Of Cookies for Furry Friends
As the new year turns over and we’re still getting used to writing 2024 instead of 2023, the Chinese New Year is also nearing and here are some simple designs for a company that specializes in snacks and tidbits for our little furry friends. If you’re considering gifting to families that have furkids, do consider checking out the Barkery Oven.
Of Generative AI
Experimented with a generative AI website called Stylar.ai and got some pretty good results. Basing the image off an existing mascot, the outcome was pretty amazing albeit it still required a lot of manual adjustments and repainting.
The original artwork is on the left, and stylar was used to create a realistic rendition of Anima following about 80% of its exact positioning. Upscayl was recommended to enlarge the image and then it went on to good old fashioned Photoshop for recoloring and fixing of any minor issues.
Considering other generative AI platforms like Midjourney only launched since July 2022,.. almost a year and a half later and we’re already at this stage of development. It is pretty exciting to consider what another year of development would bring to this space.
Of Underutilized Maths
We thought we had left Additional Math behind but it has returned to haunt us. We just finished designing a set of Additional Math Flashcards for local Youtuber Mathew Pang who has over 130,000 subscribers! Amazing! We’re glad to be able to be part of this educational journey and hope the product helps many secondary schoolers (as it was too late for us :p)
Designing such content is usually a little different for us but the principles of legibility, clarity and function all still apply. Wonder if there is a market for games with Additional Math?
Of Next Generations
After the recent elections, it is nice to say things have settled down somewhat in the country (at least politically) and everyone can go back to worrying about other things. For Alchymy Creative, it also meant it was time to revisit all the MPs that were replaced during the recent elections!
Why? Alchymy Creative was responsible for the hundreds of pixelating hundreds of Malaysia’s Members of Parliament for the MYMP Project which was an initiative to hold our politicians accountable by making data available to the public in a digestible form. This came in the form of a website where our MPs were listed like little RPG characters and their performances are derived from their very actions and deeds in Parliament (eg. if they did not attend their parliament sessions, their scores were greatly affected).
This was our way of contributing in the never-ending fight for a better Malaysia.
Of Wealth Building
We just completed another client project and this time for a subject matter that is near and dear to our hearts. Financial Literacy for children is something that is usually underemphasized in our education system and our client hopes to do something about it with their new card game Oh My Wealth!
Of Anti-Corruption
Our latest commission was for a card-game that highlights utilizing ‘clean’ money to combat corruption. Hardly surprising as the client was an NGO that fights against Corruption ( C4 – The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism). It was a game where you play as a Member of Parliament and you have to build up your constituency while making policy changes that might affect your ethics. The game was designed by C4 and Alchymy Creative came in to visualize it in a bright and abstract Alegria style.
These are demo cards (hence the lack of rounded edges) but the actual product has since been in print and is sold online. It is RM30 on their online store and you can get it here.
More media: https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/230469/khas/rasuah-busters/build-my-town-didik-tolak-rasuah-amal-tadbir-urus-baik
Of Local Treats (Kuih Muih)
Our team worked on Kuih Muih, a happy little card game from Empire Studios. Filled with adorable little Kuihs (local Malaysian snacks) with cutesy faces.
Go get your own copy now on Shopee. It helps out local developers. 🙂
Also glad to see it featured on Says.com.
Of Levelling Up in 2021
Education has always been near and dear to us and the game industry has indeed been suffering from a lack of trained manpower. We’ve had the privilege of moderating a talk between some of the top educators in Malaysia for Game Development. The discussion centered around how to better develop trained graduates that can seamlessly enter the industry without retraining.
Light up my life
Worked with a client to design a super minimalist label for Berlilin Studios Malaysia. You can check them here if you’re in the market for high-quality scented candles.
Of Tiny Ministers
We recently had the honor of contributing to a non-profit project to create an RPG stat tracking system for Malaysian Members of Parliament. Using data that is already available, teams of volunteers will be crunching that data into an easy to visualise format set with cute 8-bit representations of our ministers.
That is where Alchymy Creative came in to create 220 8-bit avatars to represent our MPs. (Two ministers had passed-away prior to the project’s start).
The event finally came to completion with the launch of its website (https://mymp.org.my/) with a talk that included the likes of YB Maria Chin, YB Lukanisman, Firdaus of MCCHR and a panel with Ernest Ng (Covidball) and Kuek Ser Kuang Keng (DataN).
Also the 8-bit avatars were recognized by other ministers from both sides of the parliament which was really cool. We can all have differences in opinions but it is our hope that our leaders can work across the divide to help the people, especially in these dire times.
