___ DOUBTS ?!? ___________________________
Why this tribute to eighties is not made in pixel art?
Well, that's a good question. There are a couple of answers. First, when we started four years ago, we don't knew how much time and how much far our journey had to endure: considering that we were working on this beside our job, we don't wanted to start with something that could have been too much ambitious. We know that there are so many awesome games in pixel art floating around the indie scene, and we really admire them. But pixel art requires an infinite admount of time and effort, and if you cannot count on solid premises, is better to look for a compromise. So, we opted instead for a hand-drawn graphic style that looked like the 16-bit era in terms of traits and colors. We grew playing on pc's and consoles, so we had certains games well stuck in mind. Second reason is a matter of actuality: givin an exclusive pixel-art style to the game, we would have risked to look too much focused on retro gamers [which we are and love] but instead we wanted to reach also a younger audience, since we're really afraid that the old, classic arcade game is in danger, it risks extinction, and indies are the key to keep it alive. That's why we gave a cartoonish final touch to the whole picture, in addiction to some modern visual effects like glows, particles, shaders and so on to make the game look actual.
More than a general "80's rng", that reminds me ...
Ghosts 'N Goblins? Well ... No. We were mainly inspired by Ghouls 'N Ghosts. Just kidding. Really. Now, although Cast has a quite different gameplay compared to both, we have to say that we got our inspiration from a LOT of run 'n gun in the eighties, and if you missed them, let us advice you on some title:
Beyond The Ice Palace, Vardan, Dragon's Kingdom, Risky Woods, Gods, Artura, The Sword And The Rose, Fire And Brimstone, Stormlord, Ghost Battle, just to mention some home pc releases. The history is so much loaded with run 'n gun platformers that you simply cannot really mention all of them.
What makes the game funny?
The excitement given by the fast pace, the satisfaction on blasting the enemies, the joy of being powerful while using the magic spells, the curiosity to discover what every single weapon does combined with every single armour, the hype to discover what environment will welcome you in the next level, the infinite pleasure to say "i'm gonna have a journey that i can complete in one hour or less".
Why should i have to buy the game?
When the game will be released, you'll have a great, exaustive free demo to play, then it will be up to you.
However, the game will be very cheap. Actually, being honest, we would give it all for free ...
But we would like to spend the hundred percent of our lifetime creating our games, and unless you're rich, this is possibly only by selling the product of your hard work.