Dark Inertia Studios – Bannerlands

Bannerlands April Update

There’s been a lot happening with Bannerlands over the last few months!  New art, big design changes, and a new demo just in time for Steam Deckbuilders Fest 2026!

Art Overhaul

I originally used AI art for Bannerlands because I didn’t think I had a choice (as I discussed at https://darkinertia.com/2025/05/10/the-art-of-bannerlands/).  So that’s how I created my trailer and released my first demo.  

Then a few things happened:

  1. While many players were okay with the AI art, many were not and encouraged me to reconsider.
  2. The conversation around the art dominated all discussion of the demo, and I had a hard time judging or getting feedback on the actual gameplay.  
  3. A friend told me about the extremely useful site https://www.workwithindies.com/, where one can very affordably reach out to amazing artists all over the world, some of whom I could actually afford despite the massive scope of the project.  

So I decided to try again to find an artist to work with, and I had such a positive experience that it changed my mind completely.  

  1. Thanks to workwithindies, I very quickly had hundreds of artist portfolios to look through.  
  2. I narrowed it down to 8 artists with promising styles in my budget range.  
  3. I commissioned 21 test illustrations of cards/characters in various styles.  
  4. I sent out a survey to players and got great feedback on the test pieces.  (If you want to be involved in future surveys, sign up for the mailing list or join our Discord!).
  5. I eventually ended up selecting one artist to take on the entire project.

We’ve been collaborating for a couple of months now, and it’s been great.  He is not only a fantastic artist, he’s also a fan of the genre and has been a fun partner to work with.  

So ya, the AI art is on its way out, and I couldn’t be happier to have been proven wrong!  It will take some time to swap out everything, but every new demo build will have more and more of the new hand-crafted art.

Campaign Overhaul

In parallel, I also decided to drastically simplify the way campaigns work.  Previously, there was a lot going on in a campaign that I ultimately concluded wasn’t fun enough.  I cut all of that out and am much happier with what’s left.  

Now a campaign run is solely about crafting interesting decks and engaging in high stakes battles.  This will hopefully show in the new demo.  

New Demo

The new demo is coming out this weekend and will show off everything described above plus many bugfixes and UX improvements.  There is still so much I want to add to the game, but I wanted to release something sooner in time for Deckbuilding Fest and to get early feedback.  

Remember:

  • The new art is not all done yet, so there’s still some AI card art.  But all the UI art, 5 characters, all backgrounds, and about 40 cards are new hand-made art.  
  • Please leave feedback in Steam Discussions or Discord or by emailing me.  

And please wishlist the game and spread the word to friends who like strategy games!

Thank you!