Tools
INTRODUCTION
The idea for Knightborn2D actually came from another game I’m currently developing called Knightborn. Knightborn2D began as a class project for a simple side-scroller game that would be 2D only, but I became more intrigued with the concept of 2D art mixed with a 3D world and decided to spend extra time developing it. Since the beginning, I solo developed Knightborn2D to gain a better understanding of 2D game design and the creation processes that came with the genre. Developing the game took about 4 months with university classes occurring and being a full-time student, but 2 1/2 of those months were spent learning digital art, Aseprite (sprite & pixel art tool), and 2D game design in Unreal. There are definitely some creative choices I would’ve liked to have done different and as I go through my process for developing the game, these changes will be made clear. The 3 tools I used was Unreal Engine (4.27) for the game engine, Photoshop for concept art/level art/HUD/icons, and Aseprite for character creation & animations.
It all began with creating an idea for a game, I knew I wanted to make a 2D side-scroller and developed 3 main pitches with concept art and color palettes for each in Photoshop. This process, for each game idea, took about 3 days of brainstorming and 5 hours to complete the concept art:
A slime creature that’s struggling to survive on a desolate, unforgiving world. (I scrapped this idea because it felt too generic.)
You are a castaway who wakes up, washed ashore on an unfamiliar land. (My second idea that was scrapped, but it was deeply considered - I just couldn’t figure out a compelling story for it.)
You are a commoner who was imbued with magical powers and are “reborn” as a knight tasked with destroying the evil that’s tainted the land. (This premise was one I had made and currently using for Knightborn. It was also generic and took inspiration from many ARPGs, but I felt that I could create a compelling game using it for this project.)
The next step I took was creating art for the characters, animations, backgrounds, and UI…