Sniper and Spotter Being Patriotic

[Blondbraid]

I guess this all started when I in my boredom browsed you tube for increasingly weird parodies of Donald Duck and ended up watching old propaganda cartoons from the second world war.
At first it was strange to see the horrors of war and oppression depicted through cute cartoons, but the stylized characters struck a cord which all the realistic war fps had failed to.
A few years later I played a game called Valiant Hearts, which also used the combination of war and a beautiful animated style to great effect, and I was further inspired.

But enough of my pretentious ranting, what about the actual game?

Sniper and spotter being patriotic is a game which takes place in an eastern European town torn apart between the Axis and Soviet forces. The protagonists are the titular sniper and spotter fighting in what would be known as
the great patriotic war in the Soviet union. It will be a darkly humorous story serving partially as a satire of the many other games about WWII and the mindless action movies which inspired them.

Like many adventure games, but unlike many war games, this game will focus on story and dialogue. But since it takes pace in a war zone, it will also be possible for the player to die if they make the wrong decision. But rest assured that the game will save automatically regularly.

This game will be in 1024 x 768 resolution with 32-bit color.
The background art is not in it's final state on the screenshots though.
In case anyone reading this is interested in knowing more about the characters and design of the game, here is a link to the Critic's Lounge thread:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52409.0

26 Aug 2015, 12:04 The intro and the first rooms are almost complete now.
28 Aug 2015, 20:52 I finished some background art along with what could theoretically count as an ridiculously easy adventure game puzzle (more of a tutorial really, to familiarize players new to the genre with the inventory before the action gets going).

05 Sep 2015, 10:31 Did quite a bit of research on the Polikarpov Po-2, which will likely only be seen flying in a brief cutscene and then never used again. By the way, the game has cutscenes now.
14 Sep 2015, 22:19 Have made a few more sprites and begun working on a new puzzle.
27 Sep 2015, 22:03 I have added a few objects and done some more work on the backgrounds.
02 Oct 2015, 16:17 Another puzzle is complete. And on an unrelated note, I also found some chestnuts.
09 Oct 2015, 16:51 Drew a few new sprites and added a new animation.
10 Oct 2015, 20:03 Did a bit more artwork.
12 Oct 2015, 18:31 I've worked some more on the background artwork, quite a lot of work, and begun pondering whether I should perhaps scale down the scope of the game. I guess making it up as I go along wasn't that good of a starting point. Whether or not I find the time and energy to animate the protagonist narrowly avoiding death by the explosion and subsequent destruction of a grandiose statue of Lenin remains to bee seen...
15 Oct 2015, 23:03 Some more work on the backgrounds, it's probably time to post some new screenshots of my progress soon.
19 Oct 2015, 21:57 Took up work on a new room with a bit of a dollhouse perspective going on, this area will basically be the player looking into a house and it's rooms from a gaping hole in the wall.
07 Nov 2015, 10:35 Just made a new background and begun working on a new set of rooms.
12 Nov 2015, 07:49 Have worked a bit on a new puzzle. Since my last puzzle involved gasoline, I wanted to do something entirely new and completely different for the sake of variation. This puzzle involves oil.
17 Nov 2015, 22:28 I have added more animated details, such as dust and smoke, to some of the backgrounds since my last update.
21 Nov 2015, 22:31 Today I have finally solved a bug that was, well, bugging me.
29 Nov 2015, 00:01 Drew a few new sprites.
06 Dec 2015, 21:57 I've been down with a cold these last few days and too tired to work on this game, but today I did a little bit of work on a upcoming dialogue scene.
08 Dec 2015, 22:35 Did some more work on said dialogue scene, and worked a bit on making the characters change expressions according to the dialogue options.
27 Dec 2015, 15:13 The dialogue scene is as good as finished, and I'm planning the next area and new characters. New screenshots will be coming shortly!
04 Jan 2016, 17:54 Worked a bit on a new puzzle. A patriotic puzzle!
07 Feb 2016, 11:56 Did some art for a cutscene featuring the previously mentioned Lenin statue. Look upon my work, ye mighty and despair!
17 Feb 2016, 21:41 I have worked a bit on some dialogues and interactions with the environment.
26 Mar 2016, 17:16 I have worked a lot since my last update, and I'm currently working on a new background (albeit less intricate than my last!).
06 Apr 2016, 18:39 A few more interactions with the environment added, the player can now click on several more objects and hear the characters thoughts and opinions on them, and while not an integral part of the game I hope it'll bring flavor!
12 Apr 2016, 22:46 I have added even more interactions to the environment, my goal is that the player should be able to read an unique description for as may things as possible, as opposed for a standard answer for all things not strictly necessary for the progression of the game.
17 Apr 2016, 00:53 I am currently working on the background images for the game's final room and ending.
20 Apr 2016, 22:35 Just finished the final room's background. Save for the final cut-scene, all background images for this game is now complete!
26 Apr 2016, 21:44 Progress! The whole game is now playable from start to finish, albeit with minor details left to adjust.
29 Apr 2016, 22:31 Added a few more interactions as well as tried to, for the lack of a better word, "idiot proof" the game a little bit.
04 May 2016, 21:59 Did some fine tuning of a few cut-scenes as well as added more comments to the surroundings.

[AnasAbdin]

Congrats! I was waiting for this thread ever since seeing your art in the critics lounge
Best of luck!

[Mandle]

Hahaha I love the stilted propaganda-style title...

You could take it a step further: "Patriotic Sniper And Spotter in: Service Of Glorious Duty For Mother Country."

Can't wait to play what already looks like a gem!

[Blondbraid]

Congrats! I was waiting for this thread ever since seeing your art in the critics lounge
Best of luck!

Can't wait to play what already looks like a gem!

Thank you both for your kind words, for which I am very grateful!
I have added more details in the office and there is more things which the player can interact with,
among other things the orange poster in the background.

I added several new items, such as a vodka bottle next to a burning kerosene lamp next to a giant pile of paper, I guess I just turned the desk into a major fire hazard.

Spoiler

It is a bit of an Emperors new clothes situation as the commissar will accuse anyone intelligent enough to point this out as an intellectual (and thus an enemy of the communist ideals).

[close]

[Blondbraid]

I have made quite a few new sprites and thought that I could post one of them.

Yes, as a complete surprise to none and none at all, a game set in WWII will have Nazis as the enemy, though not all the German soldiers our titular sniper and spotter encounter will be enthusiastic about being drafted into the war to end up as cannon fodder. Since this is an adventure game, and not say an fps, rts or rpg, the player will likely focus more on evasion rather than combat, but this game is set in a war zone and it will feature blood and violence and the characters can be killed if they make the wrong decision on the battlefield.
After all, this is a ridiculously exaggerated cartoon satire, not a fantasy game.

[Eggie]

Absolutely in love with this project!

[Blondbraid]

Now, while it may not really have anything to do with the game, I read in the newspapers that the Belorussian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich will receive the Nobel Prize in Literature this year. Her book, War's Unwomanly Face, has been one of my sources of inspiration for this game with interviews of female war veterans providing an unconventional perspective on the second world war and I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
(I also recommend anyone interested in lavish ballgowns to watch the prize ceremony on tv on the 10th of December, but for some reason this interest rarely overlaps with WWII or computer games. )

Another source of inspiration has been Call of Duty: World at war, also an interesting, though very different, depiction of war. I hope that a game inspired by cartoons, blockbuster action and award-winning literature will be memorable, but if not I'm at least having fun making this game.

[Blondbraid]

Some concept art!

I did a few sketches for a church tower which will show up in the game, settling on the rightmost one.

Spoiler

For what better place is there for a sniper to have an (anti)climatic showdown than atop a church tower?

[close]

I wish for the setting to have a somewhat ambiguous feel while still being recognizably eastern European.
I also added a big clock face,
and I hope to make an homage to the Edgar Allan Poe short story A Predicament (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Predicament)!

[Blondbraid]

New screenshot!

As you can see, there will be a bit of blood in the game...

[CrashPL]

Just by looking at the screens I'm having a huge nostalgia trip, as they remind me of my favourite adventure games from the 90's. In other words - I sure do like them! Keep'em coming, and good luck with the project! All of the characters, with that cartoony slash propaganda design applied to them, sure do look great.

[Priabudiman]

Yay! It's Alive!

Cant wait for the finished piece, Good luck with the project Blondbraid!

[Stupot]

Looks like great fun. All the best, BB.

[MiteWiseacreLives!]

Regarding references, you have seen Enemy at the Gates right? Great movie about a Russian sniper (and based o true story).
Any timeframe for release yet?

[Blondbraid]

Just by looking at the screens I'm having a huge nostalgia trip, as they remind me of my favourite adventure games from the 90's. In other words - I sure do like them! Keep'em coming, and good luck with the project! All of the characters, with that cartoony slash propaganda design applied to them, sure do look great.

Cant wait for the finished piece, Good luck with the project Blondbraid!

Looks like great fun. All the best, BB.

Thank you so much for your support, it's great to hear that you like it!

Regarding references, you have seen Enemy at the Gates right? Great movie about a Russian sniper (and based o true story).
Any timeframe for release yet?

Yes, I did see enemy at the gates, and I think it's a great movie despite taking liberties with the source material (the irony of this movie is that many critics complained about the gritty sniper duels being weighed down by a tacked-on romantic sub-plot, while in reality, most things in the movie was fictional except for the romantic "sub-plot"! ).

While I hope to finish my work on this game within this autumn, I have a hard time being specific since I still have not decided on all the ideas I'm pondering weather to include. While I do have a clear ending in mind, the road there may be a bit rocky, so to say...
As for now, here is a new screenshot.

Just for fun, can anyone guess which artists I've referenced in the paintings by the stairs?

[Cassiebsg]

Really great BG, again!
Well, I do recognize Piet Mondrian, the other is way to dark for me to guess. The Scream maybe?

[Blondbraid]

Really great BG, again!
Well, I do recognize Piet Mondrian, the other is way to dark for me to guess. The Scream maybe?

You are right about Mondrian!
As for the other painting, I wanted to reference a Russian painting from a hundred years ago.

[Grok]

Really great BG, again!
Well, I do recognize Piet Mondrian, the other is way to dark for me to guess. The Scream maybe?

You are right about Mondrian!
As for the other painting, I wanted to reference a Russian painting from a hundred years ago.

Kazimir Malevich; Black square?

[Blondbraid]

Kazimir Malevich; Black square?

Yes, you are correct!
I wanted to include famous paintings a bit of an Easter-egg, and went with abstract motives because it would be hard to draw recognizable figures that small.

[Superkumi]

This all looks fantastic, absolutely love the art style!

[Blondbraid]

It's been some time since I last worked on my project, due to complications within the creative process requiring contemplation (which is a fancy way of saying I ran out of ideas and wrote myself into a corner )  I have now resumed my work and begun drawing new backgrounds and figuring out a layout for the next section of the game.