Many indie developers have risen to the occasion to provide such experiences, with popular games like Shovel Knight and Axiom Verge. Developer Blastmode has plans of entering this space, with its run-and-gun shooter Mighty Goose right around the corner. Game Rant spoke with solo developer Richard Lems about Mighty Goose, wherein he discussed insights into the world of indie development and how retro games are made in modern times.

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Balancing Retro And Modern Game Design

While many might happily recall the days of the arcade, it’s hard to argue that a lot of that might be considered rose-tinted nostalgia. Retro games like Donkey Kong are perceived to be infallible in memory, but many forget about the games’ more frustrating aspects such as limited continues, one-hit kills, and no checkpoints.

Rebuilding these experiences for an audience used to modern game design conveniences can be a daunting task. There’s a subtle act of balancing retro and modern game design elements, an act that should be emphasized to nail down elements of nostalgia.

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The Solo Developer Journey

Another interesting part about Mighty Goose is that is entirely developed by Lems. While the console porting process has been done by MP2 games, and music has been done by a freelance composer, Lems is the sole developer behind Mighty Goose.

Lems has worked with developer TurtleBlaze before, wherein he developed another fast-paced action platformer called Kunai. Mighty Goose might look similar to Kunai in many ways, but it doesn’t have any influence on Lems’ newest project.

Another thing that solo developers generally struggle with is keeping their productivity levels high. Game development is daunting, and working on a single project for a long period of time all by oneself can take a toll. Every individual has different motivations to keep going, but Lems said he didn’t struggle much in this regard, even after spending almost two years with Mighty Goose.

Mighty Goose is slated to release on June 5, 2021 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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