Hey folks, Nolyn here.
So, let's talk about Service With A Shotgun and the pixel art glow-up that happened somewhere between "haha look at this gremlin" and "oh no I accidentally developed an aesthetic." Today's subject: Amanda.
I’m not an artist. Let’s get that out of the way. Amanda was straight up practice. When I worked on her, I never did any pixel art, or at least very little when I started working on her. Her aesthetic in the original one was just the best I could do if I'm being honest.
But fast forward a few months and now the game has actual tone and themes and, like... feelings. So I had to put my Big Dev Pants™ on and figure out how to make Amanda still feel like Amanda - chaotic punk soul and all - but in a way that doesn't look like I drew her in MS Paint while eating hot chips.
What Sorahn made was the vision from the get-go aside from the iconic pink hair, that part was his own touch. the idea for Amanda was that one customer you'd never hang out with out of work but always when you're on the clock. I think I got it pretty solid with the writing but Sorahn really made it come to life in ways I never could've. Massive shout out here! If you wanna see more, you can find it on Sorahn's X account! Super excited to see all the love for her from your comments :D Stay tuned for more design insights from yours truly. You won't believe what Dr. Scott looked like.