#escape simulator 2

I wasn't that active online lately, but I promise I've had a good reason, the game I was working on just got released today! Escape Simulator 2 is OUT NOW! > CHECK IT OUT HERE <

I've joined Pine Studio last year and it's been great! ❤️

My experiences in game dev have been very chaotic over the years so it feels nice to join a team that is this capable and works well together and it's especially nice to finally release a game. I've had the worst luck in the industry with working for studios that shut down overnight, so joining a solid indie studio like this makes me incredibly happy. 🥺❤️

I love game dev, I love our team, I hope we get to make many more fun projects together 🫶

Anyways if you like puzzle games and escape rooms, grab a friend and check out Escape Simulator 2!

The Graphics of a video game can change a lot about the way it is perceived, for example, a game with a low poly-low pixel count, would be seen as more retro / older due to newer games not having these hardware limitations that caused these sprites and models to be used.

Whereas a high poly count, AAA game is often (in my opinion) lacking in stylism and simplicity. They often don't even make much money due to the fact that they spend a lot on model depth and don't spend much on other, arguably more important game aspects like sound design.

You may be able to argue that higher poly games are often better for genre specificity, however I disagree. Lets look at a few genres and game titles and graphics so that we can fully understand design in terms of gameplay environment, for each genre I will pick one Low poly and one high poly example, the Low poly likely being from an indie studio, the high likely being from a AAA studio.

Horror -

Resident Evil 7 - Biohazard by Capcom

Mouthwashing by Wrong Organ

Here you can see a few things; the higher quality game has a higher sense of uncanny valley due to the characters looking human, but the models being slightly off in a way. Mouth washing on the other hand, uses its low poly art style in order to reinforce and improve the sense of dread given to the player. This Shift in definition between AAA and indie especially for horror, a genre that is built off of making a lasting impact, and sudden thrills, seems to have made a divide in the market of horror gaming; one side, gravitating towards the more realised, the higher poly count games, and the other gravitating toward the games that are more stylised, and more gut-wrenching in their story and message. By no means does this mean AAA horror has a lesser message, but due to personal experience, I have been impacted by indie horror far more.

Action-Adventure -

Assassins Creed: Valhalla by Ubisoft

Death's Door by Acid Nerve

Here you can clearly see why adventure games usually cost more, and take more time, with adventure games mainly being open world, higher poly games need more time to make the maps, and polish them so that they are up to par. Whereas with lower poly stylised games, the map still takes time, but a lot less due to the simpler style of the game.

Puzzle -

Escape Simulator 2 by Pine Studio

Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital Games

Here you can see that I chose 2 reasonably high poly puzzle games, the difference here, is that Outer Wilds uses a far more intuitive gameplay loop and the characters look more stylised because 1. they aren't people, 2. they are in big puffy space suits. I personally love Outer Wilds as a game, and so I may be slightly bias, however I adore the way this game deals with celestial bodies. Making the surface of some planets entirely visible from the vacuum of space, and having some that have an atmosphere. Whereas, in escape simulator 2, the gameplay loop is less intuitive and more chosen, allowing the player to play in predetermined levels, leading to it being overshadowed in my eyes.

This part is entirely up to audience preference of puzzle.

Now that we have spoken about high or low poly for genre, I would like to bring up another graphical debate, Pixel art vs Cell shaded 3D. Pixel art came from the move from CRT screens to LCD screens, with a higher resolution, the old games on CRT had to be moved. And with that, they lost some of their charm.

Cell shading's name comes from animation cells (thin sheets of acetate used in animation) what it is in the current day however differs from this, currently it means to make a 3D model look hand drawn, this can lead to a flatter look, that is overall more appealing for certain games.

Fighting Games!

A large staple of the gaming world are fighting games, they are games in which you choose a character, and battle another player or CPU by using combinations of keypresses in order to perform special moves. Here there is a duality between 2D and 3D, but we will be talking about the duality of Cel Shaded and Pixel.

Guilty Gear Strive by Arc System Works

Rivals of Aether by Aether Studios

I should begin by saying that rivals of aether's sequel did switch to cell shaded vfx, as well as the older guilty gear games being (adapted from console) pixel art.

I personally love pixel art being used in media, and I think it belongs in fighting games, however I cannot say I dislike the cell shaded art style. It gives the fights more feeling, and due to the ability to shift perspective for overdrives or supers is overall a good decision, as it means you can just animate a rig instead of a frame by frame pixel animation.

Oh, you cheeky blights. You first hurt my head trying to solve all the puzzles, then you confound me on trying to locate all the puzzle pieces. Then you give me a nightmare in trying to figure out lobby codes. Then you make me run through the escape rooms again in search of far-off stars.

And for what? A count-down, that's what. Guess I'll see you all again in 17 days.

I'm playing the demo for Escape Simulator 2, and I didn't even think about the well puzzle. I just breezed past it and went 'alright' and moved on with my evening. A little lackluster, but nothing that pulled me out of the immersion.

It wasn't until I went back through to find my missing tokens (3/8 on first run) that I found the book with translations and remembered that I took latin in middle school and have kept up with it throughout highschool and college.

I...