Blocky Space
October 18, 2019
Scaredy Cat
January 4, 2024Blocky Space
October 18, 2019Scaredy Cat
January 4, 2024Devlog: Oct 30 2023
Lights
Shadows
Just in time for the spooky season, Scaredy Cat has upped its moodiness with the introduction of 2D lights and shadows. ✨
Figuring out the optimal way to set these up with tilemaps has been a fun challenge, as it's much easier to work with standalone sprites when it comes to managing shadow casters in-engine. However, it now feels like the right balance has been struck between quality and streamlining / automating setup.
With the atmospheric vibe intended for Scaredy Cat, it felt important to experiment with and get a baseline solution in as soon as possible to not compromise the art direction. Over time, it can be tweaked and refined as more levels are built out. It's incredible how just a little bit of light and shadow wizardry can transform the feel of a level - it also offers a great deal of contrast between different environments. I find 2D games can be so beautiful and detailed, but have such a flat feel at times.
The next goals will be to support how light and shadow vary across interior and exterior levels, different times of day, weather changes and based on story states.
Before
Flat, dull, non-spooky
In this scene, we have Henny in one of the earlier renditions of their apartment, which is supposed to be a bit of a depressing, lonely place.
After
Atmospheric, eerie, CUTE
After the use of spot lights, freeform lights, global light adjustments and shadow casters, the apartment immediately feels more in line with the intended vision, evoking more somber feelings.
A vid
Check out how much more dynamic it feels.
Ignore the borked player anims in this clip.