characters are - while they have the Sugimori-esque anatomy of teenagers, they have the faces of 3-year-olds. It's primarily due to the fact that they have round faces on their well-toned, post-pubescent anatomy.
I mean, for one thing I can see that they're very clearly inspired by another game (the Earthbound series) and I get the feeling that they should be many, many heads shorter. However, looking at their overall concept art in ingame models - they seem perfect, and well-detailed.

Like, I get it - but it's a really, really weird artistic direction. For more of a direct comparison, it's like putting Toon Link's head on Skyward Sword Link's body and expecting it to work.
It's not a tough fix, though and would actually be a minor rigging fix for the modeler.
Like, if you look at the doctor, he seems somewhat age appropriate albeit a little young. Sam and Sarah's eyes, nose, mouth are fine - actually, they're perfect. Just...try a different shape for their head (like, give them slightly more pronounced bones in their chins and cheeks). If you're set against going an "anime" style character design, that's fine - and changing the cheekbones shouldn't affect that.


I know it's really nitpicky, but like the two clash so much I couldn't stay mum on it ):

The Masked Man looks awesome btw and I hope he's got a thick role in the plot

[Hoeloe]

The style was intended to make the characters look cute and innocent. There's been a lot of thought into how their designs work, and not just in the faces. Every detail of their designs has been done for a reason. Their rounded faces are entirely intentional, as it conveys thematic concepts. As for age, they can be anywhere from around 14 to 18, it's not actually specified (and they themselves don't know exactly). I do kind of see what you're saying, but I'm not sure I agree. We're not particularly going for a pre-defined style, but rather building one up with the themes of the game in mind.

Thanks for the comments, though!