Cireclinlin is a Discord server for fans of Cyanide and Happiness. In June 2017, its members were brainstorming a video game based on C&H fan culture.
After seeing a coincidental resemblance between one Cireclinlin member's avatar and a Logan Kart 8 character, Itsyaboy suggested making a video game based on the personalities and memes of the C&H fandom. It'd be "self-insert playable fanfiction" as Cteklite called it.
We've agreed on a genre: 2D overhead adventure or RPG, somewhere along the line from Zelda through Secret of Mana through EarthBound to Final Fantasy. Graphics would be pixel art, staying within the limits of one of the third- or fourth-generation consoles, such as 16x16-pixel tiles on a scrolling 256x224-pixel plane, to make the asset load manageable for a loosely knit team of hobbyists.
The hub of the game world is a village that represents where the C&H comics take place: a more or less present-day if sketchy small town. The art style would somewhat resemble that of the shorts, as the white backgrounds in the comics proper don't give much to go on. Commenters are sort of tourists, but the regulars perhaps have an apartment.
Arsenic & Joy (the Skype group) and Cireclinlin (here) are local hangouts of some sort. A&J used to be booming until most people started hanging out in Cireclinlin.
Main article: Story (Cireclinlin)
The overall story line is an allegory for experiences in Explosm.net's comment section since 2016.
After the village[1] was destroyed, the elders[2] decided to rebuild it in December 2014. To keep the new village from meeting the same fate, only those deemed worthy were permitted to enter at first.[3] Those outside could watch what happened there but not enter. Without a large influx of visitors, the new village stayed clean yet stagnant.
Early on, the rulers decided it would be better if all people could share the land. But there wasn't enough space for everyone at first; land needed to be excavated and leveled to allow more people in.[4] After ten months, it was opened to everyone. This ended the stagnation, even though a month of constant talk in the square about being glad to be in the village annoyed the long-time residents.[5]
Pino heard of incidents in the village[6] and moved in to try to solve them.[7] There he met others, who told stories of a dog who used to roam the streets killing pigeons. But over time, the polluters arrived.
This timeline of events was compiled by ProfessAdeath and may help define story arcs.
PPM are potential party members, who may be recruitable depending on available hardware and developer resources.
The first playable character:
Others can be recruited into the party in various ways, including Defeat Means Playable.
To do: Front, side, and back drawings of all characters
To be based on notorious posters of unconstructive comments to comics on Explosm.net, such as the Judgmentals.
NPCs are drawn as stick dolls in a style reminiscent of C&H.
We may use the rush meter system with pasta-themed items to restore stamina.
Attacks would cost stamina, "special" attacks more than physical ones.
Each map (overworld, town, or dungeon) is made of 16x16-pixel tiles. Each tile can have black and three other colors. A map can have four such sets of three colors. But in order to get a starting point, we're going to have to collect character concept art designs. It doesn't matter what size you draw the characters first, just that there are front, side, and back views. From the concept art, we'd make versions suitable for a smaller pixel size, such as 16x24 to 16x32, and then draw a town map to put them on.
Mind the perspective: Cels in most characters' sprite sheets should be 16 pixels wide and 24 to 32 pixels tall, with the camera about 26 degrees down from horizontal, as in this sprite sheet (and the original unscaled rendering). Characters that move on all fours might use a sprite that's wider but not as tall. To simplify things, choose one dark color, one medium color, and one light color for a sprite sheet.
Categories: Cireclinlin