Shadow Of The Orient Interview: A Retro Action Tribute With A Modern Flair

The mobile version was more challenging than I thought because mobile players are very picky about on-screen controls, and they tend to complain about things like translations not being available or live shops being a scam, which, unfortunately, results in a low review score. The Steam version, however, seems to be more well-received by players as they prefer playing these types of games with a controller. 

It’s also a more pleasant experience developing for Steam as opposed to mobile since you don’t have to worry about integrating ads and other annoying elements like a live shop, which can rub mobile players the wrong way. As for the console ports, I didn’t play any part in that – those ports were handled by my publisher, Dolores Entertainment.

The art style for Shadow was inspired by more recent action platformers such as Blasphemous and Huntdown while the gameplay elements were inspired by older titles (and movies) that I enjoyed during my childhood back in the 80’s. Since this was my first game I decided to create Shadow as a straightforward action platformer with interesting platforming elements that I felt would challenge players in different ways.

I grew up playing a lot of action platformers on the NES, such as Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and beat ’em ups like Double Dragon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I was always intrigued by the oriental nature that each of those games shared. I also watched a lot of martial arts films as an 80s kid, so I decided that my first would be a tribute to my childhood. As for the story, I took inspiration from films like Indiana Jones and Big Trouble in Little China to flesh out a simple storyline.

I wanted the enemies in the game to be responsive based on where the player was in relation to the enemy character to make interaction more dynamic. When you approach an enemy they respond by detecting your distance or being in their line of sight after which they transition to an aggressive state and unleash their attack on the player. As for the platforming, player’s will have to use their judgement on timing and approach to complete different platforming challenges throughout each level.

The collaboration for the soundtrack was not an easy one to say the least as we were working entirely on a remote basis and communicating my ideas on how I wanted the tracks for each act to sound was difficult. I had to find a lot of reference tracks from other games to get my ideas across but when all was said and done I think the soundtrack turned out great.

I wanted each track in the game to complement the environment to make the player feel engaged and motivated during their adventure while setting a distinct tone. For example, the cave levels have their own unique track which really sets the tone and mood for that darker environment while the boss battles feature a unique track to set the tone for the battle ahead.

When I first launched the mobile version I mainly promoted my game through social media channels and ran some google ad campaigns for a few months which got me some good results on downloads. Now that I have a publishing partner, Dolores Entertainment, we are promoting the game together so that’s definitely been a big advantage for me as an indie dev.

I think the only real roadblock was my financial situation – I self-funded the game, and not all of the ideas I had in mind made it into the game, unfortunately. I am happy with how the final version turned out, but it definitely could have been better if I had more financial resources at my disposal. It’s tough for an indie dev to compete with studios that have more financial backing and are able to create a more polished game as a result of that.

I set out to make a fun action platformer for players who enjoy these types of games, and in general, I think the overall presentation of the game itself is what makes it stand out and unique. There are indie devs out there who add cloth mechanics to their game and then call their game a clothavania to make it “stand out” which I think is absolutely ridiculous. Personally, it’s always been about the presentation of the game and story that engages me. For example, games like Huntdown or The Mummy Demastered didn’t really do anything groundbreaking for the action platformer genre but I really enjoyed those games for their presentation, gameplay, and soundtracks… these are the things I look for in a good game.

If I manage to earn a decent amount of revenue then yes I am planning on reinvesting a portion of that revenue into some sort of the DLC or expansion with new gameplay features.

No, I have not, but I may consider it if my publisher, Dolores Entertainment, feels it’s the right move.

Given that my game is only 3 to 4 hours in length I don’t really think Gamepass would be a good fit but it’s something I may explore in the near future with my publisher.

At the moment, I am just focused on making Shadow of the Orient a better game based on player feedback. If the game becomes a financial success, I would like to create a full prequel called Trouble in the Orient, which tells the origin story of the Dark Lord and Guailong, the father of the protagonist Xiaolang.