Innkeep is an immersive job sim with an RPG core and a dark twist. Run your own fantasy world inn. Serve ale. Share rumors. Tell jokes. Rob your guests…?? Well, maybe just a little.
I'm pretty happy with this technically. It's not a 3D environment, so I can't use real cast light. It's 2.5D. Most 2D environments are top-down, or from the side, so you can can simply draw a dark layer over the whole screen, and then cut out holes for light. But with 2.5D that would be strange. You'd end up, for example, with the light circle in that video getting directly cast over the bar or the tables without any difference from height. Or use different light sprite shapes for different surfaces, to help the angle make sense (side walls, v.s floor, vs back walls). A bit of work to set up, but should be worth it in the end.So instead, what I am setting up is individual sprites getting impacted differently by the candle. It's complex, but the final effect should look very nice. For example, I can cast a circle on the back walls that gets larger as the player gets closer.