Starry Night

Greetings!!! So...it's been a while since the last time, but I come with good news :)

In May I developed a little game that I had in mind for a long time. My intention was to create something that would inspire relaxation with a very simple visual style and minimalist. I have realized that the best program for this purpose is Pico8.

Why? Due to its own restrictions. Who doesn't like a challenge? So we have a 128x128 pixel display, 16 colors, a sound limited to 4 channels and we can only use 32k of memory.

But we also have some advantages. For example, I have always found that having some limitations (especially those imposed by oneself) help to focus the creative process. Besides, Pico8 is incredibly easy to implement as HTML on any web, which means that we can see the result practically from any device such as a mobile or a tablet, which fits perfectly with my idea of ​​using this experience as a method of relaxation.

As inspiration I've taken a very common reference to the popular heritage, counting sheeps. This tradition comes from a tale from the beginning of the 12th century, collected in the book Disciplina Clericalis by the Spanish Jew Pedro Alfonso de Huesca. This story had such an impact that even Cervantes made reference to it in his work Don Quixote, although in this case he changed sheep for goats.

On the other hand, I have an image etched in my mind of several years ago of a peaceful, serene night of full Moon from my stay in Bremen, Germany. This image was from which I started to generate the whole idea around. I wanted to convey in some way the sensations of that moment.

With this in mind I wanted to build a painting in motion that had Spanish references. Then I thought about a mill (Do you remember Don Quixote?) That would also provide movement in the transition between sheep which was perfect.

Finally I needed to provide some sound, that was not excessive and that it made sense. We return to the mill! I realized that many people think that their sound is relaxing or inspiring, you can surely find a few videos on the subject.

So I took all this, put it in the blender, and this is the result!

More news soon!