Devlog 8:  Bringing the World to Life

This week was all about injecting personality and polish into our game. From subtle UI improvements to impactful visual and animation updates, we focused on making the experience more dynamic and immersive. Our penguins are more expressive, the environment feels colder and more alive, and the menus are starting to come together into a cohesive, playful interface.

ART

UI

A minor tweak was added to the player selection menu - icons hinting which buttons to press.

We also began setting up the main menu, both UI and a little moving scene for the background.

Lighting

We also tweaked the main scene's lighting to get those blue shadows that better fit the feel of a cold environment on a clear day.

VFX

We added some more VFX to make the game more lively.

Animation

This week we added a bunch of fishy animations, some of which will directly impact the wellbeing of our penguins. The pufferfish is now animated and bloats up right before it explodes.

DEVELOPMENT

Animation and VFX

Spent a good chunk of the week hooking up all the new animations and VFX the artists made. Things like the pufferfish bloating before it explodes is finally working in-game, and all the little effects are starting to make the world feel way more alive. At the top of this page you can see a little "blooper".  ;)

Sounds

Added new sounds for footsteps, sliding, jumping, attacking (with and without items), water splashes, and bumping into objects to enhance player feedback and immersion.