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[robbarnsley]

So, as the title suggests, the game we're currently developing is a film noir inspired heist game. It will be a 2.5D side-scrolling game where you will be required to use a mixture of playing styles including concealment, sneaking and distraction to solve puzzles against a 1930s inter-war backdrop. The visuals of the game are strongly architectural, and will be complemented by original narrative and dialogue.

Some Context

"The year is somewhere between 1920 and 1930. A multitude of greys splash resolutely against a European skyline. Down below, the streetlights cast long burdened shadows, illuminating a fuzz that rises from the floor with particular weariness. Vertically cut through, the surrounding architecture describes a historical, inter-war urban environment, inseparably woven with modernist prosperity and a wealth you aim to steal."

As the player, you will live the story from the perspectives of multiple characters. Sometimes you will control only a single character. Other times, it may be necessary to control many through a unique time-physics mechanic that will require you to cooperate with yourself to achieve the objectives.

To succeed, you will need to fully understand the flow of the environment and use it to negotiate the various situations that arise. A sandbox will allow you to explore possible solutions and iterate around a chosen strategy until the desired outcome is achieved.

Relevant Links

Relevant links for the project are:

http://calvinonoir.com
https://twitter.com/dan_games
https://www.facebook.com/calvinonoir

[robbarnsley]

Dev update #1

So, in this first post I will present some our concept artwork, and how it's beginning to look in-game.

Our game is very heavily dependent on lighting. Lighting will play a critical role not only in defining the aesthetics of the game as distinctly noir, but also in driving gameplay. I described how these two objectives were somewhat in opposition to each other in a recent blog post (http://calvinonoir.com/blog/?p=85), and how a balance would need to be struck between the two so that exploration of the environment was encouraged whilst retaining the archetypal film noir visual style.

Along with the post, I presented a piece of concept art illustrating our protagonist looking a bit shifty underneath an art deco rooftop pergola. We've now built this environment in-game, and would like to present the two for contrast:



Comments and critique are always welcome..

[Playaction]

Wow! Really nice mood. Looking forward to seeing more of this!

[Whiteclaws]

the atmosphere is amazing, one complain would be the rain, it looks too much 2D, ruins the mood and doesn't look that good

[AegarPyke]

As the others said, the atmosphere is fantastic. Personally, I think the rain is great as well.

[Kamikaze]

That render looks incredible! Want to see more of this!

[robbarnsley]

one complain would be the rain, it looks too much 2D, ruins the mood and doesn't look that good

Not to worry, I have misled you somewhat! The rain effect in the top image has been superimposed on the render, it won't look like that in-game..

[robbarnsley]

That render looks incredible! Want to see more of this!

More to come very soon. Thanks for the support!

[Democritus]

The style is really nice. Good luck getting it into the game well.

What platforms are you targeting?

[robbarnsley]

The style is really nice. Good luck getting it into the game well.

What platforms are you targeting?

PC & mac in the first instance, but mobile isn't out of the question.

[oodavid]

Following 

[Andy Rhetoric]

Gorgeous concept art, excellent render. Looking forward to how this pans out!

[DevWithoutACrew]

This game looks very intresting, I'll keep an eye out for it!

[Derity]

Looking good. The first scene reminds me of Deadlight

(http://www.idiotbox.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Deadlight-%E2%80%93-Xbox-360-Review-03.jpg)

[kraed]

Ace work, very intrigued. The work looks very pro, the perspective and feel is definitely working.

Left you a pm with some questions about the modelling and some extra stuff!

Best of luck with this project, will keep an eye on it.

[Kamikaze]

The style is really nice. Good luck getting it into the game well.

What platforms are you targeting?

PC & mac in the first instance, but mobile isn't out of the question.

Are you letting potential Linux users without this? Now linux is growing faster in terms of games, just look at Steam.

[robbarnsley]

Are you letting potential Linux users without this? Now linux is growing faster in terms of games, just look at Steam.

Yes, unfortunately. As a predominantly linux user myself I can understand the frustration, but quite simply we are a small studio and we're targeting the two platforms that we know we can efficiently produce something for with the timescales we're working with.

[jctwood]

Very beautiful!

[kingdinosaurgames]

That aesthetic, oh man it's beautiful

[robbarnsley]

So, this past week we've moved some of our focus from artwork to gameplay.

With Calvino Noir, we don’t want to coerce you into adopting a particular strategy. Each puzzle will have numerous solutions, some of which will be individual to the player, but we do want to encourage the utilisation of careful and considered strategies centred around sneaking and distraction. Trying to turn the game into a side-scrolling shoot ‘em up is not a viable strategy and will be strongly discouraged. As such, sneaking is a fundamental skill that will need to be mastered to permit the most efficient transition between the various spaces. This is not to say that using the side arm is prohibited, but it will be up to the player to ensure that it is the most appropriate action given the circumstances. It may become a necessity for those times when the player finds themselves in a bit of a pickle, but overuse will lead to the level becoming increasingly more difficult; there will be more guards, and they will be more alert.

I attach an example case.



Here i’m walking quietly with side arm lowered and flashlight on. I’m exploring. I can see the beam of a second flashlight descending from the staircase to the upper right. Now, at this point I have a few options: engage, flee or...



...stop, make myself more inconspicuous and observe. If the guard decides to pass along the upper staircase, then all is well and I will proceed. However, if he descends, I will need to reconsider my strategy.



This time he chooses the lower staircase and is raised to an alert state as I run around the corner to take cover behind the doorway. I decide once again to wait and observe. I certainly don’t want to make any rash moves now the guard is alerted.



The guard approaches further. I draw my side arm in anticipation, but fortunately he stops short of the doorway. A few seconds pass.



As he turns away, I quietly follow him along the lower staircase as he retraces his steps back to his original position.



And I am free to move along the lower staircase to safety. I have manoeuvred myself to my objective using only restraint and patience.

Now, this is a very simple example. Not all interactions with the guards will be this simple. By heavily penalising a "gung-ho" strategy, are we going to slow the pace of the game too much?