We spoke with Alex Espeseth about the forthcoming «cozy game» Kioku: Last Summer.
There’s a lot of buzz in the Norwegian gaming industry right now, with plenty of small and large projects vying for the favor of international players. We caught up with Alex Espeseth from Lugn Games, a developer studio working on the cozy game Kioku: Last Summer, to hear a bit about both the studio and their game.
Tell us about Lugn Games
Lugn Games is a small game development studio based in Reipå in Nordland, Norway. We are passionate about creating unique games with unique settings. Currently, we are a team of five, spread out across the country, but we collaborate over Discord, which has proven to be an excellent solution for us.
Can you tell us more about how collaboration via Discord works?
We think it has worked well so far! We have a setup with channels that have different categories, so the flow of information is organized. There are always people in voice channels named «The Office» and «The Round Table,» with the latter being used for meetings. There will always be a lack of in-person interaction and lunchtime conversations, but we have been very satisfied with how it has worked for us. Each team member is given a lot of responsibility, and it is up to them to complete their tasks by the set deadlines.
What game are you currently developing?
We are developing the game Kioku: Last Summer, which is an open-world cozy adventure game. It focuses on nostalgia for the 90s and early 2000s and how children experienced that time. You play as Asti, a 12-year-old girl who moves to the island of Kioku and arrives on the first day of summer vacation. She is introduced to her class, and the teacher asks three students to take care of her over the summer. Two of them are very enthusiastic, but the third, Bo, is not. Bo is unhappy because he is moving away during the summer but hasn’t told anyone. He had hoped to have the best summer on Kioku with his friends, as it would be his last. Now, however, he feels replaced by Asti.
In the game, we follow this emotional narrative, but there is also a lot more to do. There are plenty of activities on the island, such as getting to know the other islanders, many of whom need your help with various tasks. You can also participate in activities that many of us remember from childhood, such as crab fishing, bike racing, scavenger hunts, apple bobbing, and much more! We have even developed our own marble game based on the ones we grew up with, which we call Marubi. This is a strategic game where you use unique marbles represented by different creatures. These creatures have various stats and abilities that influence how you strategize to defeat your opponent.
Who is the main target audience for Kioku?
The main target audience is those who feel nostalgic for the early 2000s, specifically 80s and 90s kids.
What are your main sources of inspiration, both from games and other forms of media?
We draw most of our inspiration from games, without a doubt. The three that are closest to us are Boku No Natsuyasumi, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Each of these inspires different aspects of the game. Boku No Natsuyasumi, a game about a young boy visiting his aunt and uncle in the countryside during summer vacation, has inspired the setting and atmosphere of the island. The other two have contributed significantly to how we want the other characters to feel, and Windfall Island from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker has been a major inspiration for how we designed the island of Kioku. Beyond games, we have also looked to Pippi Longstocking and Kiki’s Delivery Service when designing our main character, Asti.
Can you talk a bit about the background for choosing the visual style of the game?
The visual style is based on a blend of Japanese and Scandinavian influences. We use Japandi as our design philosophy, which is originally an architectural expression, but we apply it to all our design choices. This comes from some of our travels to Japan and noticing similarities between Japan and Scandinavia. Additionally, we have strong references to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Boku no Natsuyasumi, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, Pippi Longstocking, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Which game engine are you using for this project, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of it?
We are using Unreal Engine. There are many advantages, such as the visual scripting language Blueprints, which helps us easily create the functions we need. The disadvantages are related to the size of the project, as it can become quite large, and the challenges of porting to consoles when using this scripting language. But we make it work!
How are you promoting your game?
We have a two-part strategy. The first part is the traditional route of sending our game to various news outlets and reviewers. However, our main focus is on collaborating with communities—larger Facebook groups, Discord servers, etc.—that are passionate about the genre we are in (cozy games). We also work with streamers, YouTubers, and TikTokers who play our game, review it, or create content around it.
What is it like to develop games in Norway?
It’s a bit challenging. We often feel that there can be obstacles when looking for investors or similar support here in Norway. We believe Norway has a long way to go in normalizing game development as a job rather than a hobby. There seems to be a lack of understanding in some areas, but we can live with that as long as we get to do what we love. That said, there are fantastic support systems for new game developers to get started. To name a few, there’s Arktisk Film Norge, TviBit, NFI, Innovasjon Norge, and more. Arktisk Film Norge, in particular, has supported us in getting Lugn Games up and running.
Additionally, the accelerator program Spawnpoint Trondheim, led by Linn Søvig, has been an incredible opportunity for us. They have helped us understand the industry on an international level, opened doors for pitching to larger players, and helped us refine both our studio and the game. It has been a huge help in figuring out how to make this work and collaborate with the international industry. We would like to extend a big thank you to both Arktisk Film Norge and Spawnpoint Trondheim for all the support they have given us. If you want to work in games or have a studio that’s on the rise, I highly recommend applying to Spawnpoint Trondheim!
Thank you for your time!
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Interview by Retrogamingpappa.