Shortly after releasing module #7 back in December (and integrating all the fourth-level cleric and magic-user spells and effects into the game), a new goal was chosen--create large, detailed image depictions for each and every encounter area within the game! While this had been a goal for years, the cost of generating such artwork through traditional means was prohibitively expensive. Today, however, AI (artificial intelligence) generated art is not only quite intriguing but affordable as well. Utilizing the Midjourney engine (which, in turn, connects to Discord), individual images depicting each and every encounter area across all seven modules of the game were generated, over 500 altogether!
In order to make all the artwork consistent throughout the game, the same AI-driven approach was then used to rebuild all the other graphic depictions as well. Hence, all the heroes, characters, monsters and supporting items have all been rebuilt, utilizing most of the original art to create the new depictions in Midjourney. The resulting images are not only greatly improved but more consistent, as a single tool was used to generate it all. The game is now even more fun to play, as each encounter area displays a custom, original depiction representing that area, the player's image and all the party members are enhanced, as are all the NPCs, villains and monsters the party must face!
With all the new artwork in (and every single encounter reviewed, updated and played through several times to ensure that it all looks good), the next step is to record all seven modules using screen capture video so each quest and module can be uploaded to YouTube for playback. This will be done to not only act as an official "walk through" for those needing a hint of what to do next but also serve those who aren't necessarily interested in the game itself but still want to enjoy the story (as the new artwork really makes the game's presentation that much more entertaining). Once all seven modules have been captured, edited and uploaded to YouTube, work will then resume on module #8, "The Gods of Grim-Tir" (which is expected to be released later this summer).
As always, we thank our players for their continued support of BrowserQuests,™ their willingness to report bugs and other issues as they play and for their kind donations to the platform. We're also continuing to solicit marketers, advertisers and organizations looking to leverage our banner ad system to raise awareness of their own brands and generally support what we're doing (see our "Call for Marketers" page for all the details). Cheers!