![]() ![]() London-based composer Joseph “Qwesta” Bailey took the lead on the game’s primary synthrock soundtrack. Classic arcade titles depended on stellar scores to keep gamers’ blood pumping, and Zenovia decided to develop two complete soundtracks for the game. A Tale of Two SoundtracksĪnother way Steel Assault goes above and beyond in its quest to appeal to both modern gamers and retro-purists is with its soundtracks. Steel Assault’s cohessive style is a testament to Zenovia Interactive’s management and art direction. Trying to maintain a focused style with a rotating team of artists adds an extra dimension of complexity to artistic development, as artists must complete their predecessors’ unfinished projects, or tailor their personal styles to blend with completed work. Art was definitely the biggest challenge by far.” “he greatest challenge was maintaining a cohesive style and art direction throughout the entire process. See also John Romero Modders Should Be ‘Rewarded for Their Hard Work’ Kankanahalli said maintaining a sense of artistic continuity was not trivial. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ancillary professional commitments, and other realities of freelancing caused the team to rotate throughout the game’s production. While collaboration is an inherent part of game development, ideally, the same team of artists will work on a game from start to finish. ![]() Meanwhile, Vivar worked on The Game Kitchen’s gory Souls-like metroidvania Blasphemous, which has proven itself a bonefied indie hit. Samperi’s credits include the retro-inspired sidescroller Xydonia, building upon classic Japanese shmups like R-Type and Gradius. The game’s artists included the Italy-based Walter Samperi, Spain-based Raul Vivar, and Texas-based Eric Quiroz. Steel Assault was an international production that used a team of pixel artists to produce the game’s sprites and backgrounds. As other indie developers have noted, retro games are not competing with the games that inspired them, rather the memories players have of those games. Steel Assault also uses the same aspect ratio as those older screens, which is a nice thematic touch that evokes the era which inspired it. CRTs are 2D video game sprites’ native habitat the environment that gave rise to them. Kankanahalli said certain modern games might benefit from using CRT filters to draw out qualities that would normally be lost in translation to modern screens. So designing pixel art for a simulated CRT is just the same as designing pixel art, in my view.” “When it comes to pixel art and all the techniques associated with it, like dithering and color bending and so on…they were originally designed for CRT monitors, and those techniques are still in use today. See also How to Get the Shotgun in Resident Evil 3 Kankanahalli acknowledges there is no difference between designing pixel art and using graphics to simulate a CRT monitor, but the prior goes a long way toward simulating the arcade era that inspired the title. It is far from the first title to feature such a presentation, and these filters are not terribly complex from a technical standpoint. One of Steel Assault’s selling points is its distinctive look, which is reminiscent of the Contra franchise and Mega Man X, designed to simulate the CRT monitors that dominated living rooms and arcades in the 16-bit era. Kankanahalli also talked about the design principles and inspirations behind the game’s pixel art aesthetic and dual soundtracks, which offer very different ways to enjoy the energy whip-cracking arcade adventure. Game Rant spoke to lead developer Sri Kankanahalli about Steel Assault’s unique movement mechanics, with inspiration spanning classic arcade titles to Tim Burton’s Batman. One of Steel Assault’s strengths is the broad range of influences Zenovia Interactive has incorporated. The sidescrolling indie game launched in September 2021 and hit the ground running, currently boasting a “Very Positive” rating on Steam and a 79 for the PC port on Metacritic. As first efforts go, Steel Assault suggests Zenovia is a studio to keep an eye on, delivering a mix of frenetic action, synthrock soundtracks, and a refreshingly vibrant post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Retro-inspired pixel art games have become a common way for developers to introduce themselves to the world, as is the case with Zenovia Interactive’s Steel Assault. You Are Reading : Zenovia Interactives Sri Kankanahalli Talks Steel Assault CRT Pixel Art and Arranged Audio ![]() Game Rant speaks with Steel Assault’s lead developer about the benefits of CRT filters and the influences behind the game’s distinct soundtracks.
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