SpyParty's new art, animated for the first time

Developer Chris Hecker revealed the new art style for SpyParty characters last year, and now we get to see those new pixels in motion for the first time. The first animated characters for SpyParty are Mr. A and Ms. B, each shown solo and side-by-side with their old, blocky selves.

These animations are in real-time, rendered on Hecker's two-year-old laptop – he and animation expert John Cimino want to keep the minimum spec for the full game as low as possible, while striking a balance between "uncanny valley" and "cartoony."

"The first animations are of two of the characters talking, so we looked for reference of people lecturing, giving monologues or just conversing in a stylish way," Hecker says. "We haven't chosen in-game names for the characters yet, so we're going to name them by letter for now, which sounds all spy-like and mysterious, but is mostly us just not knowing what else to call them."

SpyParty will be at PAX Prime from August 30 to September 2, and the new art will be on display in a supplemental form alongside the playable game with old art. That new build should hit the public beta right after PAX, Hecker says. Last week, Hecker showed off the new environment style for SpyParty, but said the remodeled art wouldn't be fully integrated into the beta for a "very long time."

Hecker plans to update the SpyParty blog with new animation videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday right up until PAX. Check out Mr. A and Ms. B – names subject to change – above and below, respectively.