Kesselgrad

Kesselgrad is an independent game project entirely coded in Python.
In this game, you play as Alexander, a young pilot embarking on his first mission aboard an experimental aircraft. Your mission takes you to the city of Kesselgrad, now plagued by a malevolent entity. Your objective: complete your mission, save your friends, and escape the city in one piece.

Kesselgrad is a top-down 2D shooter and a demanding bullet-hell. It also features rogue-like elements: each run gives you a chance to explore the city a bit further and try to alter the course of the story. The game relies heavily on its narrative. Many mysteries gradually unfold as your adventure progresses, revealing the nature of the curse surrounding the city. The bullet-hell phases can be challenging, but always surmountable with patience and a bit of skill. Your enemies will show you no mercy—so be prepared!

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I am Grégoire Vincent, co-creator of Kesselgrad. Currently a full-time engineer, I dedicate my free time to writing and storytelling. I wrote the story of Kesselgrad a few years ago, waiting to find the right medium for it. Video games turned out to be the perfect way to bring this story—so dear to me—to life. Its tone fit naturally with the rogue-like genre, and since much of the plot unfolds through dialogue, it matched my writing style perfectly.

During the creation process, I had to learn how to draw—every visual was made in Krita, exclusively in pixel art. All animations were done frame by frame (if someone could explain to me how the animation tool actually works, I’d love that…). I improved quite a lot over the course of development; I was more used to drawing faces, so creating full characters and environments was a real challenge for me. Composing the music was another big step, as I wasn’t familiar with music production. Every track was created using Live Lite 11 and an Ableton keyboard.

In total, it took us a little over two years to complete this project, and I must say I’m very proud of the result. I’m especially happy to have been able to adapt the story of Kesselgrad, a city I’ve loved for a long time. The atmosphere turned out exactly as I had imagined—both visually and musically. I truly hope you’ll enjoy the Kesselgrad experience as much as I do.

For both Edouard and me, running the game one last time before launch was an emotional moment. The final result reflects our vision perfectly—despite all the technical challenges—as if all the stars had aligned at the very last second.
We hope you’ll have as much fun playing it as we had creating it, and we can’t wait to hear your feedback!