We are still early in the journey of making Derby Creek, and one of the questions we get asked the most is: What will the game actually look like?
We wanted to pull back the curtain and share where we are with the art direction, some of the decisions we have made so far, and the challenges we are working through right now.
Why 16-Bit?
When we started prototyping, we experimented with a few different visual styles. But we kept coming back to 16-bit pixel art. There is something about the SNES and GBA era that feels inherently cozy, warm, and expressive without needing to be photorealistic.
For a fishing game about patience and atmosphere, that constraint actually works in our favour. Pixel art forces you to be intentional with every tile, every colour, every animation frame. You cannot hide behind high fidelity. If the water does not feel right at 16x16 pixels, no amount of post-processing will save it.
We are still iterating on this daily, but the core direction is set: a top-down RPG perspective with a heavy focus on natural environments, water rendering, and lighting that shifts across four times of day.
Finding the Right Palette
One of the biggest challenges we have been working through is the colour palette. Derby Creek needs to feel like nature, earthy and grounded, but also readable and inviting on screen.
Right now we are anchoring around deep river blues, warm foliage greens, and terracotta browns for the banks. The tricky part has been the water. We want it to feel like it has real depth (surface, midwater, deep) without losing that cozy, approachable look. It is a balance we are still tweaking, and honestly great art takes time, we'll be sharing this when it's ready.
If you have ever tried to make water look 'wet' in pixel art, you know exactly what we mean.
UI That Feels Like It Belongs
One early decision we made was that the interface should never feel like it is floating on top of the game. We want everything to feel tactile, like objects the angler would actually carry.
This is all still in development, and some of these ideas might change as we playtest. But the principle stays the same: the UI should feel like part of the world, not a layer on top of it.
Come Build the Creek With Us
This is very much a game in progress, and that is exactly what makes this stage exciting. Every week we are making decisions that shape what Derby Creek will become, and we want you along for the ride.
If you are interested in following the journey, seeing the messy work-in-progress screenshots, and helping us make the tough art direction calls, we would love to have you.
Our Kickstarter pre-launch is approaching fast. By following us on Discord now, you'll be able to join our community get access to behind-the-scenes development updates, merch giveaways, and direct chats with the dev team.
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