The Best of Both Worlds
There were a few iterations on the drawing table for SAK’D when the game was originally conceived all those moons ago, including a very ‘cartooney’ version, more in line with the 2D representation you see in several of the posters and SAK’D gear, and much the same as the prologue graphic novel that we’re not telling anyone about yet (oops…*wink). That version may yet rear its head in a mobile iteration down the road pending the success of the console and PC/Mac releases of SAK’D, but for the depth of emotion we’re trying to achieve, we’ve taken a more multi-dimensional direction.
The original game visual concept was scrapped in favour of the unique and strikingly-detailed world you see now. We wanted to make sure that each environment made adventurers feel more ‘in’ the game, and to make the horror and phobia elements have a more pronounced effect (remember, this isn’t exactly a ‘kids game’). which we felt really wasn’t possible with the 2d cartoon-ish representations of our level designs. It made perfect sense for the prologue, just not for the game itself. The results of years of brainstorming, thousands of litres of coffee and tons of hard work have been well worth it though, and we’re really happy with the unique look and feel for SAK’D we’ve crafted. It’s an intensely-fun and eye-popping combination of what we love in classic platformer/side-scroller/metroidvania style gameplay in an immersive 3D environment. Blending hand-painted elements, medieval fantasy flavour and textural realism that will plunge your imagination and senses right into Sak’s mysterious and highly dangerous little world.
Here’s an example of one of SAK’D’s many cavern levels, in it’s side scroller perspective and then showing the 3D (2.5D) layout:
Hope you’re ready for extremes, too. From smoldering volcanoes to deserts, the thick and rain-soaked jungles of a jungle, the dizzying heights of mountain peaks, or across (or under) a mysterious frozen lake. We’re being pretty hush-hush about the level designs for what we hope are really obvious reasons, but we’ll be sure to trickle out more teaser clips and shots of levels as we get closer to the crowdfunding campaign launch this fall. To give you an idea of scope, the full game (how we intend to release it) is 82 levels totaling over 4000 map sections like the one below. It’s been a monumental effort thus far, and it will be for a while yet, but we’re making amazing ground every day.
