Museum Escape
Game Overview
Museum Escape was developed in Godot as part of the Culture Game Jam 2024. This narrative-driven platformer follows a janitor who finds himself mysteriously trapped in a museum. While searching for an exit, he gets pulled into various paintings, entering unique jump-and-run levels inspired by each piece of artwork. Each level combines platforming mechanics with a new visual theme inspired by art history, offering players a blend of challenge and artistic discovery.
Contribution
My Role
In Museum Escape, I was responsible for 2D art creation, gaining a new perspective by working as an artist rather than as a programmer. My responsibilities included:
- Designing pixel art assets, including character sprites, environments, and interactive elements, to fit each level’s unique artistic theme.
- Ensuring a cohesive visual style across different levels, while adapting pixel art to represent various historical art styles accurately.
- Communicating and collaborating with the programming team, allowing me to experience how artists work with developers to ensure assets align with gameplay requirements.
Team Contributions
Our team brought together both artistic and technical expertise:
- Filip: Also focused on 2D art, Filip contributed to the creation of backgrounds, character designs, and environmental details that enhanced the game's aesthetic appeal.
- Bayram: As a programmer, Bayram was responsible for implementing gameplay mechanics, ensuring that platforming elements and interactions functioned smoothly.
- Robin: Also responsible for programming, Robin worked on integrating the level transitions and interactions within the art-themed environments, ensuring the game ran cohesively.
Skills Demonstrated
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Pixel Art Creation | Produced pixel art assets for characters, environments, and backgrounds that matched the historical art themes of each level. |
| Art Style Adaptation | Adapted elements from famous art styles into pixel art, preserving visual themes while maintaining a cohesive look. |
| Artist-Developer Communication | Gained insight into how artists communicate with programmers, deepening my understanding of their needs and workflows in game development. |
| Asset Optimization | Optimized pixel art assets for smooth performance, balancing visual detail with gameplay requirements. |
Game Features
- Art-Driven Levels: Each level is inspired by a different painting, providing unique visual themes and platforming challenges.
- Explorative Narrative: The janitor explores the mysteries of the museum, with each painting offering a new world to navigate.
- Platforming Mechanics: Jump-and-run gameplay challenges players to complete levels with increasing difficulty.
Artistic Concepts and Tools
Pixel Art
Created visually cohesive pixel art assets, bringing a diverse range of historical art styles to life in a 2D format.
Art Style Adaptation
Adapted distinct characteristics from famous art styles into pixel art, including color schemes, composition, and stylistic details.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
Worked alongside programmers to ensure art assets integrated smoothly with gameplay mechanics and level layouts.
Gallery
Learning Takeaways
Working on Museum Escape allowed me to expand my skill set beyond programming by focusing on pixel art creation. I learned the importance of visual cohesion, artistic adaptability, and how art and gameplay intersect to create an immersive experience. This project provided a new perspective on game development and deepened my appreciation for the artistry involved in visual design.
Tools Used
- Aseprite: Pixel art software used to create all visual assets for characters, backgrounds, and environmental details.
- Godot: Game engine for development and integration of pixel art assets into the gameplay framework.