The Library

Hi there, friends and foes of democracy,

After many months working on the city seasonal cycle, I felt like doing a local scenario for a change. I therefore decided to draw the Library/Records Office.

I consider this scenario to be 98% ready, as I like the story it tells, the overall color and light scheme. I think it looks humble enough, considering libraries were just coming to life at that time (4th century BC). 

I would love to just go to this peaceful building and enjoy reading with natural light. I would probably not read standing on the tables but rather sit on the "windows". 

Obs: The characters in this image are not adjusted to the ambience, appearing just for size reference and to give an idea of the events that will take place there.

How the library contributes to the game

In the game, players will be trying to figure out how to be a successful politician in an ancient greek city. There will be many paths to learn about the city's problems and potentials, and the library will be one of those paths. 

While learning new policies is the main purpose of the library, I envision a some others:

• Studying in the library. The library will be where the player can meet and talk with Bion, the elder polymath. Bion will serve as an alternative teacher, but his style is not very emphatic. Instead of providing pragmatic ideas though conversation, Bion believes in discipline and effort, and will point out reading materials to the player.
• Investigations. Bion is also the only bureaucrat in the city who is able to (1) conduct a census and (2) investigate corruption. Whenever he encounters Leonidas (player's character) in the library, he will offer those services. 
• Lore. The library will contain writings describing the lore of the city, which could be seen as fun for some players. The lore may also help learn new policies.
• Data. The library will contain hard data about the city, such as the number of slaves or the wheat and wine production. However, the data available at the beginning of the game is outdated and only a new census will make it current.
• Ancient Greek literature. I plan on also adding actual ancient Greek writings in the library. I think that, if I make a real good effort with UI and UX, some players may just use the game to go to the library and read. (I also hope there will be no copywright issues).
• Community-created content. I am also hoping to open to you, readers of this devlogs, and players of the game, the possibility to add their own fake ancient greek tomes to the library.  I could begin working on this next year.

Making the art for the Library

I would like to comment a bit on the production of this scenario.

I did use artificial intelligence, but really just as a starting point. When I was designing the city landscape, I asked Midjorney for an ancient Greek library and one of the first suggestions it created was like this:

Looking at this image, I loved the vibe but hated the details. Books were not common back then, with scrolls being preferred; the tables' don't make sense when you look close, and the ceiling suggests a very narrow building. 90% of elements look like they are made of wood. 

You can see that, in the art I made, I kept the lines and proportions, but altered pretty much everything else.

The AI generated image was enough, however, to help me conceive the overall look for the library in order to add it to the city landscape:

 Notice the "windows" where the light would come in. It also suggests that the scenario of the library I draw is just half of the lower floor of the construction.

After doing the devlog last week, I began working on the library scenario.  I was surprised that, after just about 10 hours, it looked almost ready:

But of course, lots of polishing and improvements had to be implemented. I believe it took me about 20 hours in total, performed in exactly 8 days. 

This fast workflow has convinced me that I can really finish the art of backgrounds for the rest of the game in the next year, now that the city landscape is in an acceptable shape.

Next steps for the library/records office

I plan on making a small interactive scene of the library, playable independently of the game, just to cheack its UI/UX. This will probably be a July-August lil project.