guildlings

[guildlings]

Oh our stars!

#guildlings

[guildlings]

Meet Our Creative Director: Jamie Antonisse

There are many more adventures in store for the Guildlings, so today we’re sitting down with Sirvo Studios’ co-founder and our game’s Creative Director, Jamie Antonisse!

Prior to Guildlings, Jamie was best known for indie games including The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom. As a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Interactive Media MFA program, he’s our resident expert on all things related to characters, story, and setting!

So how did Guildlings start?

Guildlings began as Sirvo co-founder Asher Vollmer’s brainchild, way back in 2012. He had this idea for a game about being a “Guildmaster,” and sending adventuring heroes across the world on quests. He asked me to help him with a paper prototype. We developed it over the course of a couple days, tested it, enjoyed it, and promptly put it in a drawer for three years.

Then in 2015, Asher pitched me on an adjusted version of the game: what if, instead of a scribe sending barbarians and wizards across a stock fantasy realm, the game was about teenagers setting out on a magical road trip? That felt really exciting to me. It took me back to my own journeys across the continental US, including the one that took me from DC to California. I cooked up an atlas of destinations pinned on a mystic-modern continent.

That’s when we both realized we had to make this game, and we’d need a team to do it justice. We joined forces with Ryan Sullivan, Asher reached out to some talented artists he’d admired from Twitter (including Ellen, Kyle Youngblom, and Mac Schubert).

With a unique modern fantasy setting like this, did you look at other games or stories for inspiration?

The original draft was very much an attempt to find little nuggets of magical realism hidden in a map of the USA. I definitely had snippets of Italo Calvino and Borges in my head while I was working.

But Worldaria really came into focus when I looked back on the result and started thinking about it less as an Invisible City and more as a 21st century Oz. Oz is such a great creation; it takes the enormous upheaval and complexity of 1900’s America and runs it through this evocative fantasy filter. It makes its fantasy elements approachable, vulnerable, human.

I wanted Worldaria to do that for our modern world. I wanted to take social networks, coffee chains, skate videos, and office parks and make them magical. Conversely, I really wanted to bring elves and goblins down to earth. I wanted to see an elf driving a Honda Civic on a learner’s permit.

There were other references that became important to the game, of course: Steven Universe, The Adventure Zone, even parts of Homestuck. But those came later, once our team had established the characters.

When character designer Ellen Alsop came aboard, did you already have a fairly solid idea of the characters?

Nope! When Ellen first came aboard, the game was quite different. In fact, your entire team of friends could be randomly generated from different classes and personality traits. It was only after a month or two of experimentation that we ditched the procedural and decided to focus on a specific story, a specific set of friends. I wrote up some names and outlines for Ellen to work from, and she came back with some specific requests, including Myers-Briggs personality types, to round the kids out. Only two of these characters came out looking anything like I’d imagined. The rest were totally different, and far more interesting, than the sketches I had bouncing around in my head.

The team dynamic developed a lot over time as well. I really credit the writers rooms we did for that. These were two-day focused brainstorms where we really broke down the characters’ wants, needs, strengths and weaknesses, and made sure that everyone had a solid arc. In addition to our eventual staff writers Adam Hann-Byrd and Danyel Copeland, we brought in some talented folks for those rooms. Child psychologists, YA writers, social media strategists, all sorts of perspectives contributed to the makeup of our guild. 

The game features a lot of group chats and texting, so bringing in social media people was to learn how to do that most effectively. What sort of insights did they share?

I think my biggest takeaway from those sessions was to be authentic, to create from a place of excitement and irreverence instead of filling the script with Tolkien-y versions of the latest memes. This was a delicate balance with one character in particular, I’m guessing you can imagine who. 

Another thing people often notice about the game is that it uses lots of emoji.

If you’re looking at emoji as a gimmick, you will invariably use it wrong. If you look at it as a replacement for a single word ("let’s have 🦃 for dinner”) you’re just playing charades. Emoji work really well as shorthand, especially for emotional ideas. Some of those meanings are specific to certain people. I guess if there is a secret, it’s that I’m genuinely interested in emoji. If you’re not genuinely interested in them, you probably shouldn’t use them in your game!

Who was hardest to pin down, as a character?

Probably Palance, because I found him so personally relatable. He was sort of my stand-in for a while, but no one wants the lead writer lurking in their chat. Eventually, through some conversation with other writers, I realized that Palance needed to provide a stronger, more specific lense on this world. Gwynn viewed things through rules and structures, Syb through sarcasm and logic, Chazazz through stream-of-conscious key clack. I went back over Palance and started to understand him as a visual and emotional thinker. So I figured he could rely on more of a language of emoji to express himself. 

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in games?

If you want to learn the craft of development, study the game genres you love. If you want to contribute to the future of the medium, look around and between genres, seek out the games that don’t exist yet. The range of expression in this medium is already huge, but we’ve still just seen a fraction of what’s possible. Examine those empty spaces. You might find the perfect spot for your career.

That’s somewhat selfish advice, because it’s really what I want to see out of the next generation of games: more surprising successes and more interesting failures.

What’s one thing players can look forward to in the next installment of Guildlings?

The next story update will be a kind of bridge to Chapter 2. The game will open up quite a bit. I’ll tease a few more details in our upcoming newsletter, but for now I’ll just leave you with this headline: Fakey will return in 2020. 

#guildlings #creative direction #narrative design

[guildlings]

✨gorgeous!✨

If you’ve played @guildlings, you’ve met the lovely Prisma. I adore her.

#guildlings #prisma #fanart

[guildlings]

Which Guildlings character are you?

Tag urself im oneesan

#guildlings

[guildlings]

Meet Our Character Designer: Ellen Alsop

Did you know that the Guildlings team scouted its character designer, Ellen Alsop/@ellenalsop​, right here on good old Tumblr? As the game’s lead 2D artist, we thought you might like to learn more about her!

Be sure to check her out on Twitter and Ko-fi! ^ o ^

Could you tell us a bit about your background? Did you study art?

Yes! I graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a bachelor’s in illustration. While I was in school, I thought I’d end up in the animation or comics industry, especially since all my friends seemed to be heading in that direction. But when I got approached to work on Guildlings, it just clicked that I really wanted to work on video games. I’ve always been passionate about games, but I never really considered that it was a career path for me. Which is funny because I feel like concept art for video games and animation can be pretty synonymous!

What was it like when the team first approached you to work on Guildlings?

If you can believe it, the “wizards and wifi” tagline was there from the very first pitch! I loved the idea of mixing the old with the new and making something visually unexpected, so of course the pitch extremely resonated with me.

The thing that drastically changed from the pitch was that Guildlings was supposed to be about a road trip (hence the car in the very first key art). Even then, the road trip element still emphasized how big and grand the world was supposed to be, and that never really changed!

Ellen’s first key art for Guildlings.

How defined were the characters and setting by the time you came on board?

There were preexisting concepts that Chelsea Saunders/@pixelatedcrown​ had made before I was hired on, so the visual style felt fairly defined… low poly, cute, colorful. That was always the constant. Meanwhile, characters used to be nameless units you’d send out into the world. No names, only the class they were.

Jamie Antonisse, the game’s creative director, was pretty clear with what he had in mind visually and personality-wise! For Chazazz, he was thinking something like a Gene Belcher-body type but with a very kind-hearted personality. I ended up filling in the gaps with other bits that seemed to resonate with the characters, like giving Chazazz’s jumpsuit a Sonic-Tails-Knuckles color palette or Palance a sort of disheveled Sportsknight look compared to Gwynn.

Unused ability art for Chazazz. “He’s my own Sonic OC,” says Ellen.

I felt like Chazazz would have definitely been inspired by Sonic growing up. I guess now that I think about it, I put a lot of my own interests in the characters at the time. Like Prisma was DEFINITELY originally inspired by La Roux a la ‘Trouble in Paradise,’ which was something I had on repeat while designing her. 

All of Prisma's designs are amazing. Was she fun to work on?

Oh yeah, Prisma was probably one of my favorites. I always related a lot to her -- being kind of shy, awkward, but really loving the thing she was born on this earth to do. It’s hard not to be biased! She also went through the most costume changes as well. I really wanted her to resemble a magical girl raver as much as possible, and it took a few tries to get it just right.

Some early looks for Prisma. 👀

Who do you find most fun to draw? Who is the most challenging?

The most fun is Chazazz because the sky’s the limit with how goofy he can get. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve laughed from drawing Chazazz’s selfies.

The most challenging is Coda’s wisp because I almost always forget to draw her in any promo art! I’m the worst!!

What would you say to artists who are interested in getting into games?

My big one for artists is make the art YOU want to see in games, and fill up your portfolios with such. If you keep active and work hard to promote your work, eventually someone is going to look at your body of work, understand your message, and want to collaborate with you. Most people can tell when an artist is making work they're excited about, and it can be strangely infectious.

Below the cut, you’ll find a gallery of never-before-seen concept art and other goodies, hand-selected by Ellen!

Weaponeers, the class that would become Dashlings.

Chazazz was originally supposed to have winged roller blades instead of shoes!

Protectors, the class that would become Sportsknights.

Early Palance designs sought that scruffy laid-back jock vibe.

Early concepts for the Spellblaster class, really going for that raver magical girl look!

Preliminary concept sketches for Prisma.

Honing in on what would become Prisma’s final look.

Some alternate palette ideas for Prisma.

Guildlings is available to play right now on Apple Arcade!

#guildlings #concept art #artist spotlight #Game Art #game artist #prisma #chazazz #palance #gwynn

[guildlings]

✨Guildlings is here!✨

Hey. It’s been a while, huh? You might’ve worried we’d gone away somewhere, but surprise! Guildlings is now live on Apple Arcade!

A lot’s changed since you last heard from us, and you’re going to hear more about the game’s development in the coming days and weeks. But for now, we’d like to reintroduce you to the land of Worldaria and its heroes!

Enter a World of Wizards and Wi-Fi

Guildlings is a fantasy RPG designed to be accessible for newcomers as well as seasoned players! As Coda, you’ll direct your Guild of besties through the ancient ruins of Makeout Temple, square off against Doombirds and sapient coffeemakers, and save the world -- or at least your big sister’s date.

Leverage your Guild members' abilities in playful, non-violent combat, using unique powers tied to each party member's personality and mood. Keeping your team happy will make your journey easier, but sometimes a little drama will take the story to interesting (and hilarious) places!

Who are the Guildlings?

You’ll run across a huge number of Guildlings out in the vast reaches of Worldaria, but in Chapter One (out now on Apple Arcade) we’ve kept to a close-knit cast.

Coda: That’s you! A 12-year-old girl from the Quaint, your new enchanted smartphone has come with some very unusual terms and conditions.

Syb: Snarky older sister to Coda and an Upstart, a mage who brings inanimate objects to life.

Chazazz: Coda’s childhood friend and a Dashling, able to create gusts of wind with his special running shoes.

Gwynn and Palance: The Sportsknight twins, defenders of an ancient and noble code of good sportsmanship.

Prisma: A quiet girl turned one-person rave, Prisma uses her Spellblaster powers to drop sick beats and ✨self-care sparkle emojis✨.

Oh my god it’s really real? This is finally happening??

YES!! Here’s the launch trailer:

#guildlings #apple arcade

[guildlings]

✨Guildlings Act One: Coming This Summer✨

#games #game development #indie games #keyart #game art #illustration #representation #diversity #teens #frienship

[guildlings]

Hello from our cozy seaside test town, where Kyle’s trying out this slick day/night cycle

More at guildlings.com

#guildings #video games #games #indie games #gamedev #art #Game Art #environment art #lowpoly #3d #3dart #sunrise #sunset

[guildlings]

Quickgrow Magicmallow (n.)

A delectable neon treat that grows to unreasonable sizes when heated. Best enjoyed on a calm, chilly night with cozy blankets and your favorite ghost stories around the campfire. 

- from the Almanac of Worldaria

[Concept art by Ellen]

#guildlings #video games #games #game art #fantasy #friendship #cozy #roadtrip #camping #campfire #unplug #concept art

[guildlings]

Halcyon Tavern (n.)

This tavern is the birthplace of the region’s most popular delicacy: KelpKnachos. It is a carefully layered blend of salsa, queso, and crispy kelp chips. The owners have yet to disclose the particular body of water from which their kelp dregs originate.

Here you can find KelpKnachos and other “traditional” seaside grub heaped onto plates of questionable cleanliness, thankfully obscured under the flickering light of the fireflies.

- from the Almanac of Worldaria

[Concept art by Ellen]

#guildlings #video games #games #gamedev #art #game art #fantasy #friendship #roadtrip #environment art #concept art

[guildlings]

Meet Gwynn. She’s got your back.

Guildlings is a game about friendship. So it’s about time we introduced some friends.

#guildlings #friendship #sportsknight #fantasy #roadtrip #adventure #representation #poc #lowpoly #animation #character art #3d #gif #loop

[guildlings]

Crate Bandit (n.):

This wily creature has become one with their greatest object of desire: the humble shipping crate. They believe that crates are exempt from existing property laws; that any crate shall belong to the bandit who can acquire it. 

In a pinch, a crate bandit's social standing can be gleaned from the number and type of shipping labels displayed upon their jumpsuit.

- from the Almanac of Worldaria

[Concept art by Ellen]

#guildlings #gamedev #art #game art #games

[guildlings]

Hello, friends! We’re so excited to shine our first ever Artist Spotlight on our amazing 3D Artist, Kyle. Find out more below:

Name: Kyle Youngblom

From: Duluth, MN

What’s your favorite digital program or tool to use for your art? Least?

Most: Shader Forge, a visual node-based editor for shaders in Unity. It lets me experiment and play around, which is my favorite way to learn. 

Least: In general, game art software tends to be less polished than software used in interface design (my previous work background). It can be frustrating when things don’t work right out of the box, but I find it rewarding to create my own custom workflow and solutions in programs like Maya.

Whose work has inspired you recently (any medium)?

Twitter gives a name and face to the people who make art for games. The low-poly 3D community especially made this job and this industry feel accessible to me.

What do you listen to to get you in the zone?

Usually a spacey electro playlist, recently this jazzy remix of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack

You recently played around with dying your hair - would you do it again, and if so, what color?

If it didn’t take so much work to keep it up, I’d love to have pink hair again.

Thanks, Kyle! Can’t wait to share some of the gorgeous stuff you’ve been working on next week!

Find Kyle on: Twitter Tumblr

#guildlings #artist spotlight #games #gamedev #game art #game artist #digital art

[guildlings]

Lanternion (n.):

A creature native to populated areas in need of nocturnal protection, such as the path to grandmother’s house. These lumbering caretakers move slowly due to the weight of history on their shoulders — the memories of those they have failed. They are gentle until angered. Today, they are found only in the most respectable urban and suburban centers.

- from the Almanac of Worldaria

[Concept art by Ellen]

#guildlings #gamedev #art #game art #games

[guildlings]

~A Wild Update Appears~

Hello, friends! If you didn’t catch our newsletter on Monday, have no fear - we’re sharing it here on tumblr (at only a slight delay). We’ve been flying under the radar for awhile, so thanks for your patience!

Over the past several months, we've been doing a lot of foundational work, like concepting and building our game engine. Since a bunch of these things were constantly changing, we didn’t want to mislead you by giving out information that would be completely false in a few days (or hours).

We’re very excited to finally share some of the fun things we’ve been working on with all of you!

What is this game?

First of all, we’d like to tell you what Guildlings is about! This falls into that category of work that’s been in flux, so we’re excited to finally share some of our story that isn’t likely to change. The game is about a group of teenage adventurers who call themselves the Guildlings (fancy that!). They embark on a roadtrip across Worldaria, a modern fantasy world. You play as their fearless leader, helping your friends navigate the map, manage their journeys via a magical social network, and strategically use their powers to get them out of sticky situations. 

What have we been up to?

Now that you have a better idea of what our game’s about, we have some exciting news -- we’ve been able to get a prototype of our core game loop up and running (wooo!). At its heart, it's a pretty straightforward loop:

We’re calling this version of the game the Forestwood Build. It’s named for Forestwood Estates, one of several regions in Worldaria. From playtesting the build earlier this summer, we learned that Exploring has a lot of depth and potential, but the Traveling system could use some TLC. So right now, we’re revising that Traveling system. 

Moving forward, we’re working on a new build, this time set in another region called the Cogwork Mountains. Take a look at our paper prototype from July:

If you couldn’t tell, we’re pretty into prototyping. From left: Asher, Jamie, and Ellen

What’s Worldaria like?

Our brilliant environment artist Mac has come up with some amazing concept art for Worldaria’s regions. You may have glimpsed this post about the Cogwork Mountains region on his Instagram:

Many of you seemed to like it a lot, so we’ve made some downloadable HD wallpaper versions available on Guildlings.com. Go check ‘em out! Our 2D character artist Ellen (who has a great tumblr btw) has been busy cranking out facial expressions for a half-dozen of the characters you’ll encounter along your journey through Worldaria. She’s been juggling this with amazing concept art, like this image she shared on her Instagram of Prisma:

Fun Fact: Prisma’s also visible on the Guildlings landing page, chilling on the trunk of the car

Now Ellen’s ready to introduce a few new characters. They're less prominent in the story but just as adorable: 

Meet some Sunbeam Spirits, sullen wisps of what were once strong and proud spirit beings. Now, they can only travel through sunbeams.

Meanwhile, the writers have been working hard ironing out the details of Guildlings’ big picture conceits, developing the first major story arc, and populating Worldaria with interesting (and just a little off-kilter) people, places, and things. They’ve also been playing around with Inkle Studios’ Ink scripting language to draft content inside the game itself. Our engineer Jon has been molding the language to Guildlings' specific needs. 

We’re still cranking away...

Phew - and all this is just a tiny bit of what’s been going on around here! Here’s a gif of a whole year of commits (aka changes we’ve saved to the game):

We know it’s been touch and go with our updates since the big announcement, so thanks for waiting patiently! We’ll keep you way more in the loop going forward :) Talk to you in a few months! 

- Danyel (The newest member of the Guildlings team <3)

P.S. If that’s not soon enough, you can hear from us on our social media channels, which we’ll be updating more frequently:

Guildlings.com Twitter Facebook Instagram

#guildlings #gaming #mobile #gamedev #game art

[guildlings]

We know a place where mages run raves,

harpies haunt the suburbs,

and a road trip can save the world.

Follow us.

#guildlings #roadtrip #road trip #friends #friendship #games #art #magic #wizards #wifi #chill #sunset #stars #night #constellation #skyporn #purple #ride #car #classic cars

[guildlings]

Announcing Guildlings, a mobile fantasy adventure coming in 2017

#guildlings #roadtrip #friends #friendship #games #art #magic #wizards #wifi #electronics #technology #tech #device #gadget #gadgets