The art direction is an evolving vision. As we continued to refine the core mechanics, the visuals naturally evolved to better represent the spirit of mindful strategy and Orcish charm. With each milestone, the art becomes a closer reflection of the game’s essence. Let’s start with the improvements we’ve made to the game’s overall visual identity!
Visual Identity
Even though we liked the direction we were going, we felt the art style was missing a bit of punch. That’s why we started tweaking assets, textures, and characters until we found a look that really fit the spirit of the game. The result? Brighter colors, thicker lines, and a style that feels more lively, a little rough around the edges, and unmistakably Don’t Kill Them All.
Heavy black strokes in line art.
Brighter, bolder colors.
Sharper contrast on screen.
Rough, gritty textures in assets.
Unique brushes and textures across every element.
Characters
After the Kickstarter, our Orcs treated themselves to a little makeover. To align with the game’s evolving art style, they now appear bolder, squarer, and stockier. Orcs are beings of mass destruction, after all!
We’ve been refining the balance between the Orcs' violent yet endearing personalities and their enemies that should look cute yet hostile. The visual contrast between an armored Orc wielding an axe and a deceptively adorable mushroom highlights this direction. It also reinforces the core premise of the game: you probably shouldn’t kill the cute mushrooms… but the Orcs just can’t help themselves.
For enemies, we’re leaning more and more into a cute-but-creepy style, drawing inspiration from animals, nature and fantastical creatures rather than humanoid designs. Here’s some research for the enemies of our first environment, Fablewood Thickets.
UI
Our UI style is still taking shape, but we’ve got a clear idea of where it’s headed. Our goal is to keep it clean and highly readable, while staying true to the game’s identity through bold textures, chunky icons, and handcrafted illustrations that carry a playful spirit.
We’ve also been sketching some iconography, as it’s a great way to visually enrich the world with symbols inspired by Orc clan culture and backstory. Who are the Orcs, and what symbols define them? As you’ll see here, boars have been a big source of inspiration!
Overall, our work on the UI is far from finished, and it will be greatly shaped by feedback from everyone who joins the Beta.
Environments
Even though the game is tile-based, we’re focusing on making the environments feel organic and alive, preserving the charm of a hand-designed world. Every location, from the Orc camp to the faraway biomes, is crafted to carry its own identity and atmosphere, giving you a world that feels worth exploring.
The Orc camp
The Orc camp is meant to feel a little desolate at first, reflecting that the clan is no longer in its glory days. But in our first iteration, it felt too desolate. Since the camp is your base, the place you’ll return to again and again, it should still feel cozy. A safe haven from the chaos of the raids. To create this atmosphere, we leaned into warmer colors, sprinkled in stylized desert plants, and made sure the Orc spirit was alive in the materials: rough bones, heavy rocks, knotted ropes, and weathered wood.
The other biomes,
A big part of DKTA takes place outside the camp, where you’ll raid for resources and discover new environments. The raids will be mostly procedurally generated with the addition of special handcrafted rooms.
We can’t show much yet, as we’re still crafting the building blocks of the world. Each environment is designed with its own twist and distinctive visual identity. Take Fablewood Thickets for example: an intriguing lush forest with an eerie yet quirky vibe inspired by dark fairytales. Its palette blends deep teals and purples with glowing orange accents, while its landscape is filled with organic, twisting, and spiralling shapes that bring the forest to life (quite literally).
But we’re having a blast creating these little worlds, and we can’t wait for you to explore them too!
Quick note here: these are concept artworks, not in-game assets. They’re here to spark inspiration, and the final game might look a little different!
Animation
Orcs don’t waste time thinking, they just act! That’s exactly what we wanted in our animations. So instead of just smooth interpolation, we push a pose-to-pose style, adding hand-drawn poses whenever they are needed.
Our next steps
There’s still lots to do before the art direction is complete (is it ever truly finished?), but we finally feel like the foundation is solid and unique enough to build on with confidence.
Our next big step will be tackling new key art and an improved logo to better showcase the updated game design and new visual direction. And that’s it for this week! By now, you should be up to date with the core concepts of Don’t Kill Them All. We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please like or comment on this Journal. From here on, Journals will be monthly, covering the latest improvements to the game along with exclusive Fika news. There’s still plenty left to share!
Remember: Don’t Kill Them All!