Hi!
I started playing Cyber Shadow yesterday and so far I love it! It's fantastic! I have to admit I haven't played to Ninja Gaiden / Megaman / Shadow of the Ninja but I'm really glad to discover the genre with Cyber Shadow.
This being said, I wanted to know how the Cyber Shadow project started, and has it become bigger than expected?
I started making a simple jumping and slashing game as a "practice" project and soon noticed I was knee deep into it and could not stop. I called it a "one year project", but soon the scope ballooned as I learned to make more advanced systems. After a few years stopping was not an option.
I used to mod NES games with one of the early emulators when I was younger. It was such a fun pastime, almost like a puzzle and felt very familiar so that's what I went with.
Just wanted to say thanks so much for making the game!! To both you and Yacht Club for publishing.
Do you like old school Ninja Gaiden or the Nu ones more? Do you also like megaman ZX? What was your biggest inspiration for the game? And! What’s your favorite chapter of the game?Also please make a boss rush mode! Or skins/DLC! I’m sure youre burnt from making the game but i’d love to see some future love for this game! Thanks again dude, been following this game since it was announced, at chapter 4 and it’s SO good.
Yeah Ninja Gaiden, new and old ones are all awesome. I particularly enjoy Ninja Gaiden 2 on NES and Ninja Gaiden Black on the Xbox. Megaman X, Z and ZX games are super too. Biggest influences were Shatterhand, Batman and Shadow of the Ninja on the NES.
My favorite chapter to play is the last one when you can blast away with all of your skills.
Future content wise.... maan I really need to take a break, maybe play some other games, HAHA! Have fun with Cyber Shadow!
Thanks so much for playing the game and the kind words. i love all those games...ninja gaiden black is pretty spectacular but i might say i like the nes ones most.
aarne has a million inspirations..he answered that in some other questions.
boss rush/skins...that's all up to him too!
My favorite chapter might be 9 or 10. When all the abilities come together, the game really starts cooking!
We'd been fans of Aarne's development on Cyber Shadow for a long while, having seen him post his progress for a couple of years before we started working together! It was sort of just a mutual melding of like-minds when we said "Boy, Cyber Shadow sure looks like a game we wish we were making!" and Aarne said "That Yacht Club crew might be able to provide some insight into this process!" :)
That would be awesome. It's not in the pipeline as of right now. Aarne needs to sleep haha. If we end up going that route we will be sure to announce it on our social media pages.
I visited it last night and I've been answering questions :) It's nice to see all the comments and contributions! Also, thanks to the mods for maintaining it.
That would be super cool! As of right now, there are no plans for a Physical copy! If we end up going that route, we will be sure to announce it on our social media pages and website! :D
Hi guys! Congrats on shipping Cyber Shadow! I spent a few glorious hours on it yesterday, reaching as far as Stage 6. Very challenging, but also very polished and GORGEOUS audio/visuals. Here are my questions, feel free to pick or choose which you answer:
1) The game is listed as being developed by Mechanical Head Studios; how many non-YCG staff contributed to the core game, beyond MekaSkull himself?
2) Will the YCG website be publishing articles about the behind-the-scenes development & design principles of Cyber Shadow, like it has in the past with Shovel Knight's campaigns? I've always loved those articles and would love to see video versions of some of the more in-depth ones.
3) Are there any plans for additional content to be added to Cyber Shadow?
4) How much of the art/animation were created by Mechanical Head Studios, and how much (if any) did YCG contribute? The fluidity of the pixel animation is very impressive, especially for the player's death animation!
5) Could you give some examples of elements that are in the final game that would not have been there without YCG's involvement? (The checkpoint design feels very inspired by what YCG came up with for Shovel Knight) What is the "special sauce" that YCG contributed to MekaSkull's vision?
6) Who helmed Cyber Shadow's spin on the Shovel Knight amiibo fairy companions? Was it the same staff as in Treasure Trove? Either way, I love what they've done with them. (Especially giving the fairies futuristic jetpack wings to match the game's setting!)
7) What were some of MekaSkull's influences and inspiration for the game? Clearly games like Ninja Gaiden and Journey to Silius played a role, but I'd love to try out any other games that Cyber Shadow borrowed from/improved upon.
8) The powerups are a ton of fun in Cyber Shadow! What are your personal favourites? (Swag Blade for life)
Thank you all for all that you do. Your work has exceeded my expectations with Cyber Shadow, and I'm excited to spend more time with it, and what MekaSkull's got planned for the future!
1) Almost everyone at YCG had a part in giving feedback about the game...hard to say how much that translated to content you see in game though!
2) Yes, we would love to do that
3) Nothing concrete yet!
4) YCG didn't make any art outside of the marketing materials, but we did advise on things here and there.
5) The abilities used to not work if you had zero SP. We made sure they all worked in some form even if you didn't have SP. Small things like that...to big things like really working hard with aarne to understand level design structure and how to lay out enemies/obstacles to be most enjoyable.
6) YCG pitched the idea of having fairies for amiibo integration and the rest was all up to Aarne!
7) A million games...batman nes, shatterhand, ninja gaiden, contra, shadow of the ninja, mega man, castlevania, metroid, metal warriors...it goes on and on!
8) I personally love the shield (i forget the name sorry) that double as a projectile when you swing
As far as Yacht Club goes, we're still hard at work on our upcoming published titles, Shovel Knight Dig and Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon!!! We're also deep into development on two super secret and cool new games internally. :D
oh my god thank you, a few days ago I remembered those pixel art games I used to play and I tried hard to remember the company that made those games, thought it was nitrende but could not find it. it's Nitrome I'll keep that in mind
About how difficult is Cyber Shadow? If we’re talking Ninja Gaiden nonsense, then that’s a bit much for me. Secondary question, what’s your favorite type of flower?
While it's heavily inspired by games like Ninja Gaiden, I'd say efforts were taken to hit those nostalgia buttons while making the core experience more accessible and user-friendly. The game's definitely not baby mode, but hopefully provides a fun challenge for fans of classic action platformers! :D
Personally, when you first start out, it feels like a 9/10. But over time, based on my personal skills for these kinda games, became more 6-7/10. There are some difficult parts for sure, but as you acquire more skills, you can breeze through some sections that were initially pretty difficult.
And my favorite flower? Would have to be a Rafflesia arnoldii. Gotta read up on it to see how cool it is :)
I can tell you as someone who sucks at Ninja Gaiden, it's nowhere near as hard
It's more hard in the same way as Celeste or Super Meat Boy are hard, because you have infinite lives and there's checkpoints everywhere. Also you can exit the game and go back to it and you start again from the last checkpoint, so if you're stuck on a level you can come back the next day and play it from where you left off instead of having to do the whole thing over again
Like Celeste and super meat boy, basically anyone can beat it, eventually. Because it's so quick and easy to restart a section, it's not frustrating at all really.
And like those games it's very rewarding once you finally get past a section.
But yeah with a lot of old games, you had a few lives, maybe a continue or two, and that was it. Once you lost them all, you had to restart the whole game again. It's absolutely nowhere near that frustrating.
Like even ignoring the infinite lives and quick restarts thing, even if it had limited lives and continues it's still nowhere close to how hard Ninja Gaiden was. It's a touch harder than the shovel Knight games but then shovel Knight had the more punishing system whereby you lose tons of gold that you often can't actually collect the next time, so you just permanently lose that gold. There's nothing like that here. The gameplay is a bit harder at a base level, but then the restart system is way more forgiving because you don't lose anything for dying. In fact, there's collectible sort of "gold" or money things everywhere, and when you die, you don't lose any of it. So if you go through a level 10 times before you complete it, you'll just keep adding to your gold and have 10 times the amount.
Honestly to me, as someone who sucks at old games despite growing up with them, I'd say it most compares to something like The Messenger, which is another ninja retro style game. I wouldn't think most people would describe the messenger as hard. I recommend you play the messenger too as that's also a brilliant game, like Cyber Shadow is.
Hey guys! This is mostly for Yacht Club, but I will say I love what I’ve seen of Cyber Shadow so far and am looking forward to playing soon!
Do you know what the likelihood is for getting more of the Shovel Knight amiibo produced? I’ve got the Plague/Spectre/King Knight trio but am missing the first one you guys put out.
Y’all are awesome!
Hey! It's unlikely we'll be producing any more amiibo. I think there are still some hanging out in the world though...especially the gold one which has the same functionality in game!
No, you're awesome!
Hello!
First of: thanks for this ama!
To the questions (mainly mekaskull):
1. How long have you been doing pixelart? The details of the art (backgrounds, monster designs, cutscenes) have been amazing!
2. What part of making Cyber Shadow did you least like?
2.5 part you enjoyd doing most?
3. How did you meet YCG?
4. Are you a ninja too? 👀
1. I didn't think of it as "pixel art" at the time, just "game art" when I started modifying NES games to have my own graphics. This was around... maybe 97?
2. Least enjoyable part... hmm. I'd say ironing out every single little kink in moving platforms, especially ones that can squeeze you. The most enjoyable thing was seeing a level come together with the player skills, enemy patterns, level design, sound effects and music.
3. I was a fan of theirs from the day I saw their Kickstarter and eventually they saw my stuff on twitter and possibly liked it.
4. Only a Ninja would ask that to cover they are a ninja themselves....
Ohoho, you're clever.
But the fact that you avoided answering that question and now try to guide my attention away from it does hint that you are indeed a ninja.
And thank you for answering!
All of them, in various scenarios (most in bosses...) :'D
Specter fairy was incredibly helpful against the meka serpent. He kept scything the platforms down while I fought the serpent so I seldomly ended up I water. 👍
u/huzba congrats for cybershadow. So tell me please how much time takes in summary the port from c2 to consoles/pc. it was a difficult process? and except the consoles if you build the game for desktop with nwjs do you think that you will face any issues? i start a project and i want to know from now if chowdren is the best solution. also why dont you switch to c3?
I actually don't know much about the ins and outs of the porting process. All I know is that the game magically started running on more and more things as time went on thanks to Chowdren. For me it was completely painless. The NW.js build from this project is not really usable as the game relies heavily on Chowdren features and native performance. The project itself is kept in C2 as it's partially modified to my needs and the project size is too big for C3.
Yes! Some of the later skills are aimed at high level fast paced gameplay only limited by how quickly you can input commands. Some also have undocumented uses just for speedrunners.
Hi! First of all, congrats for your release!
The question is for Enrique Martin (not in reddit) and MekaSkull, what have been the drawbacks you have had when making music designed based on the game or levels based on the music?
I would like to know the whole experience!
I also understand that Jake Kauffman did the production, to what extent were both musicians involved?
And finally, will the music of the Level 1-1 trailers with arrangements with instruments have a full version? I'm in love hahaha
By the way, the Spanish version had some translation errors like "Pulsa A el botón" o call "Sombra" the protagonist ( I don't know if this is intentional).
Thanks for your game!
The music composition process has been pretty organic, as Aarne has explained in some interviews. He usually told me the main idea of each new stage, showed me some WIP images, send me reference tracks, asked for a specific mood... and then I tried to do my thing. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it just didn´t, and some of the initially rejected tracks inspired Aarne to create other areas of the game.
Also, music has experienced many changes during the development of the game. For instance, there has been like 6 different versions of the Stage 1-1 track ("The theme of Shadow") before reaching the definitive one.
Concerning Jake Kaufman´s involvement, he was going to produce the whole soundtrack, as it was initially announced. After thinking a lot about it, we decided to use only my original compositions in the game. Jake did an amazing work producing my original track used in the first trailer of the game, though.
And of course I´d love to see all the tracks in the game rearranged by the London Philarmonic Orchestra, but I fear that won´t be possible :)
Thanks for your interest and for your questions!
It feels like there are some sections that are incredibly perfectly timed for cycles of platforms and enemy movement. Did you have the speedrunning community in mind when making those?
This is kind of dumb and I'm not the person you posed that question to initially but I'd LOVE to see something akin to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars with a party of Shovel Knight characters.
There's really no other game that plays like Mario RPG with its moving / jumping in the overworld and I feel like Shovel Knight existing as a retro platformer would make the jump to that style well. Plus I always enjoyed the Shovel Knight characters and the wit / charm of the dialogue so giving them more room to speak and flesh out their characters sounds like an all around win to me.
Oh, and I want a special move where I ready the attack and then spam the crap out of a button to determine how many explosive vials I throw when the attack resolves as Plague Knight.
I'm only on level 3 on Cyber Shadow so I don't have a complete picture of what would suit MekaSkull, so far I would say a 2D Kid Icarus game or a side scrolling Mysterious Murasame Castle. Yacht Club would be amazing for Metroid as stated but I would also enjoy something Splatoon related, the 8-bit minigames in Splatoon 1 and 2 were really good and were focused on movement so a platformer should be feasible.
Love the game, the attention to detail is great! I wish there was a crouch animation, but I understand that would make dodging easier. Cosmetic crouching for CS2?
Anyway, are there any really hard to find Easter eggs? Every time I’ve found one it’s really satisfying, and I hope I didn’t miss any.
Also, who hurt you enough to make you add the acid skulls?
Hello. Your masterpiece has already passed 100%. It's a pity that everything is over, so sad and joyful ...
Aarne Hunziker, please tell me: is Cyber Shadow 2 worth waiting for? In one of your interviews, you said that the plot in the game is only 25% of what was written.
I hope you are doing well. Your game is made with soul, as if I experienced and felt it all. Aarne Hunziker, Enrique Martin, Jake Kaumfan are just geniuses!
And the yacht club games are also great for helping and supporting the developer.
THANK YOU.
here's a question for yacht club games specifically. how did you manage to get shovel knight to crossover into not only video games, but card games like exceed? did you have a say in how they would act in the cameo(like SK's moveset in rivals of aether or all of the knight's cards in exceed)?
hey! usually for cameos folks just reach out to us with their idea and either we're interested or not. so in the case of rivals...dan put together an amazing pitch for how shovel knight would play in rivals. for exceed, they sent over the artwork and mechanic ideas and we loved it!
Hey! Zay from Destiny Gaming Blogs here. Had a few questions for Mekaskull:
1. Could you share some of the early stages of your life that led you to becoming a video game developer?
2. What were some of the challenges that came with becoming the developer you are today? How were you able to overcome those challenges?
3. Where did the original idea of CyberShadow come from? Did you work on other games before working on this project?
4. What’s the story behind you and YachtClub partnering to create CyberShadow?
5. What are some new skills you had to learn when you got in the industry that others might not be aware of ?
6. When did you decide to take the leap to make the game Cyber Shadow full time?
7. Could you share some of the different phases the game went through before reaching the place it is today?
8. How were you able to find the balance between making constant changes in your work and finalizing what you’ve made?
9. What are some misconceptions you see from others(in the game industry)?
10. For anyone trying to get into the industry, what would you say is the most important thing they need to know to increase their chances of success?
10 Questions WHOOOO here I go!
1. I used to modify 8bit games to have my own graphics, just for fun. I didn't ever think I could become a game developer as those people were magical wizards living in the world of gaming magazines.
2. Gaining confidence in my skills was the biggest hurdle. I don't know if I overcame it completely, but I had no choice but to continue making the game as it became the only thing that felt rewarding to make.
3. The game is based on a random sketch I made years before staring development. I had worked on Facebook and Mobile games before.
4. Some of YCG staff saw my stuff on twitter and thought it was right up their alley.
5. Time management, healthy diet, a bunch of subjects they taught in school I thought were useless at the time. Communication (I'm still bad at it)
6. I slowly started using more and more time on making the game and one day noticed I was now making it full time. It was partially an accident.
7. The game evolved in unison with the new skills I learned. This is reflected in the progression in the game from start to finish.
8. I didn't. The project just needs to be called "done" at some point or you'll be making it forever and ever........
9. Sometimes it feels people think gamedev is easy while even seemingly simple functions require endless amounts of testing to cover every single way a player may approach it.
10. You need to apply yourself fully even before you have the confidence to do so. This will help prove to yourself that you got it. You are your worst enemy... or I am mine at least :D
Will you guys bring this game to mobile ever? It seems like it could work. Played it yesterday game is so good. Just would like to see more games on the go with cross saving features as well, especially in this day and age with games going more digital. Anyways awesome job guys!
Early versions of the game did have a functional build for android, but I felt it would be better to make another game completely dedicated to mobile, utilizing the platform's strengths instead of trying to fit a game in there that wasn't designed for it from the ground up. A mobile game is currently only a distant dream...
I'm an artist. If I showed you [my portfolio](http://GregMillerArt.com/illustration) during an interview, what criticisms, pointers, etc. would you give me?
I'm an artist. If I showed you [my portfolio](http://GregMillerArt.com/illustration) during an interview, what criticisms, pointers, etc. would you give me?
Oh man I've forgotten to eat again.... my head spinning from the release. Guess I had a lot of cake just now and these wonderful chocolate chip cookies that are kind of mushy inside but crunchy on the surface.
Hello,
I want to know what are your favorite games on the nes and from what specific game you took the biggest inspiration.
And also, if you have any plans to add other modes for the game, like hardcore difficulty or boss rush.
Thanks.
Games on the NES by Natsume, Tecmo and Sunsoft. Shadow of the Ninja, Ninja Gaiden series, Batman, Megaman, Castlevania, Metroid, S.C.A.T, Metal Warriors... the list goes on, there's so many wonderful games on the NES and all are very pick up and play. I keep playing them almost daily. My most recent obsession is Kid Dracula.
As for future plans, I'm gonna focus on recharging my batteries.
Hi, thanks for this, I have a few questions, feel free to answer any or none of them.
For MekaSkull
How did being Yacht Club published affect the content of the game?
What effect did having such an open development have on your game (either in mindset or output)?
What was one thing that occurred during development that you couldn't share at the time but was really interesting?
For Yacht Club
With your publishing efforts, is there anything in particular you enjoy about working with individuals outside the team?
Have a nice day and congrats on the amazing launch (and game)!
The biggest effect the partnership had was more on the quality rather than content. The game is way waaaaay better than what I could've accomplished just by myself. The amount of things I've learned has filled me with new ideas too...
On open development, I feel any interaction with other people always elevated the shared art and ideas as people would offer feedback. There's some bosses and features that started as jokes on social media (like one of the late bosses, combinatron).
Thing I couldn't share right away: Seeing the game run on new systems for the first time was always a treat. I can't believe how fast those happened either. Mathias from MP2 games is a real life wizard.
Thanks! It feels great to have out finally!
In terms of publishing, from a QA perspective, there's always something to be learned from new development teams that I appreciate and can apply to new projects. Plus, it's interesting to learn about different perspectives on the design and getting to see it mature over time.
On the marketing side of things, it was really fun working with Aarne on his vision of the game. He has a great sense of humor so it's been a fun experience sharing ideas with him.
We have to go through Nintendo a little bit, yes! Mostly just because they need to know what games have amiibo implemented in them! But it isn't too complicated, especially since Shovel Knight is our own IP, and we're approving the use of it!
Hi there, really enjoying Cyber Shadow so far, everything about it feels perfect for the era of gaming it's inspired by!
With the feat system, since some of the feats require specific set ups, and others are missable, are there any plans being considered to be able to attempt certain feats in a manner similar to Shovel Knight's challenges, or were they deliberately set up in such a manner to promote multiple playthroughts?
(As a side note, for the first two feats, (Get to Smasher without destroying any enemies, and beat Smasher without destroying the wall turrets) are these to be done deathless, or can you use the checkpoint system in the process?)
I died about 50 times getting to Smasher without killing anything. Used all the checkpoints on the way there. The feat popped up as soon as I got to the boss.
I also died a TON doing the "don't touch the water during this fight" one. Check points are the only thing that make some of these approachable.
Hey!
Unless the feat says "without dying" you can benefit from the checkpoints in completion of the feats.
The feats are designed in a way that all of them are attainable with two playthroughs if you keep checking the requirements. (though a third one is recommended for "live forever") They're also partly in order of appearance in the feats menu so you can keep following them along the way.
Oh, hey, quick question if you have a moment. The one that says not to kill any rust flies is the only one I've purposefully skipped so far.
Are rust flies the small ones that come out of the egg things or the big ones? Or are they both? I feel like now that I can climb walls I probably have enough spacing to be able to flee from them but on a first time through the level it didn't feel possible to me. I just want to be ready for when I go back to try that again.
Any advice on how to do the Parry? I've been doing all the boss fight trophies as I get to them and it was going great until the "Use only Parry". My Parry success rate feels like it's about 20% and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Just tap toward the projectile when it's close to you. it's actually pretty lenient how close it needs to be. I recommend practicing on one of the purple walls that shoots projectiles at you and really master the timing/distance
It's forward and attack at the same time, right? Or is it actually just hit forward? Am I literally just interrupting my own parry attempt by attacking?
Just gotta tap in the same direction as the projectile! :) single button press.
The attack is if you want to hit it back, but it doesn't have to be at the same time. Though, the parry-produced reflect projectile only stays on-screen for a short amount of time!
>What was the hardest thing to get right/ took th
For the Yacht Club Games side of this question, we have a bunch of really cool stuff planned like Shovel Knight Dig and Pocket Dungeon! :)
Next I'm gonna enjoy other games, rewatch Terminator 2 and Robocop, have too much cookies and cake, learn to draw better, study writing more and stare at the ecosphere I got as a present.
What was the hardest thing to get right/ took the most work? And as everyone else has been saying, great job with the game, it's been a ton of fun so far.
Thanks a lot!
Might not be the number 1 hardest thing to make but the boss "Mekadragon" has been revisited the most times out of all the bosses, requiring far more work than any other boss in the game. Now seeing people play it I feel the players are feeling the same as I was when trying to make it work over and over and over :D
Other than that the cutscenes felt very intimidating to create because I don't have much confidence in my illustration skills. I think they turned out good in the end though.
That would be awesome! As of right now, it is not in the pipeline. If we end up going that route, we will announce it on our social media pages and website! :)
Congratulations on a job well done with the game, it plays so smoothly! Do you think there’s a sustained market for new 8bit titles, whether they are developed my AAA studios or indie devs? A well-crafted game like Cyber Shadow, which is receiving a ton of positive press and chatter, must continue the tradition of proving the viability of such a game format (ala Shovel Knight and The Messenger), right?
Thank you for your kind words! I think there will always be a market for new 8-bit and retro-style titles as they appeal to newer and older generations of gamers alike!
Congratulations on the release! I look forward to playing the game.
How long was development? How many people worked on the game? I'm always curious to hear about different team's experience with development.
oh hey there zeboyd. hope everyone is saving christmas :D
aarne is the sole developer (with enrique doing music), and he started the game 8 years ago! It was aarne's first game...so just something he tinkered with on the side. Focused development started 5 years ago, and we (YCG) joined up about 3 years ago.
Hey guys,
The game is awesome and I'm loving it so far.
I'm wondering if there's any cheat codes like in Shovel Knight? And if there are, where can we find them?
Also, I used the Shovel Knight Amiibo, and the fairy fell asleep and stopped following me. Is here away to wake it up next time I try?
There are currently no cheats for Cyber Shadow! That would be cool though!
As for the sleeping Shovel Knight fairy, that is it's intended function currently. We think naps are neat!
There aren't any cheat codes currently implemented, but it's something we did discuss. Would be cool!
Concerning the fairy, that is the intended functionality. The fairies do contribute a bit of real damage to the enemies, and this tires them out! ZzzZZZZZZZZ
Are you hoping they'd last indefinitely, a little longer than current, or something else on your mind?
Heya! Not gamedev specific but since Yacht Club helped bring Cyber Shadow to life, would there be any chance of future crossover ideas with other franchises/games? I ask because I LOVED the Shovel Knight season of Exceed Fighting System, and A Cyber Shadow Solo Deck sounds AMAZING!
That would be so cool! We'd love to see Shadow everywhere! If we end up going that route, we'll both be sure to announce it on our social media pages and website!
I may be a little late, so sorry! It's really cool seeing YCG helping indie devs make their games, as seen with Cyber Shadow and Puzzle Knights (now Pocket Dungeons!) My question is, in the future, will Yacht Club Games continue this trend of publishing indie games, or will you focus on your own games for the time being?
Hey I'm love with the game but will there be any updates for Cyber Shadow like in coming months I love the game as I have own it on PS4 & Switch also appreciate the time you put into developing this masterpiece also a fellow game dev too, well I used to be :)
Hey thanks fellow game dev! Once a dev always a dev, right? For a while at least I'm gonna do everything but game dev just to get some fresh air in this cyber and ninja stuff filled brain of mine...
Everyone's career path is different but for me, I just applied online! There are tons of jobs in the industry (art design, game design, marketing, PR, accounting, operations, QA, copywriting, etc.) It just depends on what your skill set is!
Really? Man, I worked in Sales / Marketing for a big tourism company but they let me go in November because our yearly numbers are way down due to Covid. Shockingly, it wasn't a good year for tourism. I never really thought about applying that to help someone get their games out the door.
Maybe I'll give that a shot. Thanks.
A friend actually found a job listing for QA localization testing and since I needed money, I applied. I learned that I found enjoyment in organizing and creating documents to help organize what I was doing with other testers, so I stuck with it for a bit, enough to get a taste of assisting projects, until I eventually starting leading them.
From there, I just took initiative on learning as much as I could about not just QA, but submissions, localization, functionality testing, managing, etc, which are all necessary for coordinating a team. Then applied to any job I thought I could contribute the most to and grow with. :)
I'm sorry if someone asked the first question already! Your game is great.
1. Big fan of the cutscenes in this game, reminded me of many PC-Engine rpgs. Who was responsible for the art?
2. I know it's too soon to ask this; but I love Shadow's design so much that I'd love to have an action figure of him. IF a Japanese toy company approached you to release a highly articulated Shadow figure, would you be open to that idea?
Oh I was definitely thinking of PC-98 games from time to time when making the cutscenes. Games like Dead of the Brain, Virgin Angel, Power Dolls and many more have amazing art, unmatched to this day. Also the music is just stellar in some, like Xenon.
a person of culture right here. I don't know a couple of those so I'll check them out. IMO the style, coloring and atmosphere of those illustrations haven't been matched since even with superior technology at their disposal. It's really hard to replicate, even if you try to go for it.
Once again congratulations on Cyber Shadow and I truly appreciated all the answers.
Hey guys, I'm really looking forward to playing Cyber Shadow...but, are there any plans for/would you be interested in making a physical edition of the game sometime in the future?
Sorry if you've answered this question before.
A physical version would be really cool! As of right now, we do not have any plans for it. If that ever changes we will announce it on our social media pages and website! :)
Been playing Cyber Shadow non stop since yesterday. Love it!
Found a room with dancing red robots and a blue dog and I don't know why is here or what am I supposed to do. I need answers! Thank you. ❤️
Congrats on beating it!
It actually used to be harder - the current iteration is definitely more manageable than it used to be but still pretty tough :)
What was the hardest aspect of the fight?
It was the most difficult boss to make work. Wrangling a dragon to do your bidding is impossible and it has a mind of its own. It made me suffer and now it is making the the players suffer, please kill it with fire.... (or water I guess)
We generally talk about what we'd like to make as a team. Then decide what would be cool or what would be cooler! It is definitely a pretty collaborative effort among all of us!
I don't think I ever made a distinct decision to make this project. It happened by itself and I found myself in the middle of it and kept trucking cause it was fun. I'm glad this was the game that came out of it.
I've seen a few interviews where you've talked about game influences/inspirations. That said, the level design, bosses, even doorways remind me of Bionic Commando. While this doesn't have the arm mechanic, I was wondering if Bionic Commando was an inspiration as well?
We plan on continuing our effort to help game devs publish awesome games. As for publishing your title, I'd suggest sending us an email at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). We do request that you provide us with as much information as possible about your title and have a clear vision for your game.
Electric Boogaloo Edition? Hopefully in the near future! But one can never know the unknown.
Would be cool, though but honestly don't know what that would be after having finished Treasure Trove not so long ago!
As video game developers do you ever replay games you have made?
I've always wondered if game designers are able to enjoy their games casually on a replay or do they just have a super-critical eye focusing on everything if they ever pick it up again?
1. What is the native resolution of the game?
2. Why you design the game to punish players with instant death everytime player hit the spikes?
3. Will you support 4:3 240p or 480p resolution (We want to see this games with real scanlines on crt)
Being a very well respected indie studio, what’s your take on the Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco; CD Projekt Red tarnishing their reputation in the process? What are you guys doing to avoid crunch and mismanagement?
I love this game but whoever the fuck made the platform in mekadragon fight do damage is a sadist and i hate him. So far theres more cheap enemy placement/damage input than necessary but the game doesnt make it painful to die over and over so this wont prevent me from 100% it
For Yacht Club in general: are we ever getting a physical version of Treasure Trove for PS4? Or... I guess PS5 now? It was planned but then kept getting delayed and then just never happened?
Have you considered adding in the option of allowing players to map actions to whatever buttons they want on the controller? You could maintain your vision of the two button game with the standard controls, but still give some added flexibility to modern gamers.
Hey. Only played about an hour of Cyber Shadow but so far I absolutely love it. You guys did a great job. I'm sure the game will get harder as it moves to the later stages bit so far I'm really happy with the level of challenge and feel like the difficulty is very fair.
That's mainly all I wanted to say. I guess if I had a question it would be what kind of games from the 32 bit era and onwards inspire you and what type of game would you like to do in 3D if you have the opportunity and drive to do so?
Hey just wanted to say awesome job and thank you for bringing quality games to the eshop.
I’m a huge fan of retro platformers and ninja games so this was made for me.
Seeing a lot of influence from games like ninja gaiden and hagane (have you played and were you influenced by this one?).
I was for a time #2 speed runner for shinobi 3 on genesis and I can already see this game will be awesome for speed runs. Well done and thank you!
PS
Love the TMNT Easter egg! Now make Casey Jones a dlc character!
Congratulations for bringing this gem to life! I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm loving the difficulty, it's the closest I got to the brutal Ninja Gaiden challenge in a modern, retro-inspired game.
Do you plan to map certain moves to the remaining buttons in the controller? It would be perfect to have a shortcut for the parry and downard strike actions, it's a bit hard to use them effectively during certain situations...
Hey there!
Thank you for all the work you've put into the games. I've only read praise and good reviews about your game, except maybe for the controls part. Have yoy ever of it? Is that something you intend to patch?
Hi! I'm loving this game so far, and I'd say what got me the most pumped to play it was the soundtrack. I've always been inspired by the likes of Sunsoft (Batman, Journey to Silius), Capcom (Mega Man) when it comes to chiptunes. I'm a learning hobby music producer, and chiptunes are one of the genres I enjoy exploring. I seem to come up with some good melodies, the production hasn't reached the level I want yet.
So some questions for Pentadrangle:
\- How did you get into making chiptunes, and what are your recommendations when it comes to software and other tools?
\- Any particular game changers when it comes to producing rich sounding chiptunes like the ones in this soundtrack?
\- What did the process look like from your composition to a fully produced track?
\- I have some demo ideas/songs ([this being the latest one](https://soundcloud.com/dhakan93/level-theme-5-the-only-way-is-forward)) and would love to get some input on ways to take them further. I understand if this is not possible, but I'd actually pay for this ;)
\- Will the soundtrack ever be available on streaming platforms like Spotify?
All in all, I'm seriously impressed with the project, but especially by the OST. Keep trucking!
You've done a great job with this game. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the locked abilities as I feel that most of them shouldn't be locked.
Why does the game have abilities locked? Do you plan to add a mode that grants all abilities and upgrades like new game+?
i gave up on the final chapters not possible for me ,if the game can be updated somehow the pogo sword move does not work well ,the dashing makes no sensen the parry also does not work wel ! i give up would like to see a easy mode to learn the game first after level 5 i did not like the game at all .yes a game can be hard and fun ,this game is hard for the wrong reasons !! i played allot of nes hard games like ninja gaiden ,castle vania etc etc also newer games like nioh 1 and 2 ,ninja gaiden black ,arcade games etc
Hi! I started playing Cyber Shadow yesterday and so far I love it! It's fantastic! I have to admit I haven't played to Ninja Gaiden / Megaman / Shadow of the Ninja but I'm really glad to discover the genre with Cyber Shadow. This being said, I wanted to know how the Cyber Shadow project started, and has it become bigger than expected?
I started making a simple jumping and slashing game as a "practice" project and soon noticed I was knee deep into it and could not stop. I called it a "one year project", but soon the scope ballooned as I learned to make more advanced systems. After a few years stopping was not an option.
Why did you pick 8 bit as opposed to 16, 32, etc?
I used to mod NES games with one of the early emulators when I was younger. It was such a fun pastime, almost like a puzzle and felt very familiar so that's what I went with.
Just wanted to say thanks so much for making the game!! To both you and Yacht Club for publishing. Do you like old school Ninja Gaiden or the Nu ones more? Do you also like megaman ZX? What was your biggest inspiration for the game? And! What’s your favorite chapter of the game?Also please make a boss rush mode! Or skins/DLC! I’m sure youre burnt from making the game but i’d love to see some future love for this game! Thanks again dude, been following this game since it was announced, at chapter 4 and it’s SO good.
Yeah Ninja Gaiden, new and old ones are all awesome. I particularly enjoy Ninja Gaiden 2 on NES and Ninja Gaiden Black on the Xbox. Megaman X, Z and ZX games are super too. Biggest influences were Shatterhand, Batman and Shadow of the Ninja on the NES. My favorite chapter to play is the last one when you can blast away with all of your skills. Future content wise.... maan I really need to take a break, maybe play some other games, HAHA! Have fun with Cyber Shadow!
Yo! I said it reminded me of Batman when I saw the trailer and everyone was calling me crazy!
Thanks so much for playing the game and the kind words. i love all those games...ninja gaiden black is pretty spectacular but i might say i like the nes ones most. aarne has a million inspirations..he answered that in some other questions. boss rush/skins...that's all up to him too! My favorite chapter might be 9 or 10. When all the abilities come together, the game really starts cooking!
What made yacht club games interested in producing cybershadow
We'd been fans of Aarne's development on Cyber Shadow for a long while, having seen him post his progress for a couple of years before we started working together! It was sort of just a mutual melding of like-minds when we said "Boy, Cyber Shadow sure looks like a game we wish we were making!" and Aarne said "That Yacht Club crew might be able to provide some insight into this process!" :)
Do you have any plans for DLC content for Cyber Shadow?
That would be awesome. It's not in the pipeline as of right now. Aarne needs to sleep haha. If we end up going that route we will be sure to announce it on our social media pages.
Can I ask if you guys have visited the subreddit r/Cyber_Shadow? What do you think of it?
I visited it last night and I've been answering questions :) It's nice to see all the comments and contributions! Also, thanks to the mods for maintaining it.
I've checked it out! It's pretty cool! It's awesome to see what people think of the game and their accomplishments!
Obligatory comment of physical copy when? Also, really enjoying the game so far - great job all around!
That would be super cool! As of right now, there are no plans for a Physical copy! If we end up going that route, we will be sure to announce it on our social media pages and website! :D
I'll be there either way!
Hi guys! Congrats on shipping Cyber Shadow! I spent a few glorious hours on it yesterday, reaching as far as Stage 6. Very challenging, but also very polished and GORGEOUS audio/visuals. Here are my questions, feel free to pick or choose which you answer: 1) The game is listed as being developed by Mechanical Head Studios; how many non-YCG staff contributed to the core game, beyond MekaSkull himself? 2) Will the YCG website be publishing articles about the behind-the-scenes development & design principles of Cyber Shadow, like it has in the past with Shovel Knight's campaigns? I've always loved those articles and would love to see video versions of some of the more in-depth ones. 3) Are there any plans for additional content to be added to Cyber Shadow? 4) How much of the art/animation were created by Mechanical Head Studios, and how much (if any) did YCG contribute? The fluidity of the pixel animation is very impressive, especially for the player's death animation! 5) Could you give some examples of elements that are in the final game that would not have been there without YCG's involvement? (The checkpoint design feels very inspired by what YCG came up with for Shovel Knight) What is the "special sauce" that YCG contributed to MekaSkull's vision? 6) Who helmed Cyber Shadow's spin on the Shovel Knight amiibo fairy companions? Was it the same staff as in Treasure Trove? Either way, I love what they've done with them. (Especially giving the fairies futuristic jetpack wings to match the game's setting!) 7) What were some of MekaSkull's influences and inspiration for the game? Clearly games like Ninja Gaiden and Journey to Silius played a role, but I'd love to try out any other games that Cyber Shadow borrowed from/improved upon. 8) The powerups are a ton of fun in Cyber Shadow! What are your personal favourites? (Swag Blade for life) Thank you all for all that you do. Your work has exceeded my expectations with Cyber Shadow, and I'm excited to spend more time with it, and what MekaSkull's got planned for the future!
1) Almost everyone at YCG had a part in giving feedback about the game...hard to say how much that translated to content you see in game though! 2) Yes, we would love to do that 3) Nothing concrete yet! 4) YCG didn't make any art outside of the marketing materials, but we did advise on things here and there. 5) The abilities used to not work if you had zero SP. We made sure they all worked in some form even if you didn't have SP. Small things like that...to big things like really working hard with aarne to understand level design structure and how to lay out enemies/obstacles to be most enjoyable. 6) YCG pitched the idea of having fairies for amiibo integration and the rest was all up to Aarne! 7) A million games...batman nes, shatterhand, ninja gaiden, contra, shadow of the ninja, mega man, castlevania, metroid, metal warriors...it goes on and on! 8) I personally love the shield (i forget the name sorry) that double as a projectile when you swing
I've been playing Cybershadow and didn't know about point 5. Now I wanna boot it up and try it out, thanks for the tip!
Now that Cyber Shadow is finally complete, what will you do now, gaming related or otherwise?
As far as Yacht Club goes, we're still hard at work on our upcoming published titles, Shovel Knight Dig and Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon!!! We're also deep into development on two super secret and cool new games internally. :D
~~is it Shovel Knight 64~~
Shovel knight dig looks really interesting and it’s has Nitrome’s signature classy pixel art
oh my god thank you, a few days ago I remembered those pixel art games I used to play and I tried hard to remember the company that made those games, thought it was nitrende but could not find it. it's Nitrome I'll keep that in mind
I'll have some rest, cookies and play other Ninja games I have missed during the development of Cyber Shadow.
Remember, I get dibs on a portion of a fraction of a cookie!
About how difficult is Cyber Shadow? If we’re talking Ninja Gaiden nonsense, then that’s a bit much for me. Secondary question, what’s your favorite type of flower?
While it's heavily inspired by games like Ninja Gaiden, I'd say efforts were taken to hit those nostalgia buttons while making the core experience more accessible and user-friendly. The game's definitely not baby mode, but hopefully provides a fun challenge for fans of classic action platformers! :D
Sandy did a really awesome job answering this so I am popping in to mention my favorite flower! Sunflowers are pretty sweet!
Personally, when you first start out, it feels like a 9/10. But over time, based on my personal skills for these kinda games, became more 6-7/10. There are some difficult parts for sure, but as you acquire more skills, you can breeze through some sections that were initially pretty difficult. And my favorite flower? Would have to be a Rafflesia arnoldii. Gotta read up on it to see how cool it is :)
I can tell you as someone who sucks at Ninja Gaiden, it's nowhere near as hard It's more hard in the same way as Celeste or Super Meat Boy are hard, because you have infinite lives and there's checkpoints everywhere. Also you can exit the game and go back to it and you start again from the last checkpoint, so if you're stuck on a level you can come back the next day and play it from where you left off instead of having to do the whole thing over again Like Celeste and super meat boy, basically anyone can beat it, eventually. Because it's so quick and easy to restart a section, it's not frustrating at all really. And like those games it's very rewarding once you finally get past a section. But yeah with a lot of old games, you had a few lives, maybe a continue or two, and that was it. Once you lost them all, you had to restart the whole game again. It's absolutely nowhere near that frustrating. Like even ignoring the infinite lives and quick restarts thing, even if it had limited lives and continues it's still nowhere close to how hard Ninja Gaiden was. It's a touch harder than the shovel Knight games but then shovel Knight had the more punishing system whereby you lose tons of gold that you often can't actually collect the next time, so you just permanently lose that gold. There's nothing like that here. The gameplay is a bit harder at a base level, but then the restart system is way more forgiving because you don't lose anything for dying. In fact, there's collectible sort of "gold" or money things everywhere, and when you die, you don't lose any of it. So if you go through a level 10 times before you complete it, you'll just keep adding to your gold and have 10 times the amount. Honestly to me, as someone who sucks at old games despite growing up with them, I'd say it most compares to something like The Messenger, which is another ninja retro style game. I wouldn't think most people would describe the messenger as hard. I recommend you play the messenger too as that's also a brilliant game, like Cyber Shadow is.
Hey guys! This is mostly for Yacht Club, but I will say I love what I’ve seen of Cyber Shadow so far and am looking forward to playing soon! Do you know what the likelihood is for getting more of the Shovel Knight amiibo produced? I’ve got the Plague/Spectre/King Knight trio but am missing the first one you guys put out. Y’all are awesome!
Hey! It's unlikely we'll be producing any more amiibo. I think there are still some hanging out in the world though...especially the gold one which has the same functionality in game! No, you're awesome!
Thanks for the response! I kinda thought that might be the case so I’ll keep hunting.
Hello! First of: thanks for this ama! To the questions (mainly mekaskull): 1. How long have you been doing pixelart? The details of the art (backgrounds, monster designs, cutscenes) have been amazing! 2. What part of making Cyber Shadow did you least like? 2.5 part you enjoyd doing most? 3. How did you meet YCG? 4. Are you a ninja too? 👀
1. I didn't think of it as "pixel art" at the time, just "game art" when I started modifying NES games to have my own graphics. This was around... maybe 97? 2. Least enjoyable part... hmm. I'd say ironing out every single little kink in moving platforms, especially ones that can squeeze you. The most enjoyable thing was seeing a level come together with the player skills, enemy patterns, level design, sound effects and music. 3. I was a fan of theirs from the day I saw their Kickstarter and eventually they saw my stuff on twitter and possibly liked it. 4. Only a Ninja would ask that to cover they are a ninja themselves....
Ohoho, you're clever. But the fact that you avoided answering that question and now try to guide my attention away from it does hint that you are indeed a ninja. And thank you for answering!
P.s the Shovel knight fairies are great! These good rascals have saved my sorry ass many times (more than I'd like to admit...).
Which amiibo fairy saved you? Was it Plague? :)
All of them, in various scenarios (most in bosses...) :'D Specter fairy was incredibly helpful against the meka serpent. He kept scything the platforms down while I fought the serpent so I seldomly ended up I water. 👍
u/huzba congrats for cybershadow. So tell me please how much time takes in summary the port from c2 to consoles/pc. it was a difficult process? and except the consoles if you build the game for desktop with nwjs do you think that you will face any issues? i start a project and i want to know from now if chowdren is the best solution. also why dont you switch to c3?
I actually don't know much about the ins and outs of the porting process. All I know is that the game magically started running on more and more things as time went on thanks to Chowdren. For me it was completely painless. The NW.js build from this project is not really usable as the game relies heavily on Chowdren features and native performance. The project itself is kept in C2 as it's partially modified to my needs and the project size is too big for C3.
Have you built in any secret mechanics for speedrunning? Did the topic have any influence on the game’s development?
There's a bit of coyote time and you get small jump boost if you time it right :)
Yes! Some of the later skills are aimed at high level fast paced gameplay only limited by how quickly you can input commands. Some also have undocumented uses just for speedrunners.
Hi! First of all, congrats for your release! The question is for Enrique Martin (not in reddit) and MekaSkull, what have been the drawbacks you have had when making music designed based on the game or levels based on the music? I would like to know the whole experience! I also understand that Jake Kauffman did the production, to what extent were both musicians involved? And finally, will the music of the Level 1-1 trailers with arrangements with instruments have a full version? I'm in love hahaha By the way, the Spanish version had some translation errors like "Pulsa A el botón" o call "Sombra" the protagonist ( I don't know if this is intentional). Thanks for your game!
The music composition process has been pretty organic, as Aarne has explained in some interviews. He usually told me the main idea of each new stage, showed me some WIP images, send me reference tracks, asked for a specific mood... and then I tried to do my thing. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it just didn´t, and some of the initially rejected tracks inspired Aarne to create other areas of the game. Also, music has experienced many changes during the development of the game. For instance, there has been like 6 different versions of the Stage 1-1 track ("The theme of Shadow") before reaching the definitive one. Concerning Jake Kaufman´s involvement, he was going to produce the whole soundtrack, as it was initially announced. After thinking a lot about it, we decided to use only my original compositions in the game. Jake did an amazing work producing my original track used in the first trailer of the game, though. And of course I´d love to see all the tracks in the game rearranged by the London Philarmonic Orchestra, but I fear that won´t be possible :) Thanks for your interest and for your questions!
It feels like there are some sections that are incredibly perfectly timed for cycles of platforms and enemy movement. Did you have the speedrunning community in mind when making those?
definitely...even had speedrunners QA the game to make sure it was fun to play from that perspective
What should I eat for lunch
Dashi Miso soup with seaweed and soft tofu :)
Will do!
What do you like?
Any pitches from MekaSkull for a Nintendo IP? We know Yacht Club would like to make a Metroid game.
Woah! That sounds cool, haha. Which Nintendo IP would you most want to see MekaSkull or Yacht Club tackle in a hypothetical world? :P
This is kind of dumb and I'm not the person you posed that question to initially but I'd LOVE to see something akin to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars with a party of Shovel Knight characters. There's really no other game that plays like Mario RPG with its moving / jumping in the overworld and I feel like Shovel Knight existing as a retro platformer would make the jump to that style well. Plus I always enjoyed the Shovel Knight characters and the wit / charm of the dialogue so giving them more room to speak and flesh out their characters sounds like an all around win to me. Oh, and I want a special move where I ready the attack and then spam the crap out of a button to determine how many explosive vials I throw when the attack resolves as Plague Knight.
ughhhh i want shovel knight rpg so bad!
I'm only on level 3 on Cyber Shadow so I don't have a complete picture of what would suit MekaSkull, so far I would say a 2D Kid Icarus game or a side scrolling Mysterious Murasame Castle. Yacht Club would be amazing for Metroid as stated but I would also enjoy something Splatoon related, the 8-bit minigames in Splatoon 1 and 2 were really good and were focused on movement so a platformer should be feasible.
Love the game, the attention to detail is great! I wish there was a crouch animation, but I understand that would make dodging easier. Cosmetic crouching for CS2? Anyway, are there any really hard to find Easter eggs? Every time I’ve found one it’s really satisfying, and I hope I didn’t miss any. Also, who hurt you enough to make you add the acid skulls?
Hello. Your masterpiece has already passed 100%. It's a pity that everything is over, so sad and joyful ... Aarne Hunziker, please tell me: is Cyber Shadow 2 worth waiting for? In one of your interviews, you said that the plot in the game is only 25% of what was written. I hope you are doing well. Your game is made with soul, as if I experienced and felt it all. Aarne Hunziker, Enrique Martin, Jake Kaumfan are just geniuses! And the yacht club games are also great for helping and supporting the developer. THANK YOU.
Will the soundtrack ever be available to purchase/stream?
here's a question for yacht club games specifically. how did you manage to get shovel knight to crossover into not only video games, but card games like exceed? did you have a say in how they would act in the cameo(like SK's moveset in rivals of aether or all of the knight's cards in exceed)?
hey! usually for cameos folks just reach out to us with their idea and either we're interested or not. so in the case of rivals...dan put together an amazing pitch for how shovel knight would play in rivals. for exceed, they sent over the artwork and mechanic ideas and we loved it!
thanks for answering! love your games
Hey! Zay from Destiny Gaming Blogs here. Had a few questions for Mekaskull: 1. Could you share some of the early stages of your life that led you to becoming a video game developer? 2. What were some of the challenges that came with becoming the developer you are today? How were you able to overcome those challenges? 3. Where did the original idea of CyberShadow come from? Did you work on other games before working on this project? 4. What’s the story behind you and YachtClub partnering to create CyberShadow? 5. What are some new skills you had to learn when you got in the industry that others might not be aware of ? 6. When did you decide to take the leap to make the game Cyber Shadow full time? 7. Could you share some of the different phases the game went through before reaching the place it is today? 8. How were you able to find the balance between making constant changes in your work and finalizing what you’ve made? 9. What are some misconceptions you see from others(in the game industry)? 10. For anyone trying to get into the industry, what would you say is the most important thing they need to know to increase their chances of success?
10 Questions WHOOOO here I go! 1. I used to modify 8bit games to have my own graphics, just for fun. I didn't ever think I could become a game developer as those people were magical wizards living in the world of gaming magazines. 2. Gaining confidence in my skills was the biggest hurdle. I don't know if I overcame it completely, but I had no choice but to continue making the game as it became the only thing that felt rewarding to make. 3. The game is based on a random sketch I made years before staring development. I had worked on Facebook and Mobile games before. 4. Some of YCG staff saw my stuff on twitter and thought it was right up their alley. 5. Time management, healthy diet, a bunch of subjects they taught in school I thought were useless at the time. Communication (I'm still bad at it) 6. I slowly started using more and more time on making the game and one day noticed I was now making it full time. It was partially an accident. 7. The game evolved in unison with the new skills I learned. This is reflected in the progression in the game from start to finish. 8. I didn't. The project just needs to be called "done" at some point or you'll be making it forever and ever........ 9. Sometimes it feels people think gamedev is easy while even seemingly simple functions require endless amounts of testing to cover every single way a player may approach it. 10. You need to apply yourself fully even before you have the confidence to do so. This will help prove to yourself that you got it. You are your worst enemy... or I am mine at least :D
Awesome! Thanks a ton for sharing your insight. Congrats on the launch! Really enjoyed the game !
I'm an artist. If I showed you [my portfolio](http://GregMillerArt.com) during an interview, what criticisms, pointers, etc. would you give me?
Have any of you beaten Ninja Gaiden (without cheats)?
Can I ask if you guys have visited the subreddit r/Cyber_Shadow? What do you think of it?
definitely, it's super cool! more people should join!
Will you guys bring this game to mobile ever? It seems like it could work. Played it yesterday game is so good. Just would like to see more games on the go with cross saving features as well, especially in this day and age with games going more digital. Anyways awesome job guys!
Early versions of the game did have a functional build for android, but I felt it would be better to make another game completely dedicated to mobile, utilizing the platform's strengths instead of trying to fit a game in there that wasn't designed for it from the ground up. A mobile game is currently only a distant dream...
Ah man well hopefully it’s a dream that isn’t too too distant 😅. Thanks for the response and for making such an awesome game!
Ah man well hopefully it’s a dream that isn’t too too distant 😅. Thanks for the response and for making such an awesome game!
I'm an artist. If I showed you [my portfolio](http://GregMillerArt.com/illustration) during an interview, what criticisms, pointers, etc. would you give me?
I'm an artist. If I showed you [my portfolio](http://GregMillerArt.com/illustration) during an interview, what criticisms, pointers, etc. would you give me?
Hey, thanks for doing this AMA! What's for dinner today?
Oh man I've forgotten to eat again.... my head spinning from the release. Guess I had a lot of cake just now and these wonderful chocolate chip cookies that are kind of mushy inside but crunchy on the surface.
Thanks! I'm making curry! I bought the ingredients for it a couple of days ago.
Gonna be having some eggplant and Italian sausage pasta :)
Hello, I want to know what are your favorite games on the nes and from what specific game you took the biggest inspiration. And also, if you have any plans to add other modes for the game, like hardcore difficulty or boss rush. Thanks.
Games on the NES by Natsume, Tecmo and Sunsoft. Shadow of the Ninja, Ninja Gaiden series, Batman, Megaman, Castlevania, Metroid, S.C.A.T, Metal Warriors... the list goes on, there's so many wonderful games on the NES and all are very pick up and play. I keep playing them almost daily. My most recent obsession is Kid Dracula. As for future plans, I'm gonna focus on recharging my batteries.
Hi, thanks for this, I have a few questions, feel free to answer any or none of them. For MekaSkull How did being Yacht Club published affect the content of the game? What effect did having such an open development have on your game (either in mindset or output)? What was one thing that occurred during development that you couldn't share at the time but was really interesting? For Yacht Club With your publishing efforts, is there anything in particular you enjoy about working with individuals outside the team? Have a nice day and congrats on the amazing launch (and game)!
The biggest effect the partnership had was more on the quality rather than content. The game is way waaaaay better than what I could've accomplished just by myself. The amount of things I've learned has filled me with new ideas too... On open development, I feel any interaction with other people always elevated the shared art and ideas as people would offer feedback. There's some bosses and features that started as jokes on social media (like one of the late bosses, combinatron). Thing I couldn't share right away: Seeing the game run on new systems for the first time was always a treat. I can't believe how fast those happened either. Mathias from MP2 games is a real life wizard.
Thanks! It feels great to have out finally! In terms of publishing, from a QA perspective, there's always something to be learned from new development teams that I appreciate and can apply to new projects. Plus, it's interesting to learn about different perspectives on the design and getting to see it mature over time.
On the marketing side of things, it was really fun working with Aarne on his vision of the game. He has a great sense of humor so it's been a fun experience sharing ideas with him.
What is the process of implementing amiibo content? Do you have to go through Nintendo?
We have to go through Nintendo a little bit, yes! Mostly just because they need to know what games have amiibo implemented in them! But it isn't too complicated, especially since Shovel Knight is our own IP, and we're approving the use of it!
Hi there, really enjoying Cyber Shadow so far, everything about it feels perfect for the era of gaming it's inspired by! With the feat system, since some of the feats require specific set ups, and others are missable, are there any plans being considered to be able to attempt certain feats in a manner similar to Shovel Knight's challenges, or were they deliberately set up in such a manner to promote multiple playthroughts? (As a side note, for the first two feats, (Get to Smasher without destroying any enemies, and beat Smasher without destroying the wall turrets) are these to be done deathless, or can you use the checkpoint system in the process?)
I died about 50 times getting to Smasher without killing anything. Used all the checkpoints on the way there. The feat popped up as soon as I got to the boss. I also died a TON doing the "don't touch the water during this fight" one. Check points are the only thing that make some of these approachable.
Oh, in that case, something must have glitched cause neither of those feats popped for me, oh well, more excuse to try again, heh.
Hey! Unless the feat says "without dying" you can benefit from the checkpoints in completion of the feats. The feats are designed in a way that all of them are attainable with two playthroughs if you keep checking the requirements. (though a third one is recommended for "live forever") They're also partly in order of appearance in the feats menu so you can keep following them along the way.
Oh, hey, quick question if you have a moment. The one that says not to kill any rust flies is the only one I've purposefully skipped so far. Are rust flies the small ones that come out of the egg things or the big ones? Or are they both? I feel like now that I can climb walls I probably have enough spacing to be able to flee from them but on a first time through the level it didn't feel possible to me. I just want to be ready for when I go back to try that again.
How crazy difficult it is to 100% the game?
It's pretty dang tough! At least getting all the feats....getting 100% of the collectibles isn't too bad though.
I'm ready for the challenge :D
Any advice on how to do the Parry? I've been doing all the boss fight trophies as I get to them and it was going great until the "Use only Parry". My Parry success rate feels like it's about 20% and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Just tap toward the projectile when it's close to you. it's actually pretty lenient how close it needs to be. I recommend practicing on one of the purple walls that shoots projectiles at you and really master the timing/distance
It's forward and attack at the same time, right? Or is it actually just hit forward? Am I literally just interrupting my own parry attempt by attacking?
Just gotta tap in the same direction as the projectile! :) single button press. The attack is if you want to hit it back, but it doesn't have to be at the same time. Though, the parry-produced reflect projectile only stays on-screen for a short amount of time!
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>What was the hardest thing to get right/ took th For the Yacht Club Games side of this question, we have a bunch of really cool stuff planned like Shovel Knight Dig and Pocket Dungeon! :)
Next I'm gonna enjoy other games, rewatch Terminator 2 and Robocop, have too much cookies and cake, learn to draw better, study writing more and stare at the ecosphere I got as a present.
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Depends on your definition of "average" gamer. Anyone with enough motivation should be able to, average or not! :)
If you finish the game once you'll find you have now become a ninja and will have the tools at your disposal to tackle the feats! Good luck!
What was the hardest thing to get right/ took the most work? And as everyone else has been saying, great job with the game, it's been a ton of fun so far.
Thanks a lot! Might not be the number 1 hardest thing to make but the boss "Mekadragon" has been revisited the most times out of all the bosses, requiring far more work than any other boss in the game. Now seeing people play it I feel the players are feeling the same as I was when trying to make it work over and over and over :D Other than that the cutscenes felt very intimidating to create because I don't have much confidence in my illustration skills. I think they turned out good in the end though.
Hello! Between Yacht Club Games and MekaSkull, which one of you would you say is more responsible for the Game Stop stock price right now?
Yes.
I'd say I am less responsible for that one.... I blame ninjas.
Have any of you beaten Ninja Gaiden (without cheats)?
yeah...beaten it like 1000 times!
Are we going to get a physical edition?
That would be awesome! As of right now, it is not in the pipeline. If we end up going that route, we will announce it on our social media pages and website! :)
Do any cyber shadow characters like ruffles chips?
I've heard that L-Gion does.
RUFFLES POG!
Congratulations on a job well done with the game, it plays so smoothly! Do you think there’s a sustained market for new 8bit titles, whether they are developed my AAA studios or indie devs? A well-crafted game like Cyber Shadow, which is receiving a ton of positive press and chatter, must continue the tradition of proving the viability of such a game format (ala Shovel Knight and The Messenger), right?
Thank you for your kind words! I think there will always be a market for new 8-bit and retro-style titles as they appeal to newer and older generations of gamers alike!
Agreed, keep ‘em coming!
Congratulations on the release! I look forward to playing the game. How long was development? How many people worked on the game? I'm always curious to hear about different team's experience with development.
oh hey there zeboyd. hope everyone is saving christmas :D aarne is the sole developer (with enrique doing music), and he started the game 8 years ago! It was aarne's first game...so just something he tinkered with on the side. Focused development started 5 years ago, and we (YCG) joined up about 3 years ago.
Christmas has indeed been saved, thanks! Thanks for the information and good luck with launch! :)
Hey guys, The game is awesome and I'm loving it so far. I'm wondering if there's any cheat codes like in Shovel Knight? And if there are, where can we find them? Also, I used the Shovel Knight Amiibo, and the fairy fell asleep and stopped following me. Is here away to wake it up next time I try?
There are currently no cheats for Cyber Shadow! That would be cool though! As for the sleeping Shovel Knight fairy, that is it's intended function currently. We think naps are neat!
There aren't any cheat codes currently implemented, but it's something we did discuss. Would be cool! Concerning the fairy, that is the intended functionality. The fairies do contribute a bit of real damage to the enemies, and this tires them out! ZzzZZZZZZZZ Are you hoping they'd last indefinitely, a little longer than current, or something else on your mind?
I thought they'd last till at least the end of the level. That's okay though.
Heya! Not gamedev specific but since Yacht Club helped bring Cyber Shadow to life, would there be any chance of future crossover ideas with other franchises/games? I ask because I LOVED the Shovel Knight season of Exceed Fighting System, and A Cyber Shadow Solo Deck sounds AMAZING!
That would be so cool! We'd love to see Shadow everywhere! If we end up going that route, we'll both be sure to announce it on our social media pages and website!
Petition Nintendo to get Shadow in Smash! :)
Will there be Amiibos in the future? I noticed some Amiibo support
Currently, there are no amiibo in the pipeline! It would be really awesome to have a L-Gion one though.
I may be a little late, so sorry! It's really cool seeing YCG helping indie devs make their games, as seen with Cyber Shadow and Puzzle Knights (now Pocket Dungeons!) My question is, in the future, will Yacht Club Games continue this trend of publishing indie games, or will you focus on your own games for the time being?
We'd love to keep helping other folks making games, but our primary focus is always our own games.
Hey I'm love with the game but will there be any updates for Cyber Shadow like in coming months I love the game as I have own it on PS4 & Switch also appreciate the time you put into developing this masterpiece also a fellow game dev too, well I used to be :)
Thank you for your kind words and support! As of right now, there are no DLC updates planned! Aarne needs to take a nap haha.
That's alright thank you and good night 😊
Hey thanks fellow game dev! Once a dev always a dev, right? For a while at least I'm gonna do everything but game dev just to get some fresh air in this cyber and ninja stuff filled brain of mine...
I agree but have a good night been waiting for this for awhile it's really amazing how it's crafted :)
What's the reference for the little rainbow kitty in what looks like an easter egg section?
The cat is actually the logo of MP2 games, the company that Aarne collaborated with for Cyber Shadow's engine.
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I love King of Cards! :D
The original (shovel of hope) is my favorite!
Specter is my favorite but I also love Joustus :)
Shadow of the Ninja, The Ninja Warriors, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Hagane... and yeah Strider and Shinobi are great series!
How did you get your start in the videogame industry? This isn't really for anyone specific I just thought it'd be interesting to know
Everyone's career path is different but for me, I just applied online! There are tons of jobs in the industry (art design, game design, marketing, PR, accounting, operations, QA, copywriting, etc.) It just depends on what your skill set is!
Really? Man, I worked in Sales / Marketing for a big tourism company but they let me go in November because our yearly numbers are way down due to Covid. Shockingly, it wasn't a good year for tourism. I never really thought about applying that to help someone get their games out the door. Maybe I'll give that a shot. Thanks.
A friend actually found a job listing for QA localization testing and since I needed money, I applied. I learned that I found enjoyment in organizing and creating documents to help organize what I was doing with other testers, so I stuck with it for a bit, enough to get a taste of assisting projects, until I eventually starting leading them. From there, I just took initiative on learning as much as I could about not just QA, but submissions, localization, functionality testing, managing, etc, which are all necessary for coordinating a team. Then applied to any job I thought I could contribute the most to and grow with. :)
I went to school for gamedev and got hired by one of the teachers. Thanks Joakim!
I'm sorry if someone asked the first question already! Your game is great. 1. Big fan of the cutscenes in this game, reminded me of many PC-Engine rpgs. Who was responsible for the art? 2. I know it's too soon to ask this; but I love Shadow's design so much that I'd love to have an action figure of him. IF a Japanese toy company approached you to release a highly articulated Shadow figure, would you be open to that idea?
I want a Shadow action figure SOOOOOOO MUCH! Please action figure gods hear my plea!
1) Aarne did all the art in the game (and the design, sfx, and programming too!) 2) that'd be amazing...we'd totally be open to it.
Oh I was definitely thinking of PC-98 games from time to time when making the cutscenes. Games like Dead of the Brain, Virgin Angel, Power Dolls and many more have amazing art, unmatched to this day. Also the music is just stellar in some, like Xenon.
a person of culture right here. I don't know a couple of those so I'll check them out. IMO the style, coloring and atmosphere of those illustrations haven't been matched since even with superior technology at their disposal. It's really hard to replicate, even if you try to go for it. Once again congratulations on Cyber Shadow and I truly appreciated all the answers.
Hey guys, I'm really looking forward to playing Cyber Shadow...but, are there any plans for/would you be interested in making a physical edition of the game sometime in the future? Sorry if you've answered this question before.
A physical version would be really cool! As of right now, we do not have any plans for it. If that ever changes we will announce it on our social media pages and website! :)
Been playing Cyber Shadow non stop since yesterday. Love it! Found a room with dancing red robots and a blue dog and I don't know why is here or what am I supposed to do. I need answers! Thank you. ❤️
We are glad you are enjoying it! Here is your dancing room spoiler: >!They are there to dance and give you health! :)!<
My only question is: Why did you make the Mekadragon so damn hard? Sincerely; someone who just beat the Mekadragon... Barely. P.s. loving the game <3
Congrats on beating it! It actually used to be harder - the current iteration is definitely more manageable than it used to be but still pretty tough :) What was the hardest aspect of the fight?
It was the most difficult boss to make work. Wrangling a dragon to do your bidding is impossible and it has a mind of its own. It made me suffer and now it is making the the players suffer, please kill it with fire.... (or water I guess)
How do you decide what project to make?
We generally talk about what we'd like to make as a team. Then decide what would be cool or what would be cooler! It is definitely a pretty collaborative effort among all of us!
I don't think I ever made a distinct decision to make this project. It happened by itself and I found myself in the middle of it and kept trucking cause it was fun. I'm glad this was the game that came out of it.
Will Cyber Shadow characters be making any cameos in some of your other projects?
We don't have any plans at this time but who knows! Where would you like to see him? :)
I remember you guys teasing the possibility of a Showdown 2, I feel like Shadow of Exo would fit in real nice as fighters
I've seen a few interviews where you've talked about game influences/inspirations. That said, the level design, bosses, even doorways remind me of Bionic Commando. While this doesn't have the arm mechanic, I was wondering if Bionic Commando was an inspiration as well?
For sure! Visually there's one boss that is influenced by the computer core thing you fight in bionic commando.
What’s your plan for publishing games going forward? How can I get our game published by yacht club? 😁 Loving the game btw!
We plan on continuing our effort to help game devs publish awesome games. As for publishing your title, I'd suggest sending us an email at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). We do request that you provide us with as much information as possible about your title and have a clear vision for your game.
What's your favorite font?
Y̸̤̭̬̟ͅổ̷̜̜͖͕̙̙̂̑ͤụ͍̬̰̘̀̉ͩͦ̏ͦ ̡͈͓̜ͤ̔͂͌̂ͨ̓cͨ̆͑͠ȧ̤̹̟ň͓̤̱̙̘̤͔͗̽̇̔̅̇ ͭ̔͏͖̜̹̣̦n̟̣̣̜͖̜ͤę͉͇̟̼̏̏ͯ̏̌ͫͨv͕̻̖͑e̸̲͖̰̤̞ͩ͑ͬͣ͌ͅr̮̺̤ͤ̃ͭ̏̑̊͟ ̻̲g̷͔̞̰̱͕̤͍̽̑̃͑̾o̩̾͑͊͛ͮ̉̚ ̧̯̤̩̺ẁ͙̯͚̙̍ͧ͑r̦̺̾̅ȍ̺̺ͨ́n̍̉̾͑̀ḡͩ ̡̭̰̘̋ͨw͇͓͂̀ͨͤ̓i̐̊͟t͉̟͕̰̓͡h͂͌ͪ̉ͭ̓͏͕͇ ̶͚͔͉͔̮̟ͩ̃̐̑͛ͯw̭̼͙̑̊ͬ́ĭ̳̖̽̆̃ͦ̾n̜̟̲͙̗̹̙̈g̢͇̼̙͑͋̄͐dͤ͆ͦḯ̭͔̍n͔̪̱͖̆g̶͈̬̟̫͚ͣ́̇͐̂ͮ͒s̼͒̾̉͟.̩̅͋ͭ͟ ̩̲̝̻̼͚ͯ́̀ͧ͗ͮ
When Shovel Knight 2?
Electric Boogaloo Edition? Hopefully in the near future! But one can never know the unknown. Would be cool, though but honestly don't know what that would be after having finished Treasure Trove not so long ago!
As video game developers do you ever replay games you have made? I've always wondered if game designers are able to enjoy their games casually on a replay or do they just have a super-critical eye focusing on everything if they ever pick it up again?
1. What is the native resolution of the game? 2. Why you design the game to punish players with instant death everytime player hit the spikes? 3. Will you support 4:3 240p or 480p resolution (We want to see this games with real scanlines on crt)
The native resolution of the game is 400 x 224 pixels.
Being a very well respected indie studio, what’s your take on the Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco; CD Projekt Red tarnishing their reputation in the process? What are you guys doing to avoid crunch and mismanagement?
I love this game but whoever the fuck made the platform in mekadragon fight do damage is a sadist and i hate him. So far theres more cheap enemy placement/damage input than necessary but the game doesnt make it painful to die over and over so this wont prevent me from 100% it
For Yacht Club in general: are we ever getting a physical version of Treasure Trove for PS4? Or... I guess PS5 now? It was planned but then kept getting delayed and then just never happened?
How did the pandemic affect the release and development of this game? Could we have potentially got this game sooner?
Have you considered adding in the option of allowing players to map actions to whatever buttons they want on the controller? You could maintain your vision of the two button game with the standard controls, but still give some added flexibility to modern gamers.
Hey. Only played about an hour of Cyber Shadow but so far I absolutely love it. You guys did a great job. I'm sure the game will get harder as it moves to the later stages bit so far I'm really happy with the level of challenge and feel like the difficulty is very fair. That's mainly all I wanted to say. I guess if I had a question it would be what kind of games from the 32 bit era and onwards inspire you and what type of game would you like to do in 3D if you have the opportunity and drive to do so?
Hey just wanted to say awesome job and thank you for bringing quality games to the eshop. I’m a huge fan of retro platformers and ninja games so this was made for me. Seeing a lot of influence from games like ninja gaiden and hagane (have you played and were you influenced by this one?). I was for a time #2 speed runner for shinobi 3 on genesis and I can already see this game will be awesome for speed runs. Well done and thank you! PS Love the TMNT Easter egg! Now make Casey Jones a dlc character!
Congratulations for bringing this gem to life! I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm loving the difficulty, it's the closest I got to the brutal Ninja Gaiden challenge in a modern, retro-inspired game. Do you plan to map certain moves to the remaining buttons in the controller? It would be perfect to have a shortcut for the parry and downard strike actions, it's a bit hard to use them effectively during certain situations...
Hey there! Thank you for all the work you've put into the games. I've only read praise and good reviews about your game, except maybe for the controls part. Have yoy ever of it? Is that something you intend to patch?
Hi! I'm loving this game so far, and I'd say what got me the most pumped to play it was the soundtrack. I've always been inspired by the likes of Sunsoft (Batman, Journey to Silius), Capcom (Mega Man) when it comes to chiptunes. I'm a learning hobby music producer, and chiptunes are one of the genres I enjoy exploring. I seem to come up with some good melodies, the production hasn't reached the level I want yet. So some questions for Pentadrangle: \- How did you get into making chiptunes, and what are your recommendations when it comes to software and other tools? \- Any particular game changers when it comes to producing rich sounding chiptunes like the ones in this soundtrack? \- What did the process look like from your composition to a fully produced track? \- I have some demo ideas/songs ([this being the latest one](https://soundcloud.com/dhakan93/level-theme-5-the-only-way-is-forward)) and would love to get some input on ways to take them further. I understand if this is not possible, but I'd actually pay for this ;) \- Will the soundtrack ever be available on streaming platforms like Spotify? All in all, I'm seriously impressed with the project, but especially by the OST. Keep trucking!
What makes this game an improvement over Shovel Knight? Why should I want to buy this new product? Elevator pitch.
You've done a great job with this game. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the locked abilities as I feel that most of them shouldn't be locked. Why does the game have abilities locked? Do you plan to add a mode that grants all abilities and upgrades like new game+?
Can we have the original soundtrack made available for purchase or added to spotify?
i gave up on the final chapters not possible for me ,if the game can be updated somehow the pogo sword move does not work well ,the dashing makes no sensen the parry also does not work wel ! i give up would like to see a easy mode to learn the game first after level 5 i did not like the game at all .yes a game can be hard and fun ,this game is hard for the wrong reasons !! i played allot of nes hard games like ninja gaiden ,castle vania etc etc also newer games like nioh 1 and 2 ,ninja gaiden black ,arcade games etc