Where we are
over 6 years ago – Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 01:29:18 AM

Dear backers,

We haven’t written you for a while and we’re very sorry about it.

These last months have been full of hard work, of frustrations, of trying new things and verifying that some of these did not work as expected and we had to start over.

The year started well, we focused on the fighting mechanics of both Narita Boy and the enemies. It was relatively simple: we designed the movements and integrated them into the unity. The result has been very good and the feel of the fighting is great. We believe that we have a very good base to achieve excellent playability and fighting mechanics.

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In parallel, we started to assemble all the ideas we had written and prototyped in both the GDD and the Unity ... At this point, we realized that the game was going well but that it lacked the originality and the author's hand that I want it to have. So we went back to add a deeper exploration component and a progression in the game to make it more focused on the narrative.

We think that moving linearly across platforms and killing enemies can be very entertaining but we want to distance ourselves from this way of understanding the game. We want to focus on achieving goals in the game that result in a better understanding of the story.

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That way, the more you progress, the more you learn from the Narita Boy universe and the more knowledge you have to move forward. Moving forward becomes the way to learn and to create a story that reveals itself in stages. The difficulty increases gradually and the most surprising parts of the story are unveiled.

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For the exploration part of the game, there were many days of thinking and some headaches too. We wanted to find original ways to progress and set aside the classic key that opens the door. We are finding our own code and originals way to unlock new levels of the game.

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This part has to lead us to several crunches. We had to redo a lot of work and spent blank nights thinking how to achieve a unique experience. We think we have found it. In Narita Boy, you can progress walking, linearly, or you can transcend through computer monoliths. The problem is that these monoliths have a code. Thus, you must find your way using clues and learn how to transcend and what patterns to use. 

That adds a deeper exploration component where you not only kill but you also learn to use your own language or game code. It is very important to listen to what the NPCs says because although they speak in the form of riddles and with a very Neuromancy tone, they are releasing clues of where to look.

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We are very pleased to have something to be proud of. We are satisfied because we have gone through a lot of stress and several crunches. But now we are on the right track, every time I think of Narita Boy I am very proud to know that we have something different, something that we wanted to have from the beginning, a game that leaves its mark, a deep and bizarre experience and I'm glad to see that we are achieving it.

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Making a game is very difficult, but to create an original, author, experimental and narrative game, we think it is even more so.

It is true that we could have chosen to do something much more conventional but for that, every day there are dozens of games that you can find on any platform. We are trying to make art, to make our game an experience to enjoy with all the senses. Achieving emotion is our goal. We want to shake your heart, to ruffle your skin and to excite your senses with the digital landscapes of the NB world. All this added to the arpeggio synth sounds will make the killing of an enemy an experience of great satisfaction.

Thank you for supporting us. I assure you that we are working to offer you something different. 

New trailer "80s gameplay"
about 7 years ago – Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 12:40:52 AM

Dear backers

First at all, sorry for the delay to come up with more updates. These last months have been frantic. We have few hands, lots of work and we feel pressured to make something superb.

Our philosophy is to limit the spoilers of what we are doing because we trust in the power of surprise. That´s why we ask you patience and trustiness. We are not wasting our time nor your money. And we sincerely seek to satisfy your expectations.

80's gameplay

Ok! What you are about to watch is our alpha 80s gameplay trailer. The 80s gameplay of the game is about 30% of it. We bring a big surprise, a new game mechanic, the beat em up! Now you’ll see what we meant when we said we were inspired by Double Dragon.

The stages in the 80s are a fresh break to enjoy some arcade experience and release huge amounts of adrenaline. There are less storytelling and character interaction and more hand to hand combat. We learn the connection between the Digital Kingdom and the mysterious role of Lionel pearl, creator of the Narita One. We are putting tons of love to make animations for every instance of the game. Enemies react in a different way depending on where you hit them and props on the map are fully breakable. You can throw enemies, use barrels to hit them and beat them with your knees. All our animation and fx are done frame by frame in pixel art, which is a really handcrafted and time-consuming way to design. Yet the final result deserves it.

Where we are

Now, where are we in the game design planning. The full game design is almost done. The Digital Kingdom has 4 big maps and inside every map, there are around 3-4 sub-maps full of enemies, weird characters and unique backgrounds. Every map has specifically-designed vehicles, items and single events. In order to complete each big map, you need to travel to the 80s through different spots. Thes game design includes the NPC´s design and the background design. The scripts have been already written (who says what, where and when). 75% DONE

-Code

And what about the code? Good news! The game core is done, Narita Boy is fully operative in the Digital Kingdom and in the 80s. It was a big challenge to come up with two different mechanics, hack and slash in a vertical path and beat em up in a vertical/horizontal scrolling. In fact is like making two games in one.

A.I. enemies in the 80s are done! We have written tons of code to polish the experience and get close to what we expect a great beat em up should be. Thanks to our coder Manu, a guy who barely needs to sleep...

The code to connect scenes is almost done as well. Cinematics videos are being a key element to connect scenes and support the storytelling.

Performing the game? 60fps forever and ever.

After the next summer we will know if we gonna need extra muscle for coding but right now we are meeting our target. 40% DONE

-Website

In terms of design, we are moving our web page server and redesigning it. It is still working on some parts but it looks much more simple and clean. Thanks Chie for that!

-Logos

We also redesigned the Narita Boy logo and Studio Koba logo. We have drawn much more material for the art, the manual book and the encyclopedia.

-Music

Music? Yep! We have 6 new songs. Since we have the overall design of the Digital Kingdom, it is much easier to inspire the musician. Thanks, Salva! We are making tons of arpeggios, dark ambiences and sound fx. The music will be connected with the code to emphasize the oneiric and emotional part of the gaming experience.

Finally Trailer! Enjoy!

Thanks to all backers!

Well, I think that’s all by now. Sorry again for taking time to update. Your patience and trustiness are key to our success. We will continue with the hard work to bring to you the game you deserve. Pray for us backers, time to back to work!

BackerKit surveys are coming!
about 7 years ago – Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 01:23:54 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Summer update
about 7 years ago – Tue, Sep 05, 2017 at 01:00:15 AM

Thank you for waiting long. Updating our progress in this summer.

Mainly we have been working the mechanics and the backgrounds. And designing enemies, NPCs and items.

We are pretty close to achieving a prototype version where you can walk from the Digital kingdom to the 80s streets. Thousands of bug comes every day.... We have been fighting against them.

The mechanics

We are at 75% so far. We have many character events depending on the dimension, where Narita Boy is crossing. Naria boy character events will radically switch between two universes. We wanna keep the surprise but we promise that it gonna rocks!

Designing enemies, NPCs and items

We have designed many enemies. We have been trying to deliver many different enemies with different combos, behaviours and moods. We are putting many efforts into the animation to make something fluid with high-quality details.

Working as well on NPCs and items you will cross in the 80s stages. We have been making tonnes of props and breakable items with particles and awesome effects. You will have fun with them.

The background

We are very close to finishing one big 80s background with lots of details such as a neon advertising, graffiti and etc. Pretty fun to watch it. We hope tonnes of little detail to make an awesome experience for the player.

We are working hard with a passion to deliver the best experience possible. After the core mechanics are done we will focus on the overall world designing.

Thanks for your support!!

Busy but happy!
over 7 years ago – Fri, Jun 23, 2017 at 12:00:35 AM

Hy Everyone!

So sorry for don´t update as often as we would. Bit overwhelming? who say fear!

Also we are bit late on the survey step, sorry for that too. Hope in a couple of weeks we can make it happen.

Well, in terms of production things are going very well. We Hired an awesome dev. that he is making literally magic!

We are also in the game design stage, creating maps, events, building the story.

No break allowed! just hard work! :D

Let me share with you guys a little stage that we are working on right now!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRUST!