Hand Drawn Terrain

Due to the high number of levels and the amount of tuning needed for each level to get the gameplay right we decided to opt for a automated level-terrain system that did not need to be hand drawn in order to save development time and allow us to effortlessly add more levels. We also needed the terrain to stand out so that player could clearly see where the Kami’s can run but still keeping the terrain in a style that would match the hand drawn art over a large number of levels.

Toon Shading Filter

So we opted for a solution where we use a paint program to draw a simple 2D mask where we want the terrain as shown to the right. The game then automatically creates shapes from this mask, adding edges and cracks to give a 3D effect, but still retaining a 2D feel that is essential for gameplay using filters and shaders. Lighting is added to achieve stylized highlights and shadows and it is then ‘toon shaded’ which is where it only uses a small number of colours to give the appearance that it has been hand painted. The level designer can then add objects into the levels such as the level start and end points, traps and switches, as well as hand drawn graphics such as grass, bushes and trees.

The end result is a mixture of great looking terrain with lighting and shadows and hand drawn cartoon artwork that fit together seamlessly to give the game a large number of varied levels. Below is the background baked out before the details and level elements are added.

Background Baked

Tags: art, Development