Shortly after completing all kinds of certification tests and looking forward to the release of neon loreI got the usual wave of fear: What if gamers don’t understand what we’re trying to achieve here?
I would classify us as true indie developers. Allow me and excuse me for a bit of pun here by adding the word “genuine”. We are not financially indebted to anyone and we are truly a studio with fewer than ten people working at any one time. And we haven’t received any outside investment to date, even though we’ve released a dozen titles in the last three years.
Indie developers like us have a different kind of fear when we release a game: “Will the game sell enough to cover costs?” is usually replaced with a more convoluted question:
“Will the gamers understand us”?
Nothing happens to our indie studio when neon lore financial tanks. We will continue to create and release indie projects. We have developed a thick skin to ignore most gaming journalists who view our $5 games with the same breadth they review $60 games. What we usually need is a bit of inspiration to keep going and keep taking risks and trying something different. Sure, running an indie game studio is a business, and running a sustainable business is as exhausting as a boss fight in an FPS game. However, getting encouragement as indie developers is the real support we need. And this time, the inspiration for this article came from reading a recent interview with [email protected]Director Chris Charla. He hinted at the value he places in indie games by saying, “You don’t have to try to be everything to everyone.”
And yes, in that sense neon lore is a little game. But there are some big ideas in there, maybe it will become a whole different genre, maybe not. We can’t know, we don’t want to know. As an indie developer we did what we were supposed to do, we had to experiment with our limited resources.
neon lore is called by some just another running simulator. For us, it’s experimenting with integrating audio books into the game, which we think is an interesting way to bring books to different audiences that wouldn’t normally encounter this type of medium. Chris Charla continues in the same article, “Indie games are the most exciting content on the planet,” which inspired me to dig deeper neon lore, and what we’re trying to establish as a genre by starting with this game : What if you wake up one day and your Xbox app notifies you that your favorite author’s latest audiobook is ready to play on your Xbox system in the form of a to start adventure game? Who wouldn’t love to hear Stephen’s King’s latest book while strolling through locations inspired by that very novel on the big screen with gorgeous 4K textures?
Me as a gamer.
As a game developer with a literary background, this would be a dream come true and opens up wide sub-areas and alternatives in the socio-cultural space of video games. Moms and teachers complaining about teens not reading books? Are you missing outdated milestones of classical literature? Well, it would be great if they actually read the books, but as a precursor in this medium, we can suggest an alternative: let’s go back in time to the early 20’sth
Let’s see if other players would agree with me or not: in neon lorehopefully you’ll enjoy listening to four different short novels written exclusively for this game by four different sci-fi authors, while enjoying cyber-punk themed views and solving a bit of mysteries as well.
Finally, a big thank you to the Xbox team for supporting and encouraging indie developers on such risky projects. neon lore is available today on Xbox!
neon lore
Playstige Interactive
$5.99
Neon Lore is a free-form first-person exploration game. You will meet interesting characters and discover what happened to humanity in the near future. As you roam the neon-soaked streets, you’ll discover what has become of the world, how life goes on in a world of fascinating fusion of chaos and technological advancement. In Neon Lore you will solve puzzles and meet different characters and learn about their past lives, dreams and fears… And get a chance to learn more about the social changes that have affected human life in the 21st century … Features: *Explore the world at your own pace. *No bugs or quests, you choose how to explore the world. *Beautiful cyber punk style environments. *Meet 40 different characters and learn about their backgrounds. * Get access to 4 different audiobooks containing 4 different cyber-punk themed novels written exclusively for this game by sci-fi writers. * Relaxing and exciting cyber-punk themed soundtrack.
