‘25%’
We just recently reviewed Cyber Shadow, and found it to be a pretty good modern retro-tinted platformer!
Amazingly, it’s one of those “basically one person did it” kind of games, and we can thank the mind of Aarne Hunziker for that (as well as Yacht Club Games for publishing it and bringing it to the masses). But apparently Hunziker loves this world so much that they created an expansive set of lore for it: so much more than what appeared in the game. Tolkien style!
Speaking to Goomba Stomp, Celia Schilling of Yacht Club Games had a lot to say on the matter: “What you guys get in Cyber Shadow currently is only 25% of the story that Aarne [Hunziker] had written for it.” Hunziker would get so into this universe that they’d even focus on what the player character does in their spare time. You gotta love that sort of passion: it comes out in the final version.
Ever wonder what a publisher does in its many potential capacities? Well Schilling also elaborates on that element of the relationship, stating: “With certain publishing, you can just take the game as it is, and you just throw it out in the world. And you’re like, there you go. But we like to have a hands-on approach, we treat it like how we would market our own games, but with the creator’s vision. So it’s one of those things where we did give advice on certain levels, we did review leveling and giving [Aarne Hunziker] feedback. And marketing-wise, we cultivated his vision to help push it out. That’s what differentiates our experience and our collaborating with him. But with everything, like design, Aarne has his final say of how he wants something.”
Final cut eh? If that’s accurate, Yacht Club Games sounds like a pretty good publisher to work with over a number of alternatives. It sounds like if sequels were to ever arise, they would be in good hands if Hunziker extended their deal.
Yacht Club Games’ Celia Schilling Talks Cyber Shadow, Unused Lore, and More [Goomba Stomp via Nintendo Life]
