In the events that we have seen since the launch of the new generation, much of the prominence has been taken by indie games. One of the events dedicated to this type of game, ID @ Xbox, gave us a preview of the first gameplay trailer for Booty river. The title of Straka.Studio it caught our attention and its artistic pixel art section has conquered us with the naked eye. Its dark dungeons and the large number of enemies portend what will be a must-see video game.
However, since we set our sights on Booty river we have not received any new information from the study. We wanted to know more about this video game, and also the study behind it, hence the interview we are offering you today. After contacting Straka.Studio, Miró Straka, founder of the same, was ready to answer our questions about the new IP. While there is data we will not yet know about this, I think we have plenty of reasons to follow the lead very closely.
Loot River, the first major release from a first studio
Before talking in depth about Booty river, we would like to know a little more about the trajectory of the study. A lot of people don’t know about Straka.Studio, but the truth is you’ve been in the industry for some time. How did the study progress until it reached Booty river?
To be honest, that’s only half the truth – straka.studio, as a company, was founded in 2020, so it’s pretty new. Yes, I have made games before, but not under an official company, but as a solo independent developer. It was only after the success of previous titles that I decided to try something more ambitious, and wanted to do it with other people, on a much bigger scale than in my previous games, so i decided to open an LLC and try to make it like a proper business.
The Euclidean Skies and Lands Euclidean games are some of your most remarkable works, how was it to go from this kind of puzzle to the dungeons of Booty river?
I think the influences of the previous songs are very strong in Booty river. So many Euclidean lands What Euclidean skies they are games on rotations, and Booty river is a game of translations (movements). But in each of them, the basic mechanics are to shape the world, change it in your favor and defeat your enemies. The games don’t focus so much on a hero and what the hero can or can’t do, but rather the world around him and his manipulations.
The previous games were turn-based puzzles, but that was only because that was the limit of my skill at the time. Work with other people in Booty river open other possibilities, such as “pixel art” or animations. I couldn’t draw pixel art or animate 3D models, so naturally previous games focused on static 3D content, which I can actually produce. But the change itself was happy. Booty river it’s very fast, very bloody and very rewarding to play and develop, and we are having a lot of fun.
The puzzles of Loot River, brand of the house
Puzzles seem to be a recurring element in your games, what can we expect about that in your new video game? Will we have more puzzles in Booty river?
Booty river in reality started as a puzzle game. Puzzle game about rearranging blocks to create a path for your hero in small closed puzzle levels, similar to Euclidean lands. However, this game was fun for only about 10-20 levels, so we rehearsed to create something new and exciting. Surprisingly, the combination with heavy fighting has worked really well here.
When it comes to in-game puzzles, following the main branch should be easy, intuitive, and the player will alw ays be guided to the final goal
We hope that each player can decide for themselves which part of the puzzle and the action they want in their game.
The art of “pixel art”
Booty river we loved it for many reasons, not least for its art section. There are some very striking elements, like the effect of water and reflections, as well as its Pixel Art style, what can you tell us about the art of video games?
In fact, it is very complicated. The game is neither in 3D nor in 2D. We ask our artists to draw the environment, which we then model in asymmetric 3D coordinates, with the Y axis tilted 45 degrees upwards. It sounds silly, but it lines up perfectly from top to bottom, and 3D models contain information we need for advanced things like lighting and shadows. So, in fact, every little piece of art can cast and receive correct shadows, which makes the game very different.
Then we have characters as players or enemies, which are basically 3D models, similar to Dead cells, which allows us to have very, very smooth animations. Underneath is a computational shader that handles distortions and water reflections, and in addition to a whole bunch of other visual effects. It’s a bit of a painful approach, but the current look of the game is worth it!
Loot River will offer freedom and frenzy at the controls
In the trailer of Booty river, we saw that we will have to defend ourselves in dark dungeons against a large number of enemies, also taking advantage of the movement of many platforms. Can you give us some keys to your Gameplay? Will we have improvements to the combat system?
I think the ability to control your enemies drastically changes the gameplay. The players decide which fights to fight, where to fight them, in what environment and configuration to fight them, etc.
They can reshape their surroundings to suit different builds and weapons, like bottleneck and sweep with a heavy two-handed sword, or maneuver between multiple platforms and slice through enemies with a light rapier. Or maybe drive your enemies down a path to an island, only to remove the connection to that platform, leaving them isolated and not a threat.
The first gameplay of Booty river presents a dark tone reminiscent of the Dark souls. Respecting the differences, it seems that Booty river It also promises to be a high difficulty game like the FromSoftware games, how accessible will it be to everyone?
The goal is for players to choose how to approach the game: do they go head-on and fight everything, approach cautiously and push enemies back from safety, or do they just fly, dodging and dodging them. enemies? Maybe they prefer a magical setup, keeping enemies at bay, or they come with other clever mechanics and tips to make their journey easier.
At the end, it’s a fairly complex Roguelike so some kills are to be expectedbut ultimately, I wish there were more valid approaches.
Music, another factor to consider
The soundtrack seems to have a major role, accompanying the frantic pace of the game. The sound effects also seem very immersive, how has the sound aspect been worked on?
In fact that’s what they do David Yes Markus, of His Wobbler. They are fantastic – we are experimenting with various features like responsive music design and creating lots of great sounds for every little part of the game. General audio implementation is done through FMOD.
When and how?
For the moment Booty river does not have a specific date for its launch. Can we expect a launch window for this year?
No comments
Many standalone versions feature a digital starter version, but then we’ve seen a lot of video games release their own physical versions. To end the interview, we would like to ask you if we will see a physical version of Booty river.
In general, I am opposed to creating a physical version of the game, unless the game turns out to be a success; it looks like unnecessary pollution, when digital distribution works so well.
About the Author
I have traveled to worlds you would never believe, finished with enemies that escape all mysticism. I felt my pulse quicken with each battle, and the sigh of who knows he will have to get up. There is always a villain waiting and an adventure around the corner.
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