Aesthetic Driven Development: Choosing Your Art Before Making a Game

Summary

In this video, Vladimir from Cold Wild Games shares his unique approach to game development, where they prioritize aesthetics and art before gameplay. By experimenting with art first and using social media to gauge audience interest, they were able to refine their game’s visual style and gain early traction. Through this process, they successfully developed a game that resonated with their audience, eventually leading to significant sales and attention. Vladimir also offers insights on refining the process, handling constraints, and the importance of validation before committing fully to a project.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus on art first: Cold Wild Games prioritized aesthetic visuals over gameplay early in their development process, which helped them attract an audience.
• 😀 Social media validation: Using Twitter, they gauged audience interest by sharing art and iterated based on feedback, leading to a better response.
• 😀 Starting simple: The team chose a straightforward approach to art and gameplay, starting with basic building designs to keep things manageable.
• 😀 Iterative process: They experimented with different art styles and refined their choices based on both visual appeal and ease of implementation.
• 😀 Marketing through Steam: By setting up a Steam page early and gaining wishlists, they created organic marketing and a growing community for the game.
• 😀 Community engagement: The game’s success relied on consistent community engagement and feedback, which helped ensure they were meeting audience expectations.
• 😀 Focus on limitations: They embraced limitations, such as restricting the number of visible buildings on-screen, to keep gameplay simple yet engaging.
• 😀 Learning from mistakes: They reflected on the balance between art style and gameplay complexity, learning from previous projects to avoid overcomplicating things in future work.
• 😀 Future plans: They aim to experiment longer with visual styles and maintain a more defined approach to art constraints in future projects.
• 😀 Kickstarter consideration: In hindsight, they would consider using Kickstarter after validating their project to fund further development and grow their community.

Q & A

What is the core concept of aesthetic-driven development discussed in the video?

Aesthetic-driven development involves focusing on creating attractive art first before developing the gameplay. The goal is to gauge the audience's response to the art and build a game around it that appeals to both the developers and the audience.

Why did the studio decide to focus on aesthetics first instead of gameplay?

The decision was driven by previous experiences where the gameplay came first, but the results were not as successful. By focusing on aesthetics first, the studio hoped to attract an audience and build a game that was both visually appealing and aligned with audience expectations.

How did the team measure whether their art would work for the game?

The team used four key criteria: both the developers needed to like the art, the audience's response on social media (likes, retweets, comments), the feasibility of creating the art with their resources, and the compatibility of the art with the game genre and design.

What was the importance of Twitter feedback in the development process?

Twitter feedback played a crucial role in gauging public interest and validating the art direction. Positive responses helped the team decide if they should continue developing the game in that aesthetic style, while low engagement would indicate a need for adjustments.

What were some of the challenges the team faced when creating the game art?

Challenges included the technical difficulty of certain art styles, like isometric pixel art, the time and effort required to produce detailed assets, and the need to balance the art's visual appeal with gameplay constraints and genre expectations.

How did the team approach the idea of combining game art and gameplay?

The team recognized that the art style affected gameplay decisions. For example, complex buildings and multiple assets on screen could lead to usability issues, so they had to set constraints on the number of elements displayed at once, which influenced the game's mechanics and design.

What role did constraints play in the development process?

Constraints were vital for keeping the project focused and manageable. Limiting the number of buildings or islands on the screen helped the team refine gameplay mechanics and avoid overly complex systems that would hinder user experience.

What was the significance of creating a Steam page early in the process?

Creating a Steam page early allowed the team to gather wishlists and build an audience before the game's official launch. By updating the Steam page and posting progress on social media, the team kept their audience engaged and attracted more attention to the game.

How did the studio manage marketing and publicity for the game?

The studio relied primarily on organic marketing through social media, particularly Twitter, and engaging with communities like Screenshot Saturday. They also updated trailers and posted progress regularly to maintain interest, without relying heavily on paid advertising.

What lessons did the team learn from their aesthetic-driven development process?

One key lesson was the importance of finding an aesthetic that resonates with both the developers and the audience. They also learned that constraints could foster creativity and help maintain focus. Additionally, gathering feedback early on helped guide the project and ensured they were working on something that both they and the audience would enjoy.