The game features classic 3D platformer gameplay in the vein of Crash Bandicoot or the Super Mario franchise. Take on sewer rats, angry drivers, vicious piranhas, and more.
The user interface takes inspiration from grunge, graffiti, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2. The halftone pattern grows dynamically when the player highlights a button. A subtle breathing animation ensures the player knows which button is highlighted, which is helpful in situations where that might not be clear such as two option dialogue boxes. The HUD gracefully appears only when it is needed, leaving the entire screen available for gameplay.
Colorized icons display the three collectables in the game: road diamonds, the main collectable of the game; cones, representing lives; and warning lights, special collectables that unlock levels and skins. Buttons are accessible by conveying focus in through subtle movement, color, and control icons. A posterized look combined with low frame rate gives the elements a retro, radical look.
The colors are ripped straight from the high visibility paints found on road signs and emergency vehicles. Orange, the color of the player character, represents good, safety, and interactability, while yellow-green represents evil, danger, and enemies.
I designed the font Cone D'Etat to be reminiscent of the fonts found on road signs, but more piercing and dramatic. CVMS is a font I created based on an open source font called VMS that is used to control electronic highway signs. Syne Mono is an open source font that is used for body copy in the game, and was chosen because of its degraded yet legible appearance.