Play it here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/44/heart-of-the-grove

Our original paper concept.

I modeled all the low poly objects (2 cliffs, 2 floor platforms, 2 rocks) using the process of blocking out a shape, then adding subsurf + decimate.

The level was created by rotating, scaling, and positioning the low poly objects in different ways. Here you can see the finished outer cliffs.

Adding floor platforms.

Completed island base. We would later add a few more inner cliffs.

Added treant.

Set up postprocessing. Uses Postprocessing Stack v2 with ambient occlusion, color grading, bloom, vignette. Also uses global fog in the Rendering settings.

Navmesh for movement. For this, I combined all the floor platforms into a single mesh using the Mesh Baker asset.

Added the spirit tree. This came from a trees megapack on CGTrader. I recolored the leaves to be blue so it stands out from other trees.

Added a viking invader. Initially the invaders had torches but we later swapped them out for axes after realizing fire would burn down the whole forest and didn't make much sense. Viking invader from the Polygon Vikings pack.

Added 2 tree variations and some brush. All from the Polygon Nature Pack.

Filled the level with small rocks and brush.

Testing camera angles for how the player should perceive the world when playing.

Starting to replace the placeholder UI with actual elements. We used the Burning Moon UI asset for this.

We determined it was difficult to figure out where enemies were coming from, so we enabled healthbars on all enemies (and not just when they take damage, which was the initial implementation).

The initial 'finished' UI. Later in the final testing hours, we would add the full controls instructions to the bottom left.

Experimenting with how many starting trees the player should have. This in-engine shot shows a stress test of 100+ trees.

Grid layout to help players target their clicks.

Final version UI (with added Instructions screen).

Final version gameplay featuring treants fighting invaders.

Play our game here! https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/44/heart-of-the-grove