Gamasutra analyzed the anatomy of the genre of metroidvaniy — two-dimensional action adventure, the foundations of which were laid 30 years ago by Metroid from Nintendo and Castlevania from Konami. These games combined the familiar gameplay of platformers with a vast world that had to be explored during the passage.
In his research, the author of Gamasutra, Cristian Nutt, talked with the creators of a number of successful representatives of this genre and collected their opinions on key issues: why metroidvanias are still so popular and in which direction this direction can develop.
Since the beginning of the 2010s, the genre has been experiencing a rebirth thanks to independent studios. Prominent representatives of the new wave of metroidvaniy are Cave Story Daisuke Amaya, Hollow Knight studio Team Cherry and Axiom Verge Thomas Happ (Thomas Happ).
Axiom Verge (Thomas Happ Games)Why is the genre still in demand and popular?
The creators of modern metroidvaniy explain this by the universality of the concept. According to James Petruzzi, one of the authors of the Chasm platformer, the key mechanics of the genre do not become obsolete: this is research, character development, platform gameplay and battles.
The author of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Koji Igarashi described the impressions of a good metroidvania as “the enjoyment of adventure plus gameplay that is easy to master.” He noticed that the whole world is able to better convey the plot and atmosphere of the game than cutting individual stages, and the element of growth of the main character’s capabilities helps to keep the gamer’s interest until the very end.
Erik Umenhofer, the creator of the two-dimensional adventure thriller Temporus, considers metroidvania “an ideal genre for indie developers,” since these games do not take up a lot of time from gamers, they have exciting and easy-to-learn gameplay, they can make the player tense, and, importantly, these games are relatively inexpensive to produce.
Chasm (Bit Kit)The holistic game world is the main tool of the metroidvaniya game designer
The opportunity and the need to explore the corners of the surrounding world is an integral part of any game of the genre.
“There is nothing more exciting than the opportunity to make discoveries. You get real pleasure when you find things that you could have missed, and you get an experience that you could have missed,” said Matt White, the creator of the Ghost Song metroidvania, which is about to be released.
The relative freedom of the open world allows gamers to explore it in their own way, which provides everyone with an individual gaming experience. In addition, the vast and labyrinthine worlds of metroidvaniy inspire players to re-pass, search for secrets and new strategies.
Game designer of the action platformer Guacamelee! Jason Canam from DrinkBox studio described the approach to creating locations in metroidvany as follows: each stage initially becomes an opponent for the player, but over time he studies its features and finds a way to overcome obstacles and move on.
Example of a level for a metroidvania from the Subtractive Design blog
Thus, creating a metroidvania can be considered a very useful exercise for game designers.
On the one hand, it challenges the authors, on the other hand, it encourages creative discoveries and a serious approach to game design, which is necessary to balance the various elements of gameplay and make it holistic.
Koji Igarashi emphasizes that the findings in game design should be interesting and fascinating, at least from the point of view of the designer himself. It is best to evaluate their success with the help of friends and other people who are ready to test the upcoming game.
Guacamelee! (DrinkBox Studios)Prospects for the development of the genre
Matt White suggests that the developers of metroids move away from the concept of “hard locks”: elements that prevent the player from opening a new zone without fulfilling certain conditions. Instead, “soft locks” are possible, for example, increased difficulty of passing for insufficiently developed characters, which, however, allows you to get to a new location if the gamer wants to explore it so much.
Another way is to supplement metroidvaniya with role—playing elements, as the creator of the game Unepic Francisco Telles (Francisco Tellez) did.
According to the game designers interviewed by Gamasutra, metroidvania is quite a modern genre without discounts on nostalgia for classic titles. They looked for inspiration and ideas for their games both in various works of culture, and by addressing various aspects of their personality and asking themselves what scares them, interests them or arouses curiosity.
Unepic (Francisco Téllez de Meneses)Also on the topic:
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