Dev Update: Title Screen

A title screen isn't something you'd think a lot of work gets put in to. However, considering that it's the first impression for players of your game, you really should be putting some thought into it. For A Pirate's Life, we wanted to capture the feeling of the game in a single screen. After a fair amount of trial and research, we've come up with a design we're happy with.

We'd like to share our plans with you:

A quick mockup of our title screen.

Instead of using a static image or concept art, we've elected to run a visualisation of gameplay! Upon starting the game for the first time, the title screen will feature one of the game's most expensive ships (not the one picture above!) sailing endlessly across a blue ocean. The ship will be piloted by an impressive crew, who you will see scrambling across the decks.

After you've played the game, returning to the title screen will feature your own character and crew, piloting the last ship you used in-game. Not only is this a neat little easter egg, but it will help give the player a sense of progression, which is an important aspect of the game.

Given some spare time, it'd be easy to further develop the title screen- a day/night cycle could be added, you could have the ship sail past other vessels or maybe some islands every so often! It all depends on how much time we have.

The life of an indie dev is a busy one, though :P