Video game development is more democratized than ever, as there are plenty of tools available online for anyone with enough time and determination to get their ideas out there. There's never been a better time to become an indie developer, as seen via the number of games on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter. One such title seeking funding as of this writing is Cloudscape, the solo vision of Christopher Gottron.
Described as an action-adventure farming and survival game, Cloudscape passed its $50,000 Kickstarter goal just one day after it launched on June 22, 2021, and it has received a "Project We Love" designation from the site. Those who watch the game's promotional trailer should immediately recognize its similarities to the foundational farming/life-sim indie hit Stardew Valley, released by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone in 2016, but it also pulls elements from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and more. Game Rant spoke to Gottron about Cloudscape's influences, which he said shaped a dream game 20 years in the making.
Origins of Konitama
Gottron spent 12 years working in the animation industry after finishing his studies at the Digital Animation and Visual Effects (DAVE) School in 2008. He worked on numerous hit television shows at Nickelodeon and DreamWorks, including SpongeBob SquarePants and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, but said video game development "has been my lifelong passion." He grew up playing Mario and Zelda games on the NES and said he has been teaching himself pixel art for over two decades.
"I just sort of fell into the world of animation and had a fun time with that, but a little voice inside of me really wanted to make games."
After getting a little experience developing an arcade-style game about flinging brains at zombies during a lull period his fourth year at Nickelodeon (one that was ultimately never published on Nick's mobile app), Gottron began prototyping his own projects. One of his experiments was "Thief Story," a top-down pixel art game about looting as many houses as possible that he would like to finish some day, but ultimately he settled on Cloudscape and saved up enough money to take the plunge.
In 2020, Gottron started Konitama LLC, his own startup indie studio. The name is a portmanteau of "Koni," a moniker he typically uses online, and "tama," part of his daughter's name. "There's some sentimentality with the name I picked."
Regrowing The World
Playing games on his NES growing up led Gottron to A Link to the Past on SNES, which he said blew him away in terms of design. The classic Zelda adventure inspired his interest in making games, but Harvest Moon on SNES hooked him on the idea of farming sims because, "I love how different it was to other games on the system." Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley shared enough ideas that they were "natural continuations" of his love for Harvest Moon, and thinking about all the mechanics he wanted to mess with from these titles resulted in Cloudscape being "the right move." He said everything he's played has culminated in the game's visual style and design choices.
Cloudscape essentially blends Stardew Valley's farming, mining, and more with A Link to the Past's combat, but does so with additional ideas and quality-of-life improvements based on what he wanted to see in past games. For example, he decided to do something about Stardew Valley forcing players to pass out at 2:00 a.m., and implemented an afterlife system in which players must escape from Limbo after they die by winning a game with Death. Add in additional mechanics like Animal Crossing's bug and fish catching, as well as New Horizons' terraforming, and the game is seemingly packed to the brim with content.
All of that is tied together by an overarching narrative drive to "regrow the world." Gottron says players start on a "standard" deserted island with simple terrain (randomly generated using procedural and hand-crafted presets on each file) and four seasons. There are three primary islands to explore from there; based on "tropical," "stone," and "cloud" themes to avoid copy-and-paste variations; and each island is a step-up in the world's ingrained class system.
Ultimately, players will learn more about the different class struggles as each island uses different technology, learn why they've isolated themselves, and "regrow the world" by uniting the islands, all the while using their growing skills to improve the environments. According to the game's Kickstarter, "Each skill also has its own set of achievements and rewards to help you improve your skills and also unlock new abilities!"
Love on the Islands
Many indie developers have a particular focus on inclusivity, giving players the opportunity to be themselves in a way most AAA games don't. Like Stardew Valley opens up its character creation and relationship systems to give players more freedom, so too does Cloudscape.
Gottron said inclusivity was "super important" to capture in his upcoming title. The main character, a cloud person named Kumo, was specifically designed to be gender fluid so players only have to decide on their body type and color. Making them a cloud person also helps "break away from typical racial associations" so anyone can decide what the character represents for themselves.
"With no defined gender it also means you aren't restricted with who you can date or marry. I mean, not only does that give a player way more options, but honestly, anyone should be able to love whoever they want. It isn't really my place to decide that for anyone."
Socializing and relationship-building is a key aspect of Cloudscape's design, but it's just one way for players to enjoy themselves. Gottron said any Kickstarter asking goal tends to be lower than what a creator hopes to get, and with each milestone it hits he's able to promise more stretch goals to "really make the game the way I want it to be." As of this writing, Cloudscape has earned over $130,000 from nearly 2,600 backers, with just over a week remaining in its campaign.
Expansions to mechanics like farming, ranching, and cooking are among the stretch goals reached, alongside festivals and special events. Further contributions can lead to internal and external decor, seasonal outfits, and more. Gottron said, "Overall it's been extremely positive and I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Cloudscape is currently in development for PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox.
Source: Kickstarter