trashbot – the game
Trashbot is a game first and foremost about sentimentality and the value of ephemera.
It is a cozy game meant to be played at any pace- there are no parts of the game that require excessive reaction speed, and the ones that do are able to be skipped for accessibility.
The game values grinding to collect resources, but can be played more casually by only doing the primary plot-relevant quests (highlighted in a task list so they stand out similar to Spiritfarer).
Cutscenes are all re-playable by selecting the applicable item(s), but can not be skipped the first time around in order to keep the pace of the game slow.
The Setting
Level 1- The Smoldering Mesa (the desert)
Level 2- Irridow’s Forest (the forest)
Level 3- Cocytus River (the river)
Level 4- Bide Poleis (the city)
Level 5- Asphodel Post (the caverns)
The Character
Trashbot is a scouting probe sent to evaluate the resources available on Earth to relay back to an alien civilization on Kepler-452b within the constellation Cygnus looking to colonize.
Trashbot is acompanied by Chatterbox, a helpful AI that moderate’s Trashbot’s behavior, and it’s perception of the world around it in order to avoid distractions. Together they slowly investigate different biomes, and the resources that can be found there, and build structures for more convenient navigation.
The art shown here was created for the prompt ‘versatile verbs’ – each image is meant to represent the primary concepts of the game – collect – remember – restore
The Basics
Collect Scrap
The art above was created for a 2021 coding project. It is not current for the style.
Collect Scrap –
Oil – “oil: commonly found in terran geological formations. can be refined into fuel or other resources. critical environmental impact.”
Fabric – “fabric: created out of natural or artificial materials through weaving. used in creating terran attire and other materials. can be broken down into fibers.”
Metal – “metal: a lustrous material with the ability to conduct heat and electricity relatively well. often made into alloys such as iron. used to construct electronics.”
Plastic – “plastic: a synthetic polymer-based material that can be formed into objects with various uses. critical environmental impact.”
Wood – “wood: fibrous structural tissue formed by trees and other plants. used in the construction of various primitive structures by terrans. decomposes naturally.”
Glass – “glass: non-crystalline, transparent amorphous solid. has a variety of practical, technological, and decorative uses. created from terran sands.”
Radium – “radiation: in the form of radium, an alkaline terran metal. it is highly radioactive, making it useful in energy generation.”
Scrap are used to craft Upgrades to Trashbot and to The Lander. This allows the player to advance between regions, and to make The Lander more cozy to improve Trashbot’s Mental Stats – especially Comfort and Humanity (initially hidden)
Trashbot’s Mental Stats
Trashbot’s Mental Stats are as follows –
Data – information known about the surrounding area and its’ inhabitants
Clarity – how well trashbot can see through Chatterbox‘s deceit
Comfort – how at home and at ease Trashbot feels at any given time
Humanity – the strength of Trashbot’s connection to the people who live here
Humanity is gained through viewing Memories associated with Traces. The five main traces are as follows –
Bun – Amalia‘s stuffed rabbit left in the Firetooth Bunker
Snakes – Two friendship bracelets tied in the Weeping Acacia
Hoot – a painted river rock in a rec room on The Rig
Quail – a carved California Quail found in the ruins of an Apartment Building
T’s Bun – made for Trashbot by Amalia to replace her Bun and give Trashbot a Trace of its’ own
The aesthetic
On the Isometric View
Trashbot can not/ should not jump, so having a regular side scroller doesn’t make much sense and wouldn’t make sense for dynamic movement.
Top-down often limits perspective and makes items look more 2-d in a world with intentionally dynamic regions and geography – therefore putting it into a fully 2d environment would take away from the aesthetic of the regions and hurt the overall story and effect.
Because it is isometric- the sky never appears during gameplay, although cutscenes are not at this perspective, so the sky is seen other times.
On the Hand-Drawn/Animated Style
I want the game to have an almost nostalgic feel- reminiscent of old storybooks and animation, as opposed to pixel art.
All of the assets are created in 2d, with visible brushstrokes and texture.
On the UI
The screen will be entirely taken up by the game, there will be no significant ui visible the majority of the time.
Chatterbox (the ai) will appear visually as a projection (that only trashy can see) and move around in the 3d space with text bubbles to communicate.
the history of trashbot
Trashbot started as a video game concept for an AP Computer Programming project in high school 2020-22, but evolved into an ongoing project. In 2021 I developed preceding world building and lore for Honors Post-Apocalyptic Literature. In 2022, for AP Computer Programming , I created basic UI for a shop feature within the game (that has since been removed). From 2022-23 I developed it further as a video game concept for my Game Design coursework in college. Today it is an amalgamation of mediums, primarily a video game in early development, and a graphic novel in similar stages.
