High thematic statement

In a period of darkness where Earth is no longer viable, the human race’s only hope lies within the efforts of the Sprout people to recolonize remote planets. Settled in an uncharted planet, players must help a lone Sprout navigate through rough terrains to collect pieces of its crashed ship in hope of returning home. The environments are mysterious and ominous, evoking feelings of curiosity and intrigue. Players will become immersed in the illustrative landscapes as they move through various thematic scenes, courageously guiding Sprouty back home.

Character design

I’ve always had an affinity towards drawing sprouts, and a playful doodle turned into the focus of our full fledged game, albeit after many iterations and animations. Something that was especially difficult when developing our computer game was style consistencies between me and the other designer. In terms of theme, we wanted to cater to a more pictorial and vectorized feel, while also having realistic dimensions.

Initial sketches, animations, filmstrips

I used Photoshop and a drawing tablet to create Sprouty. From posed sketches to preliminary animations, I wanted to create cute and cuddly character that had a glowing and spunky personality.

Final design

After many iterations, Sprouty was rendered in Photoshop with more precise shading and a more diverse color palette. Sprout’s face was also animated to fit its respective animations.

Screens

When creating the title, level, and pop-up screens, I wanted to ensure that their themes matched the character styles and playful vibe, but also that they were intuitive in navigation and presentation.

Final thoughts

As someone who has always been interested in game design, developing a complete computer game in four months was a challenging yet greatly valuable experience. I learned a lot about collaboration and communication within teams, digital art and animation, and how much time and effort it really takes to design and develop a game. There’s a lot that went into each stage of the process – feel free to reach out to hear more.