Greetings, Chefs!
Today I have a story about Arctic Eggs’ conception. In this devlog we’re going to talk about its inspirations and show how the game and its vision changed during the beginning of its development. Without further ado, let’s start with the center element of the game and your most trusty companion – the pan!
This is its very first version, from a game called “Fast Food For Antarctica” that was never finished, but gave the initial idea – cooking. It was set in a fast food kitchen and supposed to feature tons of cooking activities, but frying was so fun, I decided to make it the core of the game.
I really didn't believe I could make a game purely centered around the frying pan so I shelved the idea. Almost a year later however I had recently played “Tales From Off-Peak City” – an indie game that centered around just walking, talking and cooking. I fell in love with that game immediately and realized my frying pan could slip into that same gameplay loop beautifully.
Here you can see an early test of this gameplay loop – talking to a character and starting a meal.
One of the most captivating things about Tales from Off-Peak City is exploring the world of the game, meeting interesting characters in various situations. I wanted to capture it as well, and tried different premises. Initially the game took place in an airport and the goal was to raise enough money to buy a ticket to Antarctica (you can already see some similarities). And at one point there was a segment when you get on the rooftop to have a short bliss of serenity to contrast with all the hustle and bustle of the crowded airport.
I liked this moment so much I just scrapped the airport idea entirely and decided to make it centered around this calm atmosphere and, naturally, take place on the city rooftops.
And here is an early design of the rooftops. There was an idea that there was a party taking place here, and you should go around in three interconnected buildings to feed all the hungry guests.
When bringing CDbunker on the team to help with the modeling, he misunderstood and thought the game was taking place IN Antarctica. I liked this new idea so much that I just never bothered to correct him.
Because of this I initially gave the rooftops a dark blue color and cold atmosphere. And for me it just felt too basic and obvious to have this bluish tone for a game happening in Antarctica.
But then CDbunker showed me this photo of a city covered in this bright-pink hue. I decided to pick this atmosphere instead. It’s far more interesting and somewhat less hostile.
And the rooftops acquired this warm glow - moody and mysterious, yet welcoming.
As you might know, Arctic Eggs as a defined game began its story in the Big Mode Game Jam. And, surprisingly enough, the game’s intro was made the last.
The intro must set the tone for the sci-fi world the game inhabits and I spent a very long time trying to come up with something fitting, but nothing really worked. Then Cameron Ginex, the composer for the game, showed me his track called “Blizzard” – an incredibly ominous, slow and almost somber song. It reminded me of a sketch I did back in college, those sad little chickens in cages, and decided to put it in the game. As the game was centered around eggs, it fits the atmosphere well.
I liked this image so much I put these chickens everywhere, practically in every corner. To me this implied that chickens were outlawed at some point, to justify them being imprisoned and heavily guarded in game. And thus we had the intro that doubles as a main menu - caged chickens with “Blizzard” playing in the background.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2763670/Arctic_Eggs/
And that’s all for today! I hope you find this story interesting. There is some more “behind the scenes” stuff and maybe we’ll talk about it in future devlogs. In the meantime…
If the chilly Arctic and Mount Everest interest you, how about another extreme trip? It sure is cool to fry eggs on the highest mountain, but how about working there?
Did you know you can’t breathe with air so thin?
Did you know that the only way to survive there is to break glass with your teeth?
Did you know that by coping with this you are saving your country?
Do you know what’s in this train?
Sacrifice your health to learn the unsettling truth, go beyond the THRESHOLD.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2580020/THRESHOLD/
Wish joyful cooking to everyone in the Arctic Circle!
