RE-Create's Art Heroes

Controls

Player 1 Movement - WASD , Left Joystick

Player 1 Ability - Left Shift, X

Player 2 Movement - Arrow Keys, Left Joystick

Player 2 Ability - Right Shift, X

Cycle Artist -  (no keyboard equivalent), Right Bumper/Left Bumper

Return to Menu - Hold Esc, Hold Select

Restart Level - Hold space, Hold Y

Description

Art Heroes / The Castle features art made by the youth artists at RE-Create Outreach Art Studio in Hamilton, Ontario. 17 different artists participated by using the mediums of pencil, plasticine, yarn, collage, photography, and digital editing to animate over 30 different characters. 

This is a puzzle game designed for two players. Each player has a different ability, and they must work together by combining their abilities to get through problem-solving challenges. One player gets to launch a temporary platform, which can be hopped on to reach greater distances or directed at objects and enemies to push them. The other player can drop and detonate a bomb, which can be used as a movable weight that plays a part in pressure pad puzzles but threatens the players’ safety by being explosive. The explosion can also be used to destroy wooden walls and push enemies and objects.

There are two versions of the game: Art Heroes is a puzzle platformer and features art submitted by the youth artists, volunteers, and staff that attend RE-Create Studio Sessions. The Castle is a boss battle game and features art created by 2019’s Artist-in-Residence, Anthony Giovanelli. The game was designed and coded by 2019's Summer Student Worker, Eric Vander Horst.

Charity Donations

RE-Create Outreach Art Studio is a non-profit organization that promotes growth in youth artists by offering drop-in studio sessions, art workshops, and art supplies without any costs to anyone aged 16-24.  It is part of the Shalem Mental Health Foundation. Donations to the Shalem Mental Health Foundation are accepted here.

Credits

Eric Vander Horst - Organizer, Designer, Technical Artist, Level Designer, Coder, Promoter

Gavin Nelson - Art Implementation Programmer

RE-Create Artists (enter gallery mode for details) - Art

Emma Silverthorne - Promoter