Initially the GrimKeep project existed only as a concept of game mechanics; the idea of using dice and yatzy/poker combos as a start and a core, and building on it with "items". The simplicity of the dice would be a super-approachable start for everyone, with minimal need for tutorials. The items would build depth and variation over time and allow us to create endless combinations and cool synergies.

There was also a feeling that it was a fantasy game in general, but before any art was produced, it wasn't really decided. The first prototype was just boxes, programmer art, and pictures of characters borrowed from our other games.


It's a well kept secret that for smaller scale productions, art choices are not just about what would be cool. One of the more difficult questions is about budget. The cost of art is a bit like asking "how long is a string". There's no upper limit to how much money and time you could spend on art, and there's barely any lower limit either.

Before a project like this is greenlit, you will generally not have a solid idea of the budgets. So in our case, once Henrik got involved to think about the art production needs, it was natural to approach this defensively, with the assumption that the budget would be fairly limited.

This is why in the second prototype, we did some exploration with some prototype 3D assets from the very talented Kay Lousberg[kaylousberg.com].

Almost all of Resolution's games are 3D. It's a natural fit for our XR focus areas, but we needed a ton of enemies, characters, and environment assets. That presented a problem for our very small team. The assets needed to look coherent and uniform, and we needed to be able to make more in the same style.


Here's where the "cool" came into play. Once we had assembled a test scene, it was pretty clear that it wasn't right for us. The style was approachable and cute, but it wasn't really what we wanted, we needed something more “serious”. So we started over.
But the thing about "serious" is that it tends to be much more costly. A realistic, or semi-realistic 3D character is likely to take a lot more time for a 3D artist to model. The answer… make it 2D! Or rather as it evolved; 2.5D. I.e. two-dimensional pictures, but placed in a 3D environment!
But to be honest the thing that tip the needle was that this approach seemed way more fun and exciting for us to produce.


Ok, so we're doing fantasy. It's the natural thing when you need hundreds of items that do various, sometimes abstract things rules-wise. Magic and all, you know? But... high fantasy? low fantasy? punky fantasy? Tons of overlapping flavors to pick from. We already have Demeo, one of Resolution's biggest titles. Demeo is a straight-shooting classic roleplaying fantasy game for the most part. It's steeped in nostalgia, and has versions of classic fantasy tropes all over. The first sketches for the 2.5D art had a decidedly Conan-esque aesthetic, as if taken directly from a John Buscema Conan comic book. It didn't feel quite right either, but the style itself, the line work and colors, looked like it would only need a slight push, and different types of characters to become something darker.

We're all immersed in the wider game scene, so I'm sure the recent surge in soulslikes has taken hold in our minds. It led us here, to this question: "Can you have an easy-to-pick-up dice game, but dress it in serious, brooding grimdark clothes?" Well, let's find out!

GrimKeep wants to be a world of odd and horrific monsters, and to give it legs to stand on creatively, we took inspiration from two sources; Lovecraftian Mythos, and fairy tales. Grimm's fairytales of course. It's not lore accurate Cthulhu per se, but uses the same ideas of ancient eldritch demon-gods, invading a peaceful world. These monsters represent the challenge, the enemy. The fairytales represent the good, our protagonists. Imagine this post-apocalyptic world, where characters from classic fairytales are real. Real legendary characters, but they're not living happily ever after. They're struggling through this dark world, fighting to survive with the rest of humanity. The Little Red Riding Hood might as well have experienced the incident with grandma and the wolf as a child, but that is a pale memory now. Now that she is older, she doesn't skip through the forest with a basket of goodies. She goes by the name Red, stalking a city of monsters, sword at the ready, eager for vengeance.

[[i]First sketch for the current hero art[/i]]



Stay tuned, more about making the art in future devlogs!

It’s been wondrous seeing the first reactions to this game of Dice and Darkness that we’re making. The biggest question has been “What’s a ‘dice-builder’?”, which we’ll try to answer here. But first, a brief introduction and backstory!


At Resolution, we have an event called Gameplay Shares where anyone is welcome to pitch an idea or talk about something they are passionate about. In one of these events we presented the idea of a dice game with simple Yatch combos at its core with collectible items that are influenced by those dice combos. The idea resonated with a lot of us, and a few weeks later, we started on a prototype, and the idea just keeps growing stronger in our minds!


The GrimKeep, team consists of only two people! But also not really. At Resolution we have an extensive team of specialists that can be called into teams as needed. Besides the core team of Henrik and David, a bunch of others will make appearances during the development.
Hi, we're Henrik Pettersson and David Filipe!

Henrik, Resolution's Studio Art Director, has been a full-time game developer since 1999, and is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, with roots in visual arts.

David is an indie game aficionado, a regular game jammer and a game programmer with vast experience with all kinds of platforms.


Just as a deck-builder, a dice-builder is a game where you manage a set of cards to optimize the power you get out of it, it’d make sense to assume that a dice-builder is about managing a set of dice to the same end.

In our case that is a half-truth probably. While you could imagine a game where all the little special rules are on the dice, that’s not really what we’re doing. Dice aren’t natural holders of rule texts in the same way cards are. So we’ve opted for a normal set of six-sided dice for the start of the game, and what you primarily manage are “Items” that react to the dice results, but there will be some choices to make with the dice as well over the course of a game.

If you’re already familiar with deck-builders and rogue-likes, a lot of GrimKeep will be known to you. We’re putting dice-rolling at the center of it, and going all in.

This is actually one of the things we’re most curious about; how will it feel to take an approachable puzzle game core, and apply it to a proper nerdy theme that takes itself way too seriously?! Another strength is that the game can start simple, as everyone knows yatzy/poker combinations, and over time, the game grows in complexity and depth.

Testing out our early prototype on Steam Deck!

We aim to make GrimKeep enjoyable for everyone, whether they have just 10 minutes during their commute or want to immerse themselves for hundreds of hours. GrimKeep should be fun for both of these.