Devlog 02: Prototyping!

Introduction

Hi there! Welcome to our 2^nd devlog for Soup Showdown. This week has been a whirlwind—prototyping is officially underway! We’ve been busy drafting the art and sound bibles, and our technical document is now complete.

Art

Our artists have prototyped shaders and decided on using a toon shader to speed up the texturing process. Additionally, a crayon post processing material will be added to give the game a painted look. We’ve also finalized character and environment designs! The game will feature cat and mouse characters with exaggerated features, set in a cozy miniature kitchen with a warm color palette. We're still experimenting with scale, but it's shaping up to be a charming little world!

To speed up rigging and animation, we explored using Mixamo, but getting good results for our stylized characters proved challenging.

Our next step is bringing all our findings together into a concrete block-out. This week, we’ll make sure to rid our project of any remaining questions, before we start production. Of course, we’re also hard at work on the art bible and the game design document!

"A Low-Poly Modular Kitchen Set" (https://skfb.ly/oLJvQ) by Ahmed Hancı is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Programming

Our programmers have prototyped both the mechanics for hitting ingredients and the way ingredients are thrown. Through these prototypes, we found that the game feels most engaging when ingredients enter the playing field from the side rather than from above. The most intuitive and fun way to hit ingredients is by having players toss them into the air and strike at just the right moment when the ingredient is within range of their ladle.

Our next step is to combine these prototypes into a single, cohesive system. By next week, you’ll be able to hit ingredients directly into your soup pot! We also expect to have a prototype for the special ingredient, along with a time limit and scoring system.

Sound

Our sound designer has been working on a mood board and experimenting with background music. We’ve decided on a cartoony and expressive style for the soundtrack. To bring the game to life, he’s also implementing sound effects for every action in the prototypes.

That’s all folks! Thank you so much for reading and see you next time!