The making of Chainer – the game of class 2022
Chainer is a final semester Game Lab project of the students at ARC Academy who graduated in 2022. They get together and work together by assigning roles, having meetings, periodically discussing the progress of their work, and setting goals. In the Game Lab students follow the good pracites and the workflow of a real game studio. Evgeniy Tenev is their lecturer who plays the role of a producer. At the end of the school year, the Academy students presented their project called Chainer.
In the third-person old-school adventure game, the player follows a darkly satirical story and solves environmental puzzles in a low-fantasy world, which pokes fun at modern problems through the guise of medieval hardships.
Dilyan is an ARC Academy alumni and is part of the team developing Chainer. In this article, he talks about the making of the project:
Chainer was an opportunity to explore the visual representation of satiric storytelling and see what a miserable and hopeless city might feel and look like. Our main goal was to create a world, rooted in the historical realism of the dark ages in order for the comedic characters to stand out and contrast with them. The Art style was strongly inspired by Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, Hades, and Darkest dungeon.
The process of making an art piece followed this order:
1. First, the game designer tasks us with what he needs + some references.
2. We do research on our own to create a clear idea of what is needed.
3. After that, we experiment with the concept, present the final sketches, check in If more need to be produced, and If not, the Art Director / Lead decides which version is best.
4. Next step is polishing and upscaling the sketch.
5. Create a simple and clear line art following the principles of the art style.
6. Add the main colors of every object
7. Experiment with layers for lighting and effects.
8. Add or remove details if it’s needed.
9. Ask for feedback from the team.
And boom ? an art piece is finished, but you always have to keep in mind that you work together with the team to achieve the same goals. If you want to create games together with other talented students, apply at ARC Academy by 28 February and join our Pre-program for the next school year.
More examples from Chainer: