Demo Video
An animated video designed to get across the look and feel of the gameplay before development began. Here we see a tutorial in the form of intercut dialogue between Molly, our protagonist, and Marvin, her mentor. Here we get a feel for the characters as well as the light, humorous tone of the game.
Cast of Characters
This was an early stint at building out a cast of characters. Naturally, as I brought them into the animation stage, their designs would evolve.
Marvin
Molly
Emilio
Bear Claw King
Left to Right:
Marvin the Magnificent; Molly's magical, mystical mentor
Molly the Baker; the hero of our story
Emilio; Molly's rival and frenemy
Bear Claw King; an ancient, megalomaniacal force of chaos
Marvin the Magnificent; Molly's magical, mystical mentor
Molly the Baker; the hero of our story
Emilio; Molly's rival and frenemy
Bear Claw King; an ancient, megalomaniacal force of chaos
Sprite Animation
Bringing traditional animation principles to snappy in-game sprites
Rough Animation
Final Vector Animation
Molly shows us 'How To Play'
Croissant, one of Bear Claw's minions, as he appears in the Sewer level
Background Art
Background or environment art is an important yet often overlooked discipline of entertainment design, and one that I do not consider my strong suit. There has never been a better excuse than this to try to sharpen this skill. Each level in Muffins on Stream represents a tease to a larger level of the full game while also capitalizing on the volumes of world building we had compiled at this point.
Forest
Town Square
Sewers
Ruins, Sub-Sewers
Throne Room
Shop Store Room
Menu Screen
The main menu, presented as an open spell tome.
In the context of the story, this is meant to to be 'The Baking Legacy', Marvin's book of spells, recipes, and lore.
In the context of the story, this is meant to to be 'The Baking Legacy', Marvin's book of spells, recipes, and lore.
The menu features illustrations depicting the lore behind the world of the game . These are designed to evoke primitive, medieval art styles seen in illuminated manuscript.
City of Flourden
Baking Legacy
Spoiled Flourden
Evil Rises Again
Marvin Battles Bear Claw
Baker's Dust
Dark World
Intro Cinematic
The game features an intro cinematic that I designed and directed. This was one of a number of recent chances for me to practice creative direction, having reassembled a reliable creative team for this one. Up until this point, we had not had a chance to feature much animation outside of the in-game sprites. The game’s cartoonish style is reminiscent of shows that we had enjoyed growing up - bold geometric shapes, bright colors, heavy black lines - and aligns well with the silly yet fantastical tone of the pastry-centric concept driving the in-game narrative. Streamers and their viewers get a glimpse of the town of Flourden, Molly’s muffin shop, and the inciting incident that kicks off the events of the game!