8/22/2023 0 Comments Cyber shadow initial release dateContributed photo by Yacht Club Games and Mechanical Head Studios A screenshot from the game “Cyber Shadow.” This ninja action game is Aarne Hunziker’s debut into the gaming industry. This shows in the final upgrade, a versatile charge attack that can be released with any ability’s button input for a stronger version of that move. When Shadow reaches full power halfway through the story, the difference between his simple starting abilities and his true potential are staggering. ![]() The abilities themselves are satisfying to use, with the highlight being a sprint that can combo into an afterimage dash attack. As they’re finally able to pass on, they give Shadow the last of their strength. There’s an interesting, tragic twist on the trope of gaining bosses’ abilities popularized by the Mega Man series Synthetics are powered by draining the essence of ninjas, who are kept alive within an inch of death until bosses are destroyed. Shadow starts without his full strength, but regains his abilities by defeating Progen’s Synthetic underlings. As the last of the ninja clan who protected that balance, Shadow awakens from stasis to seek his Master, hoping she can reverse the damage Progen caused before both worlds are lost. Progen’s life-extending experiments have upset the balance between Earth and the spirit realm, corrupting both. Progen, a grief-consumed scientist who powers his Synthetic army with life essence. Thankfully for Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker, the creator running Mechanical Head Studios, he stuck the landing with his debut ninja action game, “Cyber Shadow.”Ĭitizens of Mekacity are hunted and eradicated by Dr. Hey! This is MekaSkull, the developer of Cyber Shadow: the retro-rooted, ninja-jumping, robot-slashing action platformer that is coming to PS4 and PS5 on January 26.Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker’s debut game, “Cyber Shadow,” makes a great first impression with fast-paced ninja action, fresh presentation, and a unique blend of old and new.įirst impressions are everything, especially when it comes to new game developers. I’m so excited to present some of the background evolution of the game, that I’ll be talking about myself in the third person for a bit. The then, 20-something pixel artist and retro game fan, Aarne “MekaSkull” Hunziker, drew a picture of a ninja suspended in a tank, fueling the insinuating ambitions of a game, against his will. Inspired by a passing thought, maybe a dream, the pixels manifested on canvas, only to be forgotten for years. The idea of making this image into a game didn’t even pass my mind until much later. “No one would want to play a new, 8-bit-inspired game,” I thought. Time passed until it was the year of the shovel, 2014. Shovel Knight is released, and a certain blue plougher digs his way into the hearts and minds of people, showing that these types of games were not only welcome but desired. The question was, “Is this something that I can create?” A question that preceded a logo test and a mockup of a ninja in a level. With the tools for indie devs becoming more accessible, it was time to take the plunge. I started to spend my spare time on a “training” project. ![]() ![]() It was a jumping game, so I first experimented with jump-arcs and came up with a grid-like mechanism that displayed the kinds of jumps possible to land. I also read somewhere that bumping your head on the ceiling can be frustrating, so I made sure the head-bumping distance was displayed on the grid as well. I used photos of myself as a reference for drawings and animations, but I couldn’t (allegedly) run like a real ninja, so the animation ended up looking pretty stiff. My training project wasn’t just for training anymore. ![]() It was shaping into a game with slashing in addition to jumping. I kept working on the game because I thought, why not? The game was taking on a life of its own - and jumping between the seats of a writer, artist, coder, and sound designer - it kept it fresh for me at all times. Shadow’s initial design was refreshed a couple of times before landing on the final one.Īt this point, the game was redubbed as a “one-year project” that had maybe six levels and a story that only existed between lines, expanded by a manual. Before long, the game was designed to have nine levels instead of six, a dialogue system, special items, mid-bosses, and cutscenes. The aspect ratio was changed from 4:3 to a much wider one.Īny game needs music, and luck was on my side as just the right music found the game.
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