At Tic Toc Games, we put together our love for SHMUPS and traditionally animated TV shows together to create our multiplayer co-op shooter, B.ARK. The look of the game went through quite an evolution from when we first showed it to today. Here is the story of how our art process and the game’s look got developed.
Friendly Fire
Original Gameplay Demo
The core concept behind B.ARK was to make a SHMUP that was accessible to all age groups while still maintaining the challenge for more hardcore gamers. To achieve that, we wanted to make a game that was very co-op friendly where a stronger player can help carry a more novice player through the game.
We made a 4 player prototype, and our test audiences really enjoyed it! We then had to think about where to take the narrative and look of these characters, and how we were going to bring them to life!
Character Design
High Concept Sketches of Main Characters
Many iterations of the characters were made while thinking about the type of abilities each one has and how that gets reflected in their look. We wanted the cat to be small but aggressive, the dog to be friendly, the bear to be strong and defensive, and the rabbit to be quick.
We settled on looks that best represented their abilities as well as their personalities.
For the final design of the ships, we decided to go with yellow for Lucio the bear to show that he’s strong and fortified, but a lot of round edges to also show he’s still cuddly. Barker the dog, we went with blue as he’s the friendliest, but gave him a few angles, so he’s not just a softy. Felicity the cat retains some sharp features, but also stays compact, and Marv the rabbit is very much a big triangle showing that he’s all about speed.
During this time we also did a few passes on the pilots. Making sure their personalities match their abilities and the backstories that we were giving to them.
Turnaround
Once we finalized our design, it was time to prep it for animation! Animators were provided with turnaround sheets of each character so they have a good idea of what details they need to know about from all angles.
Turnaround sheet for Barker
Expression Sheet
Along with turnarounds for the characters and their mech ships, we also created expression sheets for the 4 main characters and some of the non playable characters. These were useful for several areas including dialogue box portraits, cinematics, and player heads up displays.
Expression sheet for all of Marv’s emotions
Thumbnails
Now it’s time to animate! Animators usually start will small thumbnail drawings to map out the animation sequence that they are going to work on. This helps them prep, but also helps us review and make sure the sequence works for the gameplay in mind.
Thumbnail designs for Lucio’s end of level victory pose
Keyframes and Timing Charts
Once thumbnails are approved, the full scale animations are started with animators drawing keyframes. These are the important poses that define the action and provide enough information to be sent to other animators to inbetween the motions.
Keyframe of Felicity’s victory animation with guidelines and timing charts
To further help the inbetweeners, the keyframe animators will provide timing charts that show how many frames will need to be added between each key, and how to space out those frames to ease in and out of motions.
Inbetweens
After keyframes are completed, they are sent to inbetweeners to fill in the animations between the keyframes. This helps smooth out the animation and bring it to life!
Barker’s idle animation fully inbetweened with shadow lines as well
Final Color
With approvals on inbetweens, all that’s left is cleaning up and coloring, and that’s one animation done! Below you can see the whole sequence coming to life.
The full process of Felicity’s Super Attack from beginning to end
Now you just have to take that and multiply the process with all characters, enemies, and bosses! Whew! Thanks for reading! Hope this provides you with more appreciation for animation and the time it takes to make this beautiful art form!
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Happy Holidays!
Team B.ARK @ Tic Toc Games