This dev diary post was originally posted in 2019 - now it's slightly updated and re-uploaded (because of nostalgia, and- ) to celebrate the release of the game.
Bánk, the project's writer-director, gathered for us which games were especially influential in creating Chicken Police's story, world, and characters. They might not come as a surprise, but the reasons are. ;)
Bánk"I wanted to be a videogame developer since my childhood. Among other things, these games were the ones that eventually drove me to this journey and even played a huge role in the development of Chicken Police."
GRIM FANDANGO – For Love and Bones
Well... what can I say? To me, Grim is everything! It was maybe the most definitive gaming experience of my childhood and also turned out to be one of the most determinate experiences of my adulthood too. Unforgettable characters, endlessly exciting and insane story, the music, the art-direction, the voice-acting, simply everything! For a long time, I only had the demo version of the game, which I've completed about 10-15 times, if not more. I didn't even understand the text completely, I learned English from video games, and then I was less than a beginner. So I came back to it again and again, and I understood more and more every time. Not just the text, but what the game really wants to say...
Grim taught me that no matter how great your setting and your story is, the characters are always your most important assets! - That's why I've created my (silly and strange, but effective) character generation formula, which I use ever since, and Grim, among others, made me fell in love irrevocably with the noir genre, and movies like Gilda, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity or Casablanca. (which is not even a real noir, but that's another topic)
Manny's adventure also taught me that music is one of the most important elements of moody games like these. "Un dos tres cuatro... ta ta taaaaa!"
Huge heartfelt thanks to Tim Schafer, Peter McConnell, and Tony Plana, amongst many others, who made this gem of a game a reallity!
L.A. NOIRE – The Golden Boy
Heh... a no-brainer, eh? Yeah... not even a question. By the time this game came out, noir was already one of my favorite genres. L.A. Noir was not only an almost perfect story with a fantastic mood but the definitive investigating simulator. Unfortunately, the project was bleeding from a few wounds (Somewhat the full open-world structure and the lack of focus on the main storyline hurt the experience a little), but it still inspired us immensely. So, huge respect and thank you, Team Bondi!
POLICENAUTS AND SNATCHER – Neon lights and buddy-cop noir
Both of them are amazing detective games in Mr. Kojima's unique storytelling, featuring real, alive characters (and hilarious dialogues at times). Policenauts is maaaaybe a little closer to my heart because of the buddy-cop feel, which Chicken Police also borrowed in the end. If you thought about it, it's Lethal Weapon in sci-fi version, and it's hard to come up with anything cooler than that...
Furthermore, these games' gameplay is similar to what we created, with dialogues and interrogation being the main focus. Cult classics, that's true, but still undeservedly ignored. (REMASTER, anyone???!)
BLADE RUNNER – Do the androids dream of great videogames?
When I first saw it as a child, it made my brain almost-literally explode (it still does even today, when I get back to it from time to time). Hardcore noir-adventure with great mini-games and even some action sequences, and that "camera-photo" riddles (I don't know how to address them) were almost surreal like I've never seen again ever since.
I also LOVE the original novel by Philip K. Dick (and all of P.K.Dick's works to be honest), and the movie version is very close to my heart too, so it's a no-brainer BR is in my top games. (and yes, Deckard was an android! - at least in the movie...)
ALAN WAKE – "Previously on Alan Wake"
An undeservedly ignored game. Wake masterfully twists the literary topoi of classic pulp-horror novels and their movie versions. Simply a forgotten masterpiece, a never made Twighlight episode in a game form. I've completed it a thousand times, and - when I'll have time to play anything -, I'm sure I'm going to reach for it again. "Previously on Alan Wake" I'm never going to get this sentence out of my head.
SAM & MAX HIT THE ROAD – Total mindcluck!
Shame or not, I've only run into this game in my adulthood. I started to play with it at the insistence of our programmer, Péter, and its humor, breakings of the fourth wall, and the irresistible chemistry of the two main characters just blew my mind. How the cluck I don't played this already a hundred times???!
I'm still trying to recover from it, with more or less success... (probably less)
+1 / BIOSHOCK - Would You Kindly?
For me... there's Bioshock, and there's everything else. Narrative design, writing, characters, setting, music, mood - Bioshock is one of a kind! Whatever game I'm working on, or will be in the future, Bioshock always affects me one way or another. It's definitely on my bucket-list: I'll have to shake hands with Ken Levine once.
"Would You Kindly" - is still the best plot-twist in every game ever!
+2 / THIEF 2 : The Metal Age - Iron trees? Not in my part of town.
This... this is maybe the strangest entry in this list yes, but hear me out! How is Thief a noir??? Well, the original Thief series (especially Thief 2) borrows heavily from the film-noir heritage. A grumpy, morally compromised anti-hero with inner-monologues, distorted shadows, and silhouettes, a dark city with corrupted cops and politicians, seemingly endless nights, complex mysteries, and even a great femme fatale! (you are the best, Victoria!)
But what was even more important as an influence, than the medieval-noir setting, was the amazing and still unmatched worldbuilding of the first three Thief games. These games (and especially the second one - The Metal Age) inspired me to always give no1 priority to the well-thought-out structure of the world and the deep, carefully-written lore, no matter what kind of story I'm creating.
"To sum it up: Maybe the most important thing is that the mood and the atmosphere must be coherent. In creating narrative games, you must pay attention to a lot of things that the player maybe won't even notice (or will be affected only subconsciously), but all in all, I believe everything stands on the characters, who we'll learn to love or hate in order to be breathing with them within the world they live in."
It all depends on whether you, the player, want to know: is the character has a life outside of the game? If the answer is yes, you, as a writer, did your job well.
- Bánk & The Wild Gentlemen
Clawville needs justice, and we need your help!
The legendary Chicken Police needs your help. Not only with solving a mysterious case, but with fighting for the Steam Award nominations in a category that might aswell have been created just for this game!
As you all loved the game so much and highlighted the visual style as one of your favorite parts about Chicken Police, we decided to enter the competition in the "Outstanding Visual Style" category on the Autumn Steam Awards! We would be super happy if you shared your love and supported us with a vote for Chicken Police in the "Outstanding Visual Style" category!
But why should you vote for us?
A lot of love, time and conception went into our game. It's not just the interesting animal-noir style that is extraordinary. The combination of the art, special humor, an intense story, the professional voice overs, and the atmospheric music make The Wild Gentlemen's indie debut a one-of-a-kind experience. Chicken Police – Paint it RED has already turned quite a few heads with its unconventional art style. “Bojack Horseman meets Sin City” has been a common reaction, but of course, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
This special art style was an intense process...
At first, our goal was an adventure game in the classic pixel-art style. But after playing around with some concepts, the contradictory flair of photorealistic characters and scenery and absurd human-animal hybrids, convinced developers and publisher alike. All photos, which are actually real animals, were taken by the developers themselves, with the exception of dangerous predators, says Director Balint Bánk Varga. The stars are mostly zoo animals, but Natasha, the cat, for example is a real professional and got a proper photo session in a studio.
The approach for the scenery is similarly complex. Since the game is set in a fictional world, every location is handcrafted. Once a scene is written, along with instructions for the artists, they create a concept artwork. If everybody is content with the approach, successively a 3D mockup and 3D render are created, cut into pieces and rebuilt into a 2.5D final scene with lights and filters.
"Maybe the most important thing is that the mood and the atmosphere must be coherent. In creating narrative games, you must pay attention to a lot of things that the player maybe won't even notice (or will be affected only subconsciously), but all in all, I believe everything stands on the characters, whom we'll learn to love or hate to be breathing with them within the world they live in.
It all depends on whether you, the player, want to know, is the character have a life outside of the game? If the answer is yes, you, as a writer, did your job well." says Bánk
All your nominations and feedback mean the world to us! Thanks for your support!
Your Chicken Police Team
PATCH #1 is here, Ladies and Gents!
After the successful launch, we immediately started to work on several updates, and now, ladies and gentlemen, our first patch is here, with major bug fixes and a new feature!
BUGFIXES:
- Fixed the issue, where some achievements didn't trigger - The clue-connector works as intended on Turkish systems now - Cutscene playback issues some people had should be resolved now - Unsupported controllers/devices should no longer cause issues - Potentially fixed black screen at the start. If the problem still persists for you, please try launching the game in admin mode
NEW FEATURES:
- Retry Questioning: You now have the opportunity to immediately retry the questioning you just completed. Hit the Retry button, and start over to get the score you always wanted!
OTHER FIXES:
- Minor changes to some places where players used to get stuck - Fixed localization errors, misspellings, and typos in several languages - The brightness adjustment screen is now available from the main menu
PLANS FOR THE NEXT UPDATE:
- We are planning to enhance the user experience with several new features and fixes like the new save system, which will allow you to load older saves if you want to play a scene again or accidentally missed something which could be important. More details about this, and other planned improvements later.
Thank you for all the feedbacks, reports, and reviews; this means a lot to us because we want to make Chicken Police as perfect as possible. :)
Have a great time playing! The Wild Gentlemen Team
Working on the first patch of Chicken Police!
Dear Ladies and Gents!
The launch was a blast, and we just can't thank you enough because of your support and love towards Chicken Police!
We also got some reports about bugs and strange design decisions; therefore...
we are already working on the first significant patch for the game!
What can you expect? We are planning to add some new features, kill the most significant bugs, and also add some progression clarifying fixes too!
We are working day and night to bring this to you as soon as we can. :)
Thank you again for all the reviews, feedback, and the avalanche of love you have given us. The Wild Gentlemen team
CHICKEN POLICE IS OUT NOW!
Marty MacChicken and Santino "Sonny" Featherland are fighting crime in Clawville on PC now! ːsteamhappyː
Chicken Police is developed by The Wild Gentlemen in Hungary. The game is published by HandyGames in Giebelstadt, Germany.
Sonny is an alcoholic, deadbeat detective, waiting for his retirement and only old photographs and newspaper articles serve as reminders of the glorious times when he and his partner Marty were working together as a dynamic duo, the Chicken Police. With nothing less than a cult following of fans, a successful book series about their adventures and professional success any other law enforcement officer wouldn't even dream of, they felt invulnerable. Now they're being asked to investigate a series of strange threats. But nothing is as it seems in the corrupt city of Clawville. It is up to you, to uncover the truth surrounding the secretive Natasha Catzenko and the city's criminal underworld and shed light on the Chicken Police's dark past.
[previewyoutube="4sYlCyWD-4A;full"]
About Chicken Police - Paint it RED!: This Film-Noir inspired buddy-cop adventure features a cast of diverse, fully voiced characters all in the games original, iconic art-style. Crime scenes are to be investigated, clues to be found, puzzles to be solved, and suspects to be interrogated. A modern take on the classic point-and-click gameplay, Chicken Police comes with a grim plot that will keep you intrigued and immersed. Who is telling the truth, who is trying to mislead the investigators, and why? Find answers to these and more questions and bring back some of Clawville's lost color!
About the developers “The Wild Gentlemen”
"The Wild Gentlemen" is an independent game studio, working on their artistic game: Chicken Police, the "Orwellesque Buddycop Noir Adventure". The team is based in Hungary and consists of six core members and four part-time contributors. Some team members have worked on projects like The Witcher 3, Call of Duty WWII, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, the Crysis series, Haegemonia, or Ryse: Son of Rome. While individually, most of them have been active members of the games industry for over a decade. Chicken Police is their first joint project.
5 days until release!
Hey, Everyone!
It was a hard ride, and it is almost unreal, but we are here, the game is done, the countdown clock is ticking, and
we are just 5 days away from the release of Chicken Police!
The whole team is proud, and we are grateful for everyone who helped or just followed us along the way.
90% of The Wild Gentlemen team
Can't wait to hear your opinions and feedback about the game! Until then, Have a wonderful weekend, folks!
5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
Last day, last chance.
Today is the last day this year's Indie Arena Booth Online will be opened to visitors from all around the world. So it's the last chance to check out our new content and walk around in virtual booths presenting our most important games.
A big thank you for those who already visited us and in advance for all visitors who want to drop by later this day! Check out our new content for all our games we're presenting there, join us in the booths and watch our live events on our Twitch channel twitch.tv/handygames_official
Join our community and chat with the developers on our Discord channel! https://discord.gg/tKY8jrh
Chickens as smart detectives - and delicious food
What's about developing a game that features smart chickens and then you'll watch Producers cooking chicken stuff? How is that going to work? You'll find the answer on our special on our Twitch channel.
Enjoy the messed up cooking show tomorrow at 07:30 PM CET! Right after your dinner, don't miss to join us in the booths at Indie Arena Booth Online!
Join our community and chat with the developers on our Discord channel! https://discord.gg/tKY8jrh
Let's play Chicken Police
Those who still haven't played Chicken Police (yet) simply don't know what they are missing. And to change that, we want to show you in a Let's Play what it's all about and why the atmosphere in this game simply has to enchant you - even though it's spiced up with a good portion of black humor.
