Shanghai-based developer Lilith Games is moving beyond the mobile market for the first time. The company, known for the hits AFK Arena and Rise of Kingdoms, talked about its new game — the online free-play action Farlight 84. According to the developers, a unique “hunting” mode will help them compete with AAA battle royales on PC.
Senior technical game designer Lilith Games Jijuan Liu, who previously worked at Rockstar San Diego, told Gamasutra about the new project.
The main feature of Farlight 84 is the so—called Hunt Mode, in which 48 people participate. You can play both in teams and singly. Unlike other battle royales, it is necessary not to remain the last surviving player or team on the map, but to hunt others.
Each participant of the match receives as a target another player or a member of the enemy team, who must be found and eliminated (the target is marked on the mini-map). For the murders, points are awarded, which are necessary to open the way to the evacuation zone. Thus, it is necessary not only to hunt specific players, but also to make sure that you yourself do not become a victim of other hunters.
According to Liu, the developers have been experimenting with shooter mechanics for years and studying the genre. As a result, it was possible to assemble a working prototype of Farlight 84 in just a few months. “Given our workflow, we can come up with new gameplay mechanics, if not faster, then at least at the same speed as console developers from the United States,” Liu notes.
Farlight 84 is being developed by Miracle Games, a subsidiary studio of Lilith Games. The Shanghai company itself focused on publishing processes, including promotion and work with the community.
Lilith Games understands that PC is a new market for them, which is already oversaturated with successful battle royales. However, the company hopes that the hunting mode will attract a hardcore audience and highlight Farlight 84 against the background of other representatives of the genre like Fortnite, Call of Duty Warzone and PUBG.
The full release of Farlight 84 will take place on iOS, Android and PC this year. A closed beta test will begin in June, and among the declared countries there is also Russia.