To Reap and Sow

Meeko is the lone Grave Reaper of Burrowsville, a spooky and autumnal place with monsters and spirits. He is responsible for maintaining the tombstones and skeleton inhabitants within the graveyard.

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Inspiration

My main inspiration for To Reap and Sow is my love for both cozy, farming simulation games and Halloween. I wanted a bit of a darker take on farming sims, and thought it would be funny if instead of planting seeds to grow crops, you plant bones to grow skeletons! From there, I kept expanding the idea, taking inspiration from games like Stardew Valley, Moonlighter, and Graveyard Keeper.

What it does

The build that I currently have is a completed level of a larger game concept. The space currently includes Meeko’s home, some farm fields, the woods, a secret alcove, and the graveyard itself. In my grander concept, I also imagine a town across one of the rivers filled with NPCs, shops, and more. For now, the player can walk around as Meeko, hearing different sounds and interacting with skeletons to see their animations.

How I built it

This concept was built from the ground up, starting with concept art and gray-boxing. From there, I began modeling the pieces that would eventually make up the game world's buildings and architecture. I also made my own painted stylized textures to make sure everything had a cohesive feel to it. Next came character modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation. Once I finished all of my assets, I imported them into Unity and assembled them!

Challenges I ran into

The parts I struggled most on were UVs and animation. I’ve never liked unwrapping, and I was okay with how my UVs came out for the project even if they could have been better. As for animation, I had some geometry clipping due to the clothes laying on top of Meeko’s body mesh, so extreme poses were a bit off. I’m still happy to have tried my own animation and rigging, even if it isn’t perfect.

I also had a time crunch, as this was a school project. Since the course was 7 weeks, I needed to work fast! Some aspects unfortunately did need to be cut, as I could not feasibly finish them in time. Luckily, I did not experience too much burnout and I was able to get everything essential done.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm proud of being able to bring together a concept into a functional game that I can demo to people. I've had this concept for over a year, but it would just sit in my mind and I would spend way too long trying to explain it to people. With a functional game level, I can now show people what I can do/create and also show them my ideas in action!

What I learned

I learned so much during my time working on To Reap and Sow, specifically the whole game development process. Usually, I've only been in charge of one branch of making a game (only environmental models, only texturing, etc.). However, I was in charge of everything here! It kept me extremely organized and efficient, and I learned a few new methods of creating art assets efficiently that I will continue to use as an artist. Most importantly, I learned so much about Unity and how games are developed in the engine.

What's next for To Reap and Sow

I would love to continue building this level, adding in the parts I had to cut and even additional areas, like a town or an interior to Meeko's home. Maybe one day I can work with someone who's experienced with code and see even more of the game come to life!

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