Another week comes to an end and it sure has been a creative and fruitful one. Following our never-ending search for better UI/UX we created some new mockups for some in-game scenes, started animating flame and fire, and continued our work in creating more animations for the Monks of the Abbey.
Read on!
-- Animating working Monks
An element we are still working on every week is animations for the Monks and Nuns in the Abbey. Most of the animations of them going on about their day-to-day (AKA brewing) are already completed for the first batch of characters we created, with the newer ones being animated as you're reading this!
And - just like before - you can expect some animations to include somewhat quirky behaviors to color the Monks'/Nuns' personalities a bit.
-- Animating fire
One of the things our pixel artist Raimo is now invested in is the animations for the fiery elements in Ale Abbey. Although pretty discreet, there will be wall torches scattered across the corridors and rooms of the Monastery, candles (in Libraries and Cellars), and - as expected - the fires needed to brew your beer!
Thankfully, there are no fire accidents planned for Ale Abbey, so you will never have to find yourselves in any... weird situations.
-- UI mockups keep piling
Having spent quite a good part of last week's Something's Brewing shedding some light on how we deal with UI, this week saw a lot of work related to it, and we have some new mockups to prove it.
For the time being, Emiliano will further coordinate the work between Gianmario (programming) and Francesco (art) to find the best and most fitting setups in these scenes and smoothly incorporate them into the game.
-- "Beer is life" literally
Through our efforts in developing Ale Abbey we hope we make it abundantly clear that beer has played a unique and fascinating role in the history of monastic practices. However, something not many know is that in certain monasteries, particularly those of the Trappist tradition, beer was actually also used as sustenance during periods of fasting. Monastic communities have long embraced the practice of fasting as a means of spiritual purification and discipline, and beer served as a source of nourishment during these times of abstention.
The use of beer in fasting can be traced back centuries to the Middle Ages when monastic brewing became a common practice. Monks would brew their own beer within the confines of the monastery, often using simple and natural ingredients. During fasting periods, when solid food was restricted, the consumption of beer provided the vital nutrients and calories necessary for sustenance. The brewing process also allowed for preserving essential vitamins and minerals, making beer a viable and practical option for monks to sustain themselves!
While the specific practices surrounding beer and fasting may vary among different monastic communities, the historical use of beer in sustaining monks during periods of abstention is a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of these religious orders. Come to think of it, it does take some creativity and resourcefulness to nail those ale recipes and brewing!
Join us next week for more of Ale Abbey's news! For now, enjoy your weekend responsibly ;)
-- Hammer & Ravens
Looking for more Ale Abbey? Or maybe want to chat with the team? Find us on:
