(Pico-san is a professional game developer, designer + sprite artist from Japan. His work includes Shinobi Non Grata, The Scramble Vice, Grand Exile, and Ruin Runners)
Hello. I'm picopico256.
This time, I'd like to write about how I was involved as a graphic helper for the indie game "PIZZA KIDD" currently in development, what resources I created, and the importance of concept art and early design of game visuals. I hope this will be of help to individuals or small-scale developers.
I don't remember exactly when it was, but shortly after I started using social media, I wanted to make friends with creators from all over the world. However, I was such a socially awkward person that I even enjoyed playing FF11 solo. It wasn't easy to make friends, so I just steadily uploaded pixel art to X. Then, one indie game caught my eye. At first, I thought, "What is this... PIZZA KIDD? Is it a game about delivering pizza?" But it was actually a pretty hard-hitting fighting game... an action game in the Beat'em up genre.
I was intrigued by the game's style, in which a short boy reminiscent of early Dragon Ball mows down enemies with dynamic animation, as well as the main character's flashy poses, so I decided to try drawing some fan art.
Then, Collin, the developer, contacted me, and before I knew it, we were in contact on Discord, discussing game design, art, music, and more. He became my first online friend.
After chatting for a while, we started talking about the games we were both developing. Collin was having a hard time as this was his first game, and for someone with a background as an art director, he seemed particularly dissatisfied with the graphics.
I should point out here that even at this point, the visual quality of PIZZA KIDD was by no means low, there was plenty of animation, and I had the impression that it was a solid, down-to-earth, fighting action game, even though it was rough around the edges. However, as I listened to the story, the initial design was not good, and even from the outside, it was a specification that made me think, "This is going to be difficult to produce..."
To read more on Pico's involvement with Pizza Kidd, be sure to check out the full article here >
https://note.com/picopico68000/n/n60ea347a3de3
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🍕 Back the Kickstarter now —and wishlist Pizza Kidd on Steam Today! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pizzakidd/pizza-kidd-2d-pixel-punchfest-with-monsters-and-mayhem
Backing the project helps us push Pizza Kidd further with even more content, polish, and future playable characters—and we’ve jam packed the Kickstarter with some fun, meaningful rewards for "game fans" and supporters who want to be part of the PK journey!
— Play the Demo / Wishlist Pizza Kidd on Steam:
Join our Discord 🎮 to stay updated and see more artwork: https://discord.gg/AaZ6xFDmvX
Thank you for the support, the feedback, and helping build the hype! We seriously couldn’t do this without you all. Let’s keep this momentum cooking as we head into the next phase of the Kickstarter. The dough is rising, and it’s all because of you.
— The PK Team :pizza: