Feline Arts Interview - Suki & the Shadow Klaw, Inspirations, & Vita - Article

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by, posted on 17 January 2018

Sometimes, it's difficult to raise awareness of indie games given the increasingly crowded marketplace. Suki and the Shadow Klaw is a title I discovered through a 'Made With Unity' showcase that stood out to me (among a sea of potential Vita games using the engine) as looking polished, professional, and most of all - fun. As such it quickly became one of my most anticipated games on the platform (and even made my list for 2018, until I discovered an interesting fact about the game's release date).

As such, I jumped at the chance to ask a few questions of the game's developers regarding how the title is progressing, their plans for Vita, and the future pipeline of Suki.

First off, tell me a bit about yourselves! Who makes up Feline Arts and what do you all do?

I want to start by saying that it is an honor to take this interview. I am Lune from Feline Arts, which in fact is just me right now but that does not mean I’m the only one in the game development - for all the audio tasks I’m having help from the awesome composer Andrew Wrangell, for everything else I’m doing it myself; from the texture of the grass and small rocks to coding, game mechanics design, and art, that is the size of the dream I have to work on Suki.

Andrew: I'm from Australia, I have written music from a very young age and this is the first project we've worked on together. I have a background in classical music and piano, but I've also played a lot of video games and listened to their soundtracks so my vision as a composer is to create atmosphere and character with my music. I'm also making the sound effects which is challenging but very rewarding as it adds a lot of subtle atmosphere to the game too!

Some of the themes used in teaser footage have been brilliant, what are some of your major influences for the soundtrack?

Andrew: My influences are Joe Hisaishi, Nobuo Uematsu, and Sergei Prokofiev. I'm also influenced by Stewart Copeland, who wrote the music for the Spyro games (1, 2 & 3) and I'm loving working on a game about a dragon!

Has it been difficult raising awareness of the game within the ever-growing indie market?

It has been a bit difficult yes, but I have not yet released enough material to communicate the full experience of what Suki will be. However that is about to end, as a fully playable demo of the last (and final) iteration of Suki will be ready for March, and I will try to submit it to as many indie showcases as possible.

What made you decide on Vita as a target platform for the game?

When the game was in development for OUYA (iteration 2) there was a point when Sony released free PSM (Play Station Mobile) licenses for the global game jam. I got one, got a PS vita right away, and it was fulfilling to see something you are developing on a portable console - that was the moment when I said 'okay, I can do it!'.

Has Sony's public withdrawal of support for the handheld discouraged you at all in porting Suki?

Not really, sites and interviews like yours and people looking forward for the PS Vita version is enough for me to continue. My biggest worry is if I will be able to finish within the life span of the console, and if I don’t I apologize. I spent about one year improving my coding skills to make the game run smooth on consoles to the point that the models were the same in both versions (consoles and PS Vita). It was just a matter of time to find the Vita's strengths.

Have your contacts within the company encouraged you to get the game on Vita? Has it been easy dealing with Sony?

Sony was the first company to accept Suki & the Shadow Klaw and we are incredibly thankful for that. Sony is incredibly friendly to indies and it's been an awesome experience!

Onto the game itself - how did the original idea for Suki come about? I understand that at one point it was known as Dragon Maze?

That is right, Suki & the Shadow Klaw is the 4th iteration of Dragon Maze (where Dragon Maze was mostly the project name). The name changed when we had enough story and gameplay elements to think about the final title. The idea for Suki came to me in 2012 when I was searching new games to buy and I couldn't find anything like Banjo-Kazooie or Donkey Kong Country. Suki is a game I would have loved to have played when I was younger.

Are there any other games which served as an inspiration for Suki?

Of course! But I think the list is too big. N64 games like Banjo Kazooie; Donkey Kong Country 1 to 3 on SNES, and Zelda: A Link to the Past were the games I loved back then and it’s the kind of game I miss. A funny detail about Suki is that when it was going to be a mobile game I took inspiration from Marble Madness, that old game from the 80s but with a dash mechanic and a dragon skin. When we switched to OUYA that mechanic was ported and the game felt good - at the time I didn't have a justification for why Suki rolls, it just felt fun haha.

How would you categorise the game? Is it more of an adventure game, a platformer, or puzzler?

It is mostly platformer/adventure, the puzzles are more oriented towards timing and precision - the idea of Suki is a game from the 5th generation of consoles in the current gen, and we are respecting those mechanics as much as we can.

How have you balanced the skill level of the game? Can we expect a challenge or is it aimed at younger gamers?

Suki will not be an easy game, that is for sure, but the focus is not to make something incredibly hard. Think of SNES/N64/PS1 games, this is the base skill I am aiming towards.

Can we expect much storytelling throughout a playthrough? How is this achieved?

The first elements of the story in Suki will be shown in March. Definitely there is a story involved but the most important part for us is the gameplay itself, making sure the levels are fun. However if you see the cover of Dragon Maze you notice lots of coins - the first idea was that the wolves stole Suki’s treasure, but when we were working on the ending, just recovering money felt incredibly sad and plain, so when we got accepted for consoles and the last iteration began, one of the first things I did was to heavily improve the story. Sadly I cannot say much about it yet, but the first aspects of the story will be revealed in March alongside some new showcase material and a closed demo.

What makes Suki & the Shadow Klaw unique?

This is one of the hardest questions I get asked haha. I don’t know if Suki will be unique or not, that is up to the players to decide. I admire developers who really create something unique like Dean Dodrill with Dust: An Elisyan Tail, Toby Fox with Undertale, or the guys from Ori and the Blind Forest, Night in the Woods, Yooka Laylee, etc. Once again, I don’t know if I have the skill to make something unique but for sure I'll do my best to make Suki & the Shadow Klaw as fun as possible.

What's the expected length of the game? Is there anything to encourage multiple playthroughs?

The expected length of the game is estimated in 8-12 hours for the first run, but that will vary by player skill. In some showcases players can beat the demo level in 8 minutes while other players can take half an hour. I would expect a similar length to games like Shantae or Shovel Knight.

How long has the game in development for? How are things progressing at the moment?

The first iteration of Suki (Dragon Maze) was started in 2012, this means the game has been in development for about 5 years. Things are coming along perfectly now, I am just involved in the standard first game struggle of splitting time between doing client work to pay bills and licenses and making time for Suki, but that is balanced right now. There are plans for a possible crowdfund campaign - a cheap one though, just so I am able to focus entirely on Suki.

I understand the engine used is Unity, which has been notoriously difficult to get running smoothly on Vita. What steps are you taking to ensure Suki runs well on the handheld?

It was difficult at the start but instead of blaming the engine I took the blame on my skills - remember I began as a 3D artist, and it took me about one year to improve my coding skills enough to make the game run on consoles (any console). Right now, Suki has a tool that basically adapts the game to the target hardware - the game runs between 30-50 fps on Vita. I wanted to maintain 60 but that would slow down the overall game release a lot.

Has it been difficult working on a Vita version concurrently with other platforms or has the porting process been smooth?

The same game, the same project (for now) is running on every console. On every weekend I test the game on the consoles to look for platform-specific problems and recently everything has been going incredibly smoothly.

When do you expect the game will ship?

Don’t take this as an official date but I’m aiming towards March 2019.

Will the game be PlayStation TV compatible?

Ideally, yes. I own a PlayStation TV. When I pitched to Sony, I showed them the game running on PSTV using the PSM license, and they even asked me how did you do that? (since PSTV does not have a USB port, oops!).

Any chance of a physical release for Suki through a partner such as eastasiasoft or Limited Run Games?

I think a physical release is the dream of every indie developer who is working on console games and that's no exception here. A physical release would be a huge honor for us.

Finally, two questions I'm asking everyone - what are some of your favourite games that you’ve played on Vita?

Besides indie games I think I will go with the Sly Cooper series - I love how they achieved this awesome cartoon feeling. Megaman X Maverick Hunter was another of my favorites.

Which of Vita models is your favourite (LCD or OLED)?

While the LCD has longer battery life I still prefer the colors of the OLED screen.

And thank you for the interview Adam, I’m really looking forward to delivering a fun experience with Suki and Interviews like this are a huge motivation to continue working and doing my best. We have a mailing list open at www.SukiShadowKlaw.com for those who are interested and the site should be updated by January 18.

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I'd like to thank Feline Arts for taking the time to talk to me. You can follow Suki's development on the game's website as well as the developer's Twitter account.

As a side note, Lune also provided me with screenshots of the Vita build of the game, which is looking pretty sweet! You can view these below:

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