The game makes use of three visual styles: pop-in character busts for dialogue and interaction sections, using caricature depictions of the characters; semi-realistic stylised character models for general gameplay, striking a balance between realism and economy; and simpler, less realistic background art, allowing the characters and foreground to take visual precedence while providing an artistic ambience to scenes. Our visual design is inspired by the art style of 'The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker' (Nintendo, 2002), 'Ōkami' (Clover Studio, 2006), and 'Aragami' (Lince Works, 2016) using cel-shading similar to Wind Waker and painted-style black outlines inspired by Ōkami and Aragami, lowering the production costs for graphical assets compared to more realistic art styles.
Multiple art styles have been considered, and to expand on this it is important to look at how a balance of graphical economy and the visual appeal is achieved in other games of this genre. Possibilities that interest us include 2D-in-3D, in which characters and items are represented as flat sprites moving around in a 3D environment; 3D-in-2D, in which characters and items are represented as 3D models imposed upon a painted or pre-rendered 2D background; and full 3D, which can be achieved economically and with pleasing effect by using stylised low-fidelity 3D models and 3D environment with an aesthetic reminiscent of 1990s console games.
In the case of The Cure, the approach taken is full 3D as this allows for a dynamic and traversable environment without fixed or restricted camera views and characters that can potentially move in arbitrary rather than predefined directions, restrictions of the controller notwithstanding. In addition to this consideration, it is important to define the aesthetics and visual atmosphere such that the artistic design of the game agrees with the narrative direction. In terms of textures and colour scheme, we have elected to use a bright and clean colour palette to achieve a sufficiently friendly look; the lighting and hue-saturation will vary according to location and current gameplay status, with brighter and warmer lighting in more familiar places and when doing well, and dimmer and colder lighting in more remote places and when doing poorly. This will be linked with the Goodwill mechanic, and the intention is to provide a sense of the player’s progression through the game without giving them an explicit performance gauge.
A decision made early in the conceptual stage of design, intended to set this game apart from others in its genre, was to produce a fully diegetic soundtrack for the game, with the bustle of townsfolk going about their business offering an acoustic backdrop in the cities and towns of the land, the ambient sounds of nature in wilder areas giving the player a sense of tranquillity or isolation depending on situation, and the music of birdsong and travelling performers adding atmosphere and reality throughout the experience. A limited amount of incidental music may be included at key moments to supplement the natural soundtrack, but we are avoiding the full symphonic approach that is often taken with fantasy RPGs to create a more grounded and personal experience.
Multiple art styles have been considered, and to expand on this it is important to look at how a balance of graphical economy and the visual appeal is achieved in other games of this genre. Possibilities that interest us include 2D-in-3D, in which characters and items are represented as flat sprites moving around in a 3D environment; 3D-in-2D, in which characters and items are represented as 3D models imposed upon a painted or pre-rendered 2D background; and full 3D, which can be achieved economically and with pleasing effect by using stylised low-fidelity 3D models and 3D environment with an aesthetic reminiscent of 1990s console games.
In the case of The Cure, the approach taken is full 3D as this allows for a dynamic and traversable environment without fixed or restricted camera views and characters that can potentially move in arbitrary rather than predefined directions, restrictions of the controller notwithstanding. In addition to this consideration, it is important to define the aesthetics and visual atmosphere such that the artistic design of the game agrees with the narrative direction. In terms of textures and colour scheme, we have elected to use a bright and clean colour palette to achieve a sufficiently friendly look; the lighting and hue-saturation will vary according to location and current gameplay status, with brighter and warmer lighting in more familiar places and when doing well, and dimmer and colder lighting in more remote places and when doing poorly. This will be linked with the Goodwill mechanic, and the intention is to provide a sense of the player’s progression through the game without giving them an explicit performance gauge.
A decision made early in the conceptual stage of design, intended to set this game apart from others in its genre, was to produce a fully diegetic soundtrack for the game, with the bustle of townsfolk going about their business offering an acoustic backdrop in the cities and towns of the land, the ambient sounds of nature in wilder areas giving the player a sense of tranquillity or isolation depending on situation, and the music of birdsong and travelling performers adding atmosphere and reality throughout the experience. A limited amount of incidental music may be included at key moments to supplement the natural soundtrack, but we are avoiding the full symphonic approach that is often taken with fantasy RPGs to create a more grounded and personal experience.