Video games might be a young medium of entertainment compared to TV or movies, but that hasn’t stopped its rapid growth. The medium has evolved considerably over the years, becoming a behemoth capable of raking in more money than its immediate competition. While modern games offer better graphics and more ways of interaction, many fans yearn for titles styled like the “good-old days.”
Many indie developers have risen to the occasion to provide such experiences, with populargames likeShovel KnightandAxiom Verge. Developer Blastmode has plans of entering this space, with its run-and-gun shooterMighty Gooseright around the corner. Game Rant spoke with solo developer Richard Lems aboutMighty Goose, wherein he discussed insights into the world of indie development and how retro games are made in modern times.
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Balancing Retro And Modern Game Design
While many might happily recall the days of the arcade, it’s hard to argue that a lot of that might be considered rose-tinted nostalgia. Retro games likeDonkey Kongare perceived to be infallible in memory, but many forget about the games' more frustrating aspects such as limited continues, one-hit kills, and no checkpoints.
Rebuilding these experiences for an audience used to modern game design conveniences can be a daunting task. There’s a subtle act of balancing retro and modern game design elements, an act that should be emphasized to nail down elements of nostalgia.
“While [Mighty Goose] is an arcade game, the game has been broken up into separate levels selectable on a map screen. It tailors a bit more toward a pick-up-and-play design rather than playing all the levels back to back. It’s also a bit more forgiving than a retro arcade game would be, subtle systems like delaying enemy actions when the player is not doing great, dropping more power-ups etc. In the end everyone playing the game should have a good time, so the game tries to help make that happen.”
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The Solo Developer Journey
Another interesting part aboutMighty Gooseis that is entirely developed by Lems. While the console porting process has been done by MP2 games, and music has been done by a freelance composer, Lems is the sole developer behindMighty Goose.
Lems has worked with developer TurtleBlaze before, wherein he developed anotherfast-paced action platformercalledKunai.Mighty Goosemight look similar toKunaiin many ways, but it doesn’t have any influence on Lems' newest project.
“In the broad sense of things it definitely helps to experience the full development process of a game. Even though the development process behindKunaiwas totally different, it really helps to know what is coming, when certain key assets need to be done. One shared feature you’ll see though is shooting downward changes your vertical momentum, but to be fairthis is totally inspired byCave Story. I just love that mechanic!”
Another thing that solo developers generally struggle with is keeping their productivity levels high.Game development is daunting, and working on a single project for a long period of time all by oneself can take a toll. Every individual has different motivations to keep going, but Lems said he didn’t struggle much in this regard, even after spending almost two years withMighty Goose.
“There was only one productivity dip inMighty Goose,and that was during the final period of bug-testing and fixing. Although it wasn’t really an unproductive period, it was ultimately boring. But I feela good music playlist does wonders, at least it does for me.”
Mighty Gooseis slated to release on May 31, 2025 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
