Picking up from the last interview, we chatted with Hafhaf-oden ( https://twitter.com/ohanhan ), the graphic designer and artist behind the captivating pixel art animation in Urban Myth Dissolution Center. Join us as we dive deeper into the charm of pixel art animation and its entirety.
ーーQ: Speaking of limitations and constraints, "Urban Myth Dissolution Center" seems to have limitations on pixel art and some restrictions on color. Could you tell us more about that?
Hafhaf-oden: In Urban Myth Dissolution Center, we mainly use four colors for aesthetics. However, if you include tones for dark and light scenarios, it makes up to eight colors. With these, we illustrate everything from characters to backgrounds. This decision was made after our experimentation during the early stages of development. We’ve felt that if we had used five colors, we wouldn't achieve the same strength we have now, and if we had fewer, say, three colors, it would severely limit our expressive capabilities.
ーーQ: You’re right; if you pay close attention, the art in "Urban Myth Dissolution Center" is precisely depicted using four or eight colors, including shades.
Hafhaf-oden: Ah, but in addition to those colors, we treat red differently, using it as more of an accent color. Incorporating the color red along with the 4 color palettes intensifies when we want to enhance the mysterious atmosphere of Urban Myth Dissolution Center. Furthermore, although it's considered unconventional in pixel art, we sometimes use gradients and blurring techniques, so in reality, we use more colors. However, at its core, we express with the four colors (eight colors). I believe our character design stands out more distinctly this way, similar to how characters in manga are easily distinguishable when seen.
ーーQ: We also believe that is indeed the charm of Urban Myth Dissolution Center, reflected in your art style. As the team behind Andō Masaru no Jikenbo - with your next project being Urban Myth Dissolution Center - can you tell us about any new challenges you’re facing or new techniques you're trying out in the game?
Hafhaf-oden: Initially, Hayashi, our producer, told me, "Don't repeat what you did in your previous title, Andō Masaru no Jikenbo." While we draw certain elements from Andō Masaru no Jikenbo, we're introducing new challenges in Urban Myth Dissolution Center. For instance, while we do bring out the "night," "urban," and "coldness" feel using shades of blue, we deliberately limit the number of colors to maintain a colorful appearance. Additionally, we're illustrating characters in portrait style, which is a new approach for us. Another angle worth mentioning is the cut-ins. We could create more cinematic or anime-like cutscenes if we had unlimited resources. However, due to manpower limitations, we're keeping a balance by incorporating cinematic and anime-like cuts into our pixel art animations.
ーーQ: Can you elaborate more about the cinematic and anime-like cuts?
Hafhaf-oden: I mentioned in the last Urban Myth Dissolution Center Communication that we use background modeling, which allows us to switch camera positions flexibly and explore the best angles for various scenes. For instance, when Fukurai Azami hides under a bed, we capture it from a low angle, sometimes employing horror movie-like shots from below.
This flexibility in camera angles, which wasn't present in our previous work, Andō Masaru, adds to the unique feel of Urban Myth Dissolution Center.
ーーQ: Amazing cinematic and anime-like camera work! Now that you mentioned it, we also see it present in your released trailers! We'll be sure to keep an eye out for more in the future. Lastly, do you have any words for your fans and followers?
Hafhaf-oden: We're immensely grateful for the following our pixel art visuals have brought to Urban Myth Dissolution Center. However, we've also poured an equal amount of passion into creating captivating character designs, intertwining occult and mystery narratives, psychedelic music, and an easy-to-understand game system! We hope you're as excited about the completion and release of the game as much as we are!