The Search for a Bitizen: Behind the Scenes
A look back at how it all started
Greetings, Guildmates!
The Bitizen’s development team has grown quite a bit since we first began exploring the project in mid-January. With the Bitizens Preview Release coming up, I thought it would be great to go down memory lane and shed some light on the people in this talented team and how the project was put together.
Finding the right visual style
It was early January, and I was in search for an experienced art contractor to help set the vision for a 2D avatar game we were planning on building. A friend of mine referred me to a lovely and talented artist, Williana, who would eventually become our Art Director.
At that time, the initial game plan was to explore 2D avatars in a simple mining gameplay experience. In early discussions, we took a look at various art styles for what a Bitizen could look like, internally calling the yet untitled game “BitRPG”. Williana put together some great references.
In our first concept, the goal was to go for a flat, naturally proportioned person with muted colors to suit a more traditional MMORPG feel.
After feedback from peers and continued progress on the game concept, we concluded that the direction had to be more contemporary and relevant to the audience in the crypto-space. We updated the avatar’s attire and modified the proportions a bit:
Getting this ship off the ground
Our first challenge was finding the right engineer for the job. We needed someone who was not only exceptional in the field of game development in a web environment, but also had a deep understanding of the blockchain.
That’s when we crossed paths with Andy, a Javascript expert within Unity3D. He took on the Bitizen challenge as our new Engineering lead and proposed a full transition from 2D to 3D art for a better game experience.
Once we fully committed to the 3D path, we began conceptualizing and solidifying the final look for our new Bitizen characters. After that was done, we set the machine into gear and accelerated production (you can read more about this process in our previous post).
We recognize that going the 3D route is a considerably larger undertaking than a purely 2D game. However, we strongly feel this is the best route for several reasons. It allows us to provide additional customization and improve scalability in production quality and value. It also allows us to create more exciting items and assets that players will really resonate with — Who doesn’t want to see their bitizen in full 3D venturing from one digital place to another?
None of this could have been accomplished without our original talent roster, as well as our strong last minute additions. We look forward to having you alongside us as we continue on the Bitizen journey, together.
BitGuild’s mission is to revolutionize the global gaming industry by creating a platform for a brand new class of games that live on the blockchain. Blockchain games completely redefine the relationship between players and developers by facilitating full and true ownership of in-game assets, cheap & safe item trading, cross-game compatibility of items & currency, and more.
