The models are made in Blender, based on the concepts and references. We chose Blender because it is free, versatile and compatible with other programs and game engines.
We created low poly 3D models, to keep the retro style and facilitate the performance of the game. We textured the assets using two 512px trim sheets and a few low res masks to keep the low res aesthetics and ensure the project was lightweight.
The animations are made with code in unity because they are simple and it was much faster to make them this way. We also made some changes to the concepts and references, to better adapt them to the game.
Final assets as seen ingame
Final assets as seen ingame
Final assets as seen ingame
Final assets as seen ingame
For the entity model we created a custom tool in Houdini, using UVs and vertex colors to control the growth effect, size and timing variation in the shader.
The tendrils are randomly scattered to an input surface, and you can control the shape, amount, radius, thickness, resolution, etc.
