Biomes is a mobile game for children that encourages them to learn while having fun. Evenly Cooler Games, an indie game developer and publisher based in Dublin, Ireland, is behind Biomes. They reached out to create the world of Biomes as well as a set of publishing materials such as concept art, Facebook covers, LinkedIn posts, email templates, and a game site.
The process
It took a long time and several sprints (Agile Scrum iterations) to establish how Biomes will look. Matching the goal of Evenly Cooler with the final concept arts required an effective project management process.
Storytelling
What is the background to Biomes? We worked hard to come up with terms and adjectives to describe Biomes. It is an ever-changing universe brimming with wonderful games for kids to play and learn in. Biomes is a place where children can imagine themselves in their favorite worlds.
Looking for an art direction
We produced numerous sketches to establish an art direction. Different angles and compositions were explored to determine what their target audience loves and wants to engage with Biomes' game and content.
Sketching is a quick illustration that focuses on generic shapes and proportions. This allowed us to iterate efficiently and save time before considering colors and finishing the final artwork.
Choosing the perfect colors
Because Biomes contains different biomes, it took considerable effort to find the right colors. Some biomes, for example, might be gloomy, while others can be vibrant. The color keys are used to create the overall look and feel of the scene.
Creating characters to embrace diversity
Evenly Cooler's core value of diversity must be represented in their game. That is why we took the time to determine the appropriate sizes and curves for a baseline. Then we made a wide range of characters with unique personalities, genders, ethnicities, and disabilities.
Production of publishing materials
We started creating mockups and UI elements for the website after the concept art was nearly complete. We used the same methodology as for concept art - Agile Scrum - which allowed us to iterate fast on web design wireframes, mockups, and web development. On request, the website is hosted on servers powered by renewable and carbon-free electricity.
Other assets, such as Facebook covers and graphics, were made to enhance the page profile and posts. Evenly Cooler now can compose emails by themselves thanks to the creation of an email template.