How Annalynn was inspired by the enduring appeal of Namco arcade games
Welcome to Thursday and a fresh slate of Game Developer stories for your evening reading. Today we have a feature interview with the creator of the retro-arcade inspired Annalynn and plenty of news from the likes of Sega, NetEase, Nintendo, and more.
Creator Cruise Elroy tells us how the staples of a classic platform shaped the game's design.
There's plenty of non-Namco arcade titles that were also a big inspiration to me, such as Donkey Kong Jr. and BurgerTime, but Namco's titles remain my absolute favorites from the arcade era because of their unmatched charm and quality. Whether it be their hugely popular titles (such as Pac-Man, Mappy, Dig Dug, or Galaga) or their one-and-done, more obscure entries (such as Bosconian, Phozon, or Sky Kid), all of their games are ones you can tell where the developers had their hearts put into it. The thing that especially stands out to me with these (and that I wanted to include in Annalynn) is the way they inject tons of personality into their characters and setting—Pac-Man's intermission cutscenes are the biggest standout example of this. They're not just nameless faces for you to get into the shoes of, and I think that's what kept Namco's catalog in the back of my head for so many years.
The company has started a new initiative that will allow senior citizens to keep gaming into their golden years.
Former Blizzard and Riot veteran Greg Street will lead production on the project, codenamed Ghost, at new studio Fantastic Pixel Castle.
Sonic, Persona, and Like a Dragon are doing especially strong numbers outside Japan, and Sega hopes to capitalize on those properties alongside its Super Game dreams.