Animal Well was developed by Billy Basso, a professional game programmer from Chicago.[1] Before working on Animal Well, Basso had worked for other game studios including Netherrealm Studios and Phosphor Games.[2] Basso began developing on Animal Well in 2017 as a hobby project during his free time, and started working on it full-time in 2022.[2]
Basso developed the engine from scratch in C++, wanting to free himself from working in the limitations of third-party engines like Unity and Unreal.[3] The gameplay code was written into its own DLL that can be recompiled while the game is running.[3] Basso used a limited color palette when designing the artwork.[1] Sprites were drawn and animated using Aseprite, and some animations are procedurally generated by the game.[3] Basso felt the procedurally generated animation helped the game appear unsettling, and helped set the game apart from the traditional sprite stretching and screen shaking effects used in other indie games.[3] The graphics engine also makes heavy use of particle systems, fluid simulations for smoke and water, normal mapping, and dynamic lighting.[3] The game runs at an internal resolution of 320x180.[3]
Creative inspirations for Animal Well came from survival horror games, "flip screen" Commodore 64 games, Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, The Witness, Tunic, and Fez.[1][4][2][5]
Basso worked with Dan Adleman for marketing. He eventually partnered with Bigmode for publishing.[5]
Ghost cat was intended to be a dog but most players interpret it as a cat. The game breaks the rule that characters never travel between screens. Like talking characters Mr X in RE2.[3]
Animal Well started as a hobby project for Basso on the weekends/afterhours.[4]
Basso was initally working with Dan Adelman for marketing. He later partnered with BIGMODE.[5]
Basso used a limited color palette.[1] When adding new lighting and particle effects, he ensured that the effects blended with the look of the game.[1]
Development began in 2017 as a hobby project[2]
Began working on the game full-time in start of 2022.[1]
Capture feeling of exploring unfamiliar space.[1]
Fez, survival horror, smb3.[5]
Inspired by The Witness, Tunic, and Fez[2]
Inspiration from "flip screen" Commodore 64 games and survival horror.[1]
Inspiration from survival horror titles, NES games, Super Mario Bros. 2.[4]
Basso developed the engine for Animal Well from scratch in C++.[3]
Basso was a developer at Netherrealm Studios and Phosphor Games.[2]
Basso was a professional programmer in industry.[1]
Basso is based on Chicago.[1]
When working at other studios, Basso used Unreal and Unity. He developed the engine from scratch beause he found it more enjoyable than having to work within the limitations of third-party engines.[3]
Basso wrote the gameplay code into its own DLL that can be recompiled while the game is running.[3]
Sprites were drawn using Aseprite. Some animations use procedurally generated geometry.[3] Basso believes the procedurally generated animations helped make animations look unsettling. As an example, the limbs for the ghost cat. Basso also wanted to find more ways to animate sprites in creative ways, and avoid the traditional sprite stretching and screen shake effects used in other indie games.[3]
The game uses particle effects.[3]
Running fluid sim on a layer for water and smoke effects.[3] Using normal maps and dynamic lighting.[3]
The game runs at an internal resolution of 320x180.[3]
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