Aesthetic Driven Development: Choosing Your Art Before Making a Game

[@ColdwildGames]

Hey! Vladimir here. Thanks for checking out my talk, if you have any specific questions - you can ask them here and I'll try to answer later.

[@Gahanun]

Hi Vladimir, very interesting insight. I was wondering, have you considered the times of day when you are posting? As an artist myself, I have noticed that the time when you post drastically influences whether people are online to see your posts.

[@digzrow8745]

Cool name dude

[@ColdwildGames]

@@Gahanun yes, the posts were made specifically in the evenings local time to catch the US audience.

[@XfStef]

Congratulations on the game! Helen does some pretty good isometric art too. Maybe you guys should try that in the future.

[@andrewstewart7078]

Hey Vladimir! Thought the talk was good, and also, what was the other talk that you referred to at the end? I think you said it was by David someone, also about an art first approach

[@Spiderboydk]

In other words: a strong, visual art style helps make your game stand out in the crowd.

[@Lunareon]

That's an interesting way of using social media for market research. The likes/comments/retweets data could easily be used in various ways by changing the meaning and relevance of each variant. Art challenges, in general, are an easy way of gaining visibility and interest towards you as creators, and as a brand, even if you aren't selling anything yet. Thank you for sharing your journey.

[@yrussq]

Very nice and practical talk! But honestly from the look of your previous games - the art was the problem not the approach. I looked at the screenshots and the first things came to mind were "generic", "dowdy" and "uninteresting". The same time the new game art instantly caught my eye. Nobody can stop you from having a nice playing prototype or two and apply the same approach you did(art-wise) with the exception that you have a clue how the game would potentially play. And applying these constraints to the art you are creating. I think the paradox is - the gameplay goes first when it comes to the released game(potentially transferring credibility of the studio to the next game releases), while the art comes first when the game doesn't have an audience yet. Again excellent talk and plenty of things to think about.

[@ColdwildGames]

Hey! Thanks! Good point and I agree to some extent, but I think the #1 issue in the former games is that the artist wasn't _that_ interested in them. It's good when all members of the project like working on it.

[@wildh4rt]

Haven't really seen a GDC talk about art in such depth. Much appreciated.

[@mrorange159]

I really appreciate this video thanks for sharing this. Excellent approach. As a solo dev never having sold a game I am realising this is the best approach.

[@patrykkalinowski4816]

Vladimir Slav - is it possible to be more slav than him?

[@yrussq]

@Carey Hunt You mean Vladislav Slav? :)

[@MAUD_IFY]

Nice talk, i'm always up for more art-centric design

[@pennyshen]

"The game has sold around 10,000 copies in seven months, so the real bankruptcy that is threatening us is the moral bankruptcy..." hahaha

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Enjoyed that. 😊 though, I’m not certain starting creative process with visuals is akin to moral bankruptcy. Sure, the game itself won’t be a success without good gameplay. But there is literally no wrong place to start, as long as you have serious taste, and the time/ability to implement that taste. And face it, people are largely going to find your game on social media, which is predominantly visual. In order to even get people to find out what the gameplay is about, you have to get past a visual first-impression anyway. My other favorite line in this talk is "who makes non-erotic puzzle games these days" 😂

[@TonsOfHunStudios]

Nice talk! I'll admit the title had me intrigued as I'm a bit skeptical of approaching art first as opposed to gameplay, but this was a good analysis. It's at least very important to consider the art early on so that people aren't pushed away by the art when there is good gameplay underneath.

[@cargorunnerUK]

Really great talk - and a really clever development approach. There are so many indie games now that I think you have to be eye catching to get any sales.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Yep. The world runs on social media now. Absolutely the look of your game will or won’t get you in the door in that first-judgment moment. You’ll have to seal the deal by providing gameplay that people will enjoy (and I’m including even plot and dialogue in ‘walking simulators’ as examples of ‘gameplay’). But if the game looks boring, good luck getting click-throughs where people find out if the gameplay looks good to them.

[@stormwatcheagle5448]

Please do consider making an isometric tactical RPG in the future. It looks like you would make a beautiful game, and the world needs more good TRPGs.

[@piotrstaszkiewicz]

I love the art style and I love the idea of Aesthetic Driven Development!! I definitely going to buy this game when I will find some time to play it :)

[@yolostudio5972]

00:28 About Us 02:56 The Plan 04:16 Selection/Testing Criteria 06:20 The baseline/ Twitter Metrics 07:07 Results and Examples 09:40 Selected Results 11:20 The final choice 17:25 User Conversion 19:25 Results 20:14 How to improve the process 21:50 Viewer Discretion 23:25 Q&A location ======================================================= We are # yolostudiogame - an indie game studio. We love making games! We are seriously learning about the game industry. So we tweet a GDC video summary every Tuesday. Happy making game, everyone!

[@billylee5624]

The isometric scenes reminds me of games like Breath of Fire 3 and Final Fantasy Tactics.

[@gelboyc]

good talk! made me a bit more confident that i need to focus on visuals if theyre my strengths

[@anakay1184]

This is exactly the talk I've been waiting for

[@romulino]

Thank you for the talk.

[@laniakeadev.2271]

Thanks. I've learnt a new approch for me.

[@bdonbits]

"Who makes non-erotic puzzle games in 2020?" lmao

[@Oscar-xt8hm]

i expected something more design centered but that was still interesting

[@lakuronekobaka3951]

really interesting talk overall, thanks !

[@wildawolf702]

I like the way you make this unique game, it very interesting ! ( by the way I have a problem about "RTS units" that means "Real-time Strategy units" right ? just want to know THX ~)

[@ColdwildGames]

Yes, RTS units are Real-Time-Strategy units :) cheers.

[@dagangstah]

Interesting watch

[@TheArisK]

Hey! This is a cozy indie studio story with a potential to scale up. Thanks for the insight and good luck!

[@Domarius64]

It's not morally bankrupt to create beautiful art :-) congratulations. The idea that games should always be about gameplay is garbage. Games are an experience, and whether you get that experience artistically or even musically instead of just mechanically, it's no less valid.

[@levs7961]

Yeah but the best case scenario is when gameplay and art enheance each others. Games based mostly on art and ambiance can be very nice but will always be lacking something to be great.

[@poncho3326]

@@levs7961 they will be lacking donald duck

[@LuanaSantos-rl4sb]

this is really useful

[@Ghost-hd5cu]

@9:15 it looks like two color palettes that shouldn't be together, otherwise the bright booths would get more attention if not for the cold greys.

[@АлександрКарпов-ъ1я]

Интересная история) Интересно, как пошли дела со следующими играми

[@Amelia_PC]

Great talk! Thank you! I know, it's odd, but I think 2D harder to work with than 3D (I'm a pro comic book industry artist. 2D is supposed to be my "strong point", but I think 3D easier. Go figure). 2D animation, mainly for characters, is a nightmare to create. With 3D, I plug my Kinect and record a mocap. The funny part is, if you create a 3D game set in the contemporary world, you'll have access to a ton of commercial-free models, animation, materials that can make your life easier. And I'm not talking about asset flipping. Thanks to Quixel, Epic, Turbosquid, marketplaces starter kits, and a ton of other websites, I'm finishing my third-person shooter demo to see the audience's reaction before I finish the whole game. I took more time than expected because I tweaked the graphics to fit something more stylized (aesthetic is more Hitman than Call of Duty style, ykwis). Still, it's been doable. It depends on the dev... I guess?

[@MysticalRefpanel]

Solely because of the comment about non erotic puzzle games... go play Void Stranger!!

[@dreamingacacia]

Choosing artstyle before actually develop your game. Well most of newbies struggle at this stage.

[@yonjuunininjin]

I like this guy :) (+ Majestic Carrot looks dope)

[@baskingball]

i feel called out

[@solidauditorium]

Хай эври Вань

[@darkfoxfurre]

*tl;dr* Do market research before making your game.

[@erikrodrigues9270]

tl;dw?