Taglands - Third-person open-world action-adventure... with graffiti

[ddc_tone]

I recently started a thread here for Dead Ducklings: Fowl Play, and apparently one game wasn’t enough to keep me confused, so this is the other thing I’ve been building.

Taglands is a third-person graffiti and parkour game set in a stylized city.

The basic idea is pretty simple:

You start out as an unknown writer with very little money, very little reputation, and probably more confidence than you should have.

You explore the city, meet people, find places to paint, learn new skills, earn reputation, make money, avoid getting caught, and gradually work your way deeper into the graffiti scene.

The city itself is meant to be a big part of the game.

I don’t want it to just be a backdrop where missions happen. I want players climbing fire escapes, crossing rooftops, finding hidden entrances, cutting through buildings, discovering legal walls, abandoned areas, rail yards, alleys and places they probably shouldn’t be.

Basically, if you look at a rooftop and think “I wonder if I can get up there?” I want the answer to usually be yes.

The graffiti side is something I want to go much deeper with over time too.

Different caps, paint colors, stencils, freehand painting, overspray, drips, paint inventory and different surfaces are all part of where I’m heading.

I also don’t want the game to boil everything down to obvious “good choice / bad choice” decisions.

You’ll meet people around the city, build relationships and make decisions that can have unexpected consequences.

Sometimes doing the right thing may make your life worse.

Sometimes doing something questionable might actually help somebody.

Good or bad… who’s to say.

Visually, I’m going for something that feels a little like a sketchbook came to life — hand-drawn clouds, ink outlines, marker-like textures and a city that feels illustrated rather than realistic.

The second screenshot is the player’s apartment building, which acts as an early home base.

The first is part of the city I’m currently building out.

There’s still a ridiculous amount left to do, but the goal is eventually to make Taglands feel less like a series of levels and more like a place you actually learn your way around.

A place where you start recognizing shortcuts, rooftops, characters, crews, walls and neighborhoods.

And occasionally run from the police because you made an excellent series of life decisions.

That’s the plan, anyway. Hope you follow the journey,

FYI - I’m new here. Sorry if I posted in the wrong category.

[ddc_tone]

Small Taglands update.

I’ve been working on making more of the city actually usable instead of just scenery.

The latest addition is paintable billboards.

You can climb up to them and use the billboard face as an actual graffiti surface. I’m planning to scatter different billboard designs around the city so they start as part of the environment, but can eventually become part of the player’s story too.

I’m also considering making spots like these worth more reputation because they’re so visible — but obviously getting to them should come with a little more risk.

Still experimenting with that balance.

What do you guys think — should harder-to-reach / more visible spots actually be worth more, or should reputation mostly be based on the piece itself?

[ddc_tone]

New building added. Don’t judge my blender models. LOL

I’ve been trying to add buildings based off of famous graffiti artists. This one is based off of Blek’s Le Rat, a French street artist. I want to have as many nods to artists and culture as possible.

So many artists to choose from! Let me know if you have any suggestions for the game.

I know this is not the first graffiti game. But I’m hoping to make one that captures the culture.