Redesigning the Main Menu: Concepts

Hey, guys! We're back with more concepts for you! This time, it's the main menu's turn to be reworked.

So you may have noticed that the current background image of our title screen is... unusual, to say the least. It doesn't fit with the overall theme of the novel and feels taken out of context.

(This is the current title screen art from the game)

That's because it's a placeholder which we've put together as part of the first update, the a.01 demo. It was supposed to be a filler until we could dedicate some time to make an actual concept for it. But as time went by, it started being increasingly obvious that it needed to be overhauled.

This led us to imagine a concept for a new title screen art. It represents a bar lounge in the Grand Azazel Hotel. It's one of the places Garreth works at as a bartender.

The idea is to have the title screen portray the vibe of the game depending on where you left off during your most recent playthrough. It would change its coloring (in the example, you can see a classical lighting mood for daylight activities and a vibrant nightlife mood; other moodsets are also possible, including something creepier ;} ). The scene is set to be populated with characters you meet throughout the game and to dynamically adapt, showing different characters and actions according to the events in your playthroughs. We also want the lighting to reflect a more neo-noir style, with slightly under-saturated colors and hard shadows.

At a later occasion, the concept will serve as aid in further improving the scene, by remaking it in a CG style (and perhaps even animating it). Of course, that will happen when we're confident enough financially to start commissioning high-quality painting-style CGs and special artwork from an artist of our choosing.

The concept is still rough, that's a given, and we're still working on object positioning and design to accommodate buttons and UI layout as well, but the idea stands. The GA Hotel is set to be an iconic (and important) location in our story, and its bar lounge brings perhaps the perfect blend of emotions and design possibilities to summarize our game.

On that note, we want to know what you guys think of our reworked concepts! How do you like the approach, the styles we've been using so far? Which side of the bar would you rather be in? :P Let us know in the comments below!