Here we are, back with another developer interview! This time with North Art Games
the creator of Forgotten Traveler. Before we start we’d like to thank the North Art Games
Team for participating in our interview and for answering all of our geeky questions! Thanks!
/// Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Forgotten Traveler! Could you kick-start this interview by telling us a little about your studio, yourself, and what drew you into the gaming industry?
North Art Game is a small indie game development studio based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Our goals are to bring old 2D retro arcade games to the global modern gaming industry. Our games feature the old retro style feeling with pixel art design and simple controls with a modern twist.
Our team consists of two programmers and a pixel artist. We always played and were passionate about games and everything related to gaming. We all graduated as IT engineers who, as soon as we got our diplomas, started our own gaming studio. We have been in the market for 2 years now.
We want to create difficult but enjoyable retro arcade games for the modern gaming industry and this is what drew us into the gaming industry.
/// Ok, let’s start talking about Forgotten Traveler. What are the highlights of your latest game?
Forgotten Traveler is a pixel art adventure game currently under development. Select one of the many available space ships, and explore the galaxy. Fly into meteor fields and pick up shields to deflect them. You will need to avoid space debris, neutron stars, and black holes.
Pick up stars and coins and upgrade your ship. Currently, we have 20 playable levels and many more in development. We are working on finishing the game GUI including loading screen, main menu, galaxy map, ship select and upgrade and many more GUI features. For more information and weekly updates, you can check out our itch profile here.
/// What was the core idea or inspiration behind Forgotten Traveler? And perhaps more importantly, where do you find inspiration for your games in general?
Our core idea for Forgotten Traveler was to bring the old retro arcade-style shooting games to the modern gaming industry and upgrade them with the latest development tools available on the market. We played retro arcade games like Galaga, Space Invaders, Astoroids this is where we got inspirations to make Forgotten Traveler.
/// How long was Forgotten Traveler in development for? And are there any interesting and/or exciting moments or experiences you would like to share with us from that time?
Forgotten Traveler has been in development for two months. We started by writing our game concept and later coding that concept into reality. At the start we used simple square textures, then we told our artist to draw pixel art textures with the space theme.
The most exciting moment was when we changed the old square texture with the pixel art created by our artist, after that the game looked more alive and more interesting.
/// What software, developer-tools, or black-magic(?) did you use when making Forgotten Traveler? Is there anything you would like to share with the developers who read Edamame Reviews?
Forgotten Traveler is developed using the Construct 3 engine, we like to use Construct 3 because we can use its event system to quickly code features, and even if there is something that the event system can’t handle we can write our own scripts using JavaScript and implement them in the engine.
/// Is there any secret “developer-advice” you can give our lucky players who read this interview?
Focus on writing your game concept and the animations needed to bring it alive. We think these are the two elements needed to make an interesting, fun and enjoyable game.
/// What can we expect to see in Forgotten Traveler or from North Art Games
in the not so distant future? What do we have to look forward to next?
Currently, we are finishing up the game GUI. After that we will create more levels with new game mechanics for the player to learn, explore and defeat. The game will have two different endless game modes where players can compete with other players to improve their skills. The game will also feature game achievements, daily quests and a story.
/// Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to our awesome team of Writers, Developers, and Supporters who keep Edamame Reviews up and running?
Thank you for interviewing us, we appreciate the work and initiative you are doing to help small gaming development companies and solo developers.
Thank you for following Edamame Reviews!
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