Indie Game Development: The Making of Asterism

Indie video game development requires a lot of skills and dedication, it also demands a moment of inspiration to get started. In the case of solo developer and artist Claire Morwood, that spark came from music.

Music as Inspiration

Music isn’t just an important ingredient in many beloved video games, in some games it’s simply essential, such as rhythm-based games. Or rather, the audio exists with the visual, which has certainly been the case for Claire, the solo developer of Asterism, a playable indie-rock concept album made in Unity that is set for release on PC on 17 January 2025.

Recalling Childhood Influences

Recalling her childhood, she tells me, "When I got home from school, I would always just put on Freeview and watch the music video channels. I always associated the act of watching music videos quite strongly with listening to music."

Combining Music and Game Development

As a teenager, Morwood had also enjoyed playing music, learning the guitar chords of her favourite songs, but it was during lockdown a few years ago that she began picking it up again, including learning to use DAWs to transfer audio onto a computer. Claire says, "At that point I’d also been making games for a while, so then my game developer brain was like, how can I combine these two things? I definitely knew I wanted to do something really visual with the music itself."

Designing a Non-Competitive Game

But whereas many music-based games, from Parappa the Rapper to Sayonara Wild Hearts have a tendency to be skill-based, Asterism was designed so that players can just explore the visuals and music without penalty. "I wanted something where you’d never be interrupted for listening to music, and so there’s no fail state," Claire explains. "It’s more just like you can kind of move around and dance within the music to connect with different layers of it."

Stop Motion Animation and Physical Elements

With simpler interactions, it meant there was a greater opportunity to come up with a range of visual styles for each of the game’s 12 songs, each also representing a planet in a mysterious solar system that the astronaut Ruby is exploring. While there are examples of pixel art, wireframe and 3D graphics, what’s most outstanding about Asterism is its physical handcrafted elements, which Claire attributes to her love of classic children’s animation like The Clangers ("there’s just so much creativity in kids cartoons – I think that anyone can benefit from the imagination and creativity that comes from that kind of style"). But you need only think of A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’ or Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ to consider that the most creative music videos of the ’80s also had an influence.

The Process of Creating Asterism

As a solo project, creating all these different physical parts to Asterism was a painstaking process, although the stop motion animation style used for the handcrafted elements did not need to be as smoothly animated. "I didn’t really have any rules for myself about how much animation I was going to do, it was more just kind of what felt right at the time, but also trying to keep the workload fairly small," Claire says. "I feel like your brain fills in a lot of the gaps when there’s things that don’t quite fit reality, and with stop motion, your brain does have to literally fill in what’s going on."

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Of course, Claire was also able to use Unity to prototype every element each song with grayboxing in order to nail down the pacing and mechanics before actually going through all the work of making the objects for the game. But perhaps the trickiest element was a song that actually incorporates live-action, which involved Claire dressing up as Ruby while filming in the woods and by the beach locally. "I had to do a lot of testing where there’s someone behind me filming me as I walk places, even just to know how fast I needed to talk and what I angle I needed the camera to be," she explains, adding that if anything didn’t work or turn out as had been envisioned, it’s not something you can just tweak like with in-engine graphics.

Conclusion

Nonetheless, if Asterism does have any visual imperfections, such as still being able to make out old text from environments crafted from paper, then that’s also deliberately part of the DIY aesthetic. "Part of the reason that I like this art style is it’s very human," Claire concludes. "It’s very personal, you can kind of see that someone’s made it. and so if there’s mistakes in it, that adds this personal element to it. So I tried to not worry too much if things weren’t perfect in some way."

FAQs

Q: What inspired Claire to create Asterism?
A: Music was the initial spark that inspired Claire to create Asterism.

Q: How did Claire combine music and game development?
A: Claire used DAWs to transfer audio onto a computer and incorporated music into the game development process.

Q: What makes Asterism unique?
A: Asterism’s physical handcrafted elements, including stop motion animation and physical elements, set it apart from other games.

Q: What was the most challenging part of creating Asterism?
A: Creating all the different physical parts to Asterism was a painstaking process, but also creating a song that incorporates live-action was a tricky element.

Q: What did Claire learn from creating Asterism?
A: Claire learned the importance of being patient and not worrying too much about imperfections in the creative process.

Poco X7 Series: Affordable AI Handsets with Excellent Features

A New Era in Budget Camera Phones

I was recently invited to a product launch in London to learn about Xiaomi’s exciting new smartphones, including the Redmi Note 14 Pro. However, I was more interested in the Poco X7 series, which boasts useful AI features at an affordable price.

AI Features at an Affordable Price

All new smartphone launches are now stacked with AI features, which can be both exciting and overwhelming. The Poco X7 series has been boosted with AI tools for the first time, making it one of the most affordable AI handsets available.

Poco X7 Pro and Poco X7: Affordable Options

The Poco X7 Pro is being sold at £309 / $279, while the standard Poco X7 model retails at £249 / $229. Both phones are now available with a promotion offering £50 off for early bird customers. This brings the UK price of the Poco X7 Pro down to £269 for a limited time, while the Poco X7 model can be purchased for £199.

Camera Features and Specifications

The Poco X7 series offers 50MP resolution with a generously large aperture of f/1.5, making it perfect for low-light photography. The phones also come packed with AI-boosted image tools and the capability to shoot 4K video at 60FPS.

First Impressions and Comparison

I have used the Poco X7 Pro smartphone, which was shockingly impressive and gave my Samsung a run for its money in terms of image quality, power, and performance. The phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8300-Ultra processor, which is excellent for a phone at this price point.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a modern smartphone with top-class features without breaking the bank, the Poco X7 series is an excellent option. With prices starting at just £199, it’s a great choice for anyone on a budget.

FAQs

Q: What are the prices of the Poco X7 Pro and Poco X7?
A: The Poco X7 Pro retails at £309 / $279, while the Poco X7 model retails at £249 / $229. Both phones are available with a promotion offering £50 off for early bird customers.

Q: What are the camera features of the Poco X7 series?
A: The Poco X7 series offers 50MP resolution with a generously large aperture of f/1.5, making it perfect for low-light photography. The phones also come packed with AI-boosted image tools and the capability to shoot 4K video at 60FPS.

Q: How does the Poco X7 series compare to other budget camera phones?
A: The Poco X7 series offers excellent features at an affordable price, making it a great choice for anyone on a budget. It’s a good alternative to other budget camera phones like the Honor Magic 7 Lite, which retails at £399.

01. Start with Basic Shapes

At this point, you need to identify the weight-bearing leg. I’m using sanguine pastel pencil on toned paper. Sanguine means blood, and sanguine pencils can range between dark brown to almost pink. I’ve chosen a dark sanguine and a flesh-colored paper. As usual, I start with basic shapes. I then identify the weight-bearing straight leg and tilt the shoulder towards it for more balance.

02. Find the Rhythm in the Pose

I draw smaller shapes inside the big simple shapes. Notice how I treat the rhythm of the legs; I’m drawing from one side to the other. Study how the knees have a low, overlapping curve on the inside and how the calves are high on the outside. This is the natural rhythm of the body, and cannot be ignored by the figure artist.

03. Smooth Out the Paper

I’m using a high-grade pastel art paper, which can be bought in large individual sheets. Pastel paper has a smooth and a rough side. I choose the smooth side, but it still has a ‘tooth’, meaning that it has micro pits that hold the pastel pigment. I blend with tissue to smooth out the grain and then ghost the image back.

04. Get the Head Size Right

I stand back from the art and see with a fresh eye that the head needs to be bigger. Best to err on the side of a smaller head to start with, rather than a big head, which can look comical. If the head looks small, you can try adding to the skull rather than drawing all the features bigger. Usually, this works fine. Once I’m happy with the new head size and basic proportions, I start to detail the anatomy.

05. Reshape the Figure with a Paper Stump

Using all my tools, I blend and push the white pigment into the surface. Note how fleshy everything has become based on three simple values: the darks of the sanguine; the midtone of the paper; and the highlights of the white. My pencil eraser with the brush end comes in handy for brushing away eraser debris.

06. Tackle Anatomical Details

Time to address the small stuff and explore the beauty of anatomy and form. Constant study of the knees is important because everyone’s knees are different due to variable ‘bursa’ shapes. These are little fatty pads that protect the joints. Note that I’m using a clean paper stump for blending whites.

07. Blend and Push

I blend and push the white pigment into the surface. Note how fleshy everything has become based on three simple values: the darks of the sanguine; the midtone of the paper; and the highlights of the white. My pencil eraser with the brush end comes in handy for brushing away eraser debris.

08. Refine the Features

Using all my tools, I refine the features. Remember, it’s all about contrast and subtlety. Dark and light should be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming the subject.

09. Blend and Push

I blend and push the white pigment into the surface. Note how fleshy everything has become based on three simple values: the darks of the sanguine; the midtone of the paper; and the highlights of the white. My pencil eraser with the brush end comes in handy for brushing away eraser debris.

10. Add Texture in the Background

Using erasers, tissue, and paper stumps for background texture, draw the eye to the contrasting tones of the smooth skin. Sanguine on toned paper is slow, but worth the effort. I spend over three hours pushing and blending into the grainy surface. Take time over your sanguine drawings and you’ll be rewarded.

11. Sharpen Your Lines

Using a mono eraser, I thin down some of the lines. Pastel paper is wonderful to work with, but due to the grain, it’s a fight to achieve thin lines when working on a relatively small scale. This drawing would be easier to work with at twice this size, but there are always workarounds.

12. Add Texture in the Background

Using erasers, tissue, and paper stumps for background texture, draw the eye to the contrasting tones of the smooth skin. Sanguine on toned paper is slow, but worth the effort. I spend over three hours pushing and blending into the grainy surface. Take time over your sanguine drawings and you’ll be rewarded.

Conclusion

Learning to draw the human figure requires patience, dedication, and a willingness to practice. By following these steps, you can achieve a realistic and detailed drawing. Remember to start with basic shapes, find the rhythm in the pose, and smooth out the paper. Add texture in the background and refine the features. With time and practice, you’ll be able to create a stunning drawing.

FAQs

Q: What is contrapposto, and why is it important?
A: Contrapposto is a term that refers to a figure balancing more weight on one side, usually the straight-leg side of the body, in a standing pose. It is important because it creates a natural and relaxed posture.

Q: What is the best way to smooth out the paper?
A: You can use tissue or a paper stump to smooth out the paper and remove any unwanted texture.

Q: How do I achieve thin lines on pastel paper?
A: Using a mono eraser, you can thin down some of the lines. Pastel paper can be challenging to work with due to its grain, but with practice, you can achieve thin lines.

Q: What is the best way to add texture in the background?
A: You can use erasers, tissue, and paper stumps to add texture in the background. This will help draw the eye to the contrasting tones of the smooth skin.