By the way, now that we are at the end of this epic, many people have told me that following the development of LUNARK was very inspiring for them, and that is definitely the best compliment I can get. Sometimes I regret showing so much, not leaving more mystery or surprise around the project, but I have always been eager to share my experiences and my work. It was extremely empowering! I feel so fortunate to have such a strong community of people following my project. What was it like to create a game through encouragement through social media? I tried various techniques to optimize the workflow as much as possible but to achieve this distinctive look, the core of the technique still relied on long and tedious manual work. Midway through production, I recruited the talents of Topher Anselmo, who was able to refactor the most technical and critical elements of the game so I could focus on the gameplay.įinally, the process of creating those rotoscoping cutscenes was really time-consuming. Being an artist at heart, this was my first commercial game as a programmer, and I quickly realized that I would need help. Second, among these tasks, the one that gave me the most trouble was the programming. On the other hand, it was very difficult for me to plan my tasks properly. On one hand, that has its advantages: you save time in communication, you don't have to justify your choices or make concessions, and the project follows a single vision from start to finish. What challenges did you overcome when creating LUNARK?Įvery aspect of creating a video game is a challenge, but here are the ones that required the most effort from me, and that explain a bit of why the development took that long.įirst off, working alone. If they care to watch the launch trailer, then maybe they will like the richness of the animations and the many details that bring the universe of LUNARK to life. LUNARK aims to be like its main protagonist: optimistic, adventurous, and sometimes funny, never taking itself too seriously. Unlike many games with a dystopian theme, I absolutely wanted to get away from the “dark and dirty” cliché. Starting with a difficult question, are we? I hope that someone who sees the key art or screenshots for the first time will be attracted by the colorful and dynamic universe of the game. Outside of marketing materials and what’s been shown so far, what do you think will draw players to LUNARK the most? With LUNARK releasing on Steam and all major consoles on March 30th (with physical releases of the Switch, PS5, and PS4 versions from Limited Run Games available for pre-order) now is a great time to learn more about this deeply reflective work that appears to be a loving tribute to one of Vinet’s favorite genres. Surprisingly, the game was crafted by Vinet mostly alone over the course of more than four years with help from a few others with porting the game to consoles, localization, and testing. We were graciously given the opportunity to pick the brain of Canari Games founder Johan Vinet (who also contributed as a pixel artist and animator to several of our favorites such as Flinthook, Mercenary Kings Reloaded, Shovel Knight Showdown, and Rivals of Aether) about this exciting new entry in a timeless genre. Now that genre is being explored by the talented Johan Vinet - who recently created the development studio Canari Games- with WayForward providing publishing assistance in a title called LUNARK, a gorgeous science fiction adventure that features a lot of clever use of movement and space. Games like Another World and the early Prince of Persia titles defined the general framework of what this niche genre often leans on while later notables like Heart of Darkness, Tomb Raider, and Inside pushed things further. There is something beautiful in the way a pixelated character moves in games that feature fluid movement as a core part of their design. Discussing Design, Inspirations, and More about LUNARK, an Upcoming Cinematic Platformer
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