A top-down action-adventure where the world begins in greyscale. Color is the discovery.
You wake into a world rendered entirely in shades of grey. There are forests and ruins, creatures and quiet rooms — but everything reads as memory. Discovery brings color back.
What you find, where you go, and which moments you choose to stay with — those are what tint the world. There is no XP bar. The progression is the palette.
The world's saturation is the player's progress bar. Every meaningful discovery — a place, a creature, a memory — re-tints the map permanently.
Tight, responsive controls. Combat that respects your time. Enemies that telegraph honestly. Exploration first, conflict only when earned.
You decide what's worth remembering. Discovery is driven by curiosity, not checklists. The world keeps its secrets if you don't go looking.
In-engine screenshots will land here as the prototype matures. For now: the visual direction.
Core movement, discovery system, and the greyscale-to-color shader pipeline. Building the engine that makes the central idea feel right.
One zone, one creature, one full discovery loop — fully tinted. Enough to know if the idea sings.
Substack posts go from internal notes to weekly progress, including builds for the most curious followers.
When there's enough to show, not before. Wishlist will follow.
Shades is being built in the open. The Substack devlog is where you'll see the first real footage, the first creature designs, and the first time the world finds its color.