Video games inspired by the early days of 3D development, with characteristically blocky polygonal assets, have become increasingly popular in recent years. One need only look at projects like LWMedia's Bloodborne PSX demake to see how appealing the style can be in spite - or perhaps because of - the realistic fidelity of modern consoles. Many who grew up playing early 3D games are beginning to make their marks on the industry, as is the case with molegato's recently released adventure-platformer Frogun.
Game Rant spoke to Raul Martinez Garrido, the man behind the moniker, about Frogun's development and inspirations ahead of its August 2 release. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Your website says you've been playing video games since an early age, especially stuff like Mega Man. How did you decide you wanted to create games?
A: Since I was a little kid, I’ve always loved to make things as much as just using them. I would draw my own comics, draw labyrinths that I would traverse with action figures, etc. Of course, after playing video games a bit I started to fantasize about making them. It wasn’t until much later that I learned about RPG Maker, which was my gateway into development proper, and I started switching engine (or “game making program” as I called them back then due to not knowing better) every time I learned about a different one.
Q: Where did the idea for your studio/pseudonym "Molegato" come from?
A: Believe it or not, it was a quick random decision when making my email account as a teenager. I like cats, and I like moles too, so I mixed together the English for mole and the Spanish for cat. I didn’t want to use symbols or numbers on my email address because it looked ugly and unreadable, but that email name became my username in forums, and eventually social networks and game development.
Q: You started publishing small titles around 2013 "mostly to prove to myself that I could actually finish a game." What kinds of lessons did you pull from these endeavors?
A: Before that, I had been playing around with different engines since I was a teenager. But of course, I had never finished a game, and what little I had done was one-stage fan games as example for other users of game-making forums, modifications, or long, never-finished games. So after reading the famous “Finishing a Game” piece by Derek Yu, I knew that I was doing a lot of things wrong.
I decided to make very small games that I could see through from start to end, and learned that the two most important things in order to make a game (at least, for me) were knowing the route and goal from the start, and keeping up momentum toward it. No diversions on side projects, no new features that change the whole game design. Just a plan, and moving in a straight line toward completing it.
Q: How did that transition into bigger projects like Demented Pixie and Supersonic Tank Cats?
A: Making small free games is fun, but limiting. I wanted to make games inspired by the games I loved. Roguelites, kart racers, platformers… So I made smaller versions of the titles I loved in those genres, with my own little spin. We all know games like Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing, etc. Development time was creeping up, and by this time, I was already living on my own and paying my bills while working full time, so the games needed to be sold in order to at least make me feel like all that effort was validated. It’s a bit silly, because I do love making games and that should have been enough motivation as long as my day job kept me stable, but it’s hard dealing with that feeling.
Q: Frogun seems like your most ambitious project yet, is the game something you've thought about for a long time?
A: Definitely Frogun is the biggest game I’ve ever made. Not only on terms of outreach and platforms, but also length, polish, and sheer number of features. At first, I only wanted to make a very short platformer, and to develop it under a year, as I had come out of my previous three-year-long development a bit burnt. I chose a game idea I had written on my list a couple of years before, one that I thought would be cool with a bit more polish. But the good reception it got since day one motivated me to pursue a bit more, and after I got a publishing deal with Top Hat Studios and a successful Kickstarter, the game greatly grew in scope.
Q: Why did you decide to hit Kickstarter with Frogun? Was its positive reception a big vote of confidence?
A: Even after leaving my office job for game development and digital art as a freelancer full time, I still have to leverage how much work goes into personal projects and how much goes into clients. So when it was clear that Frogun was growing, it was also clear that to give it as much love as it needed, I would need extra funds and work time. I also saw the Kickstarter campaign as a big test; the real way to know if people liked the concept. I was nervous thinking that it could flop very hard, even if everything pointed to the opposite.
Q: You're obviously a fan of retro games, but why did you decide to go with the PS1/N64-era look? Were there any particular inspirations you drew from?
A: I started my love for video games with 8-bit consoles, but it was the PlayStation I grew up with - still being a kid, but old enough to understand and analyze what I was playing. I’m also from an economically humble family, so when the PlayStation 2 launched, I didn’t have money for it. My friends were all on games such as Jak and Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, but outside of PC games and when I went to a friend’s house, I ended up playing PS1 games during the next two console generations! So it’s a big part of me.
I guess my main inspirations for Frogun would be Crash Bandicoot and Mega Man Legends, but also in more modern terms, Super Mario 3D World, which I really enjoyed on the Wii U. I also liked how open and exploratory were levels in Spyro or MediEvil. I would daydream about a game that merged together all these sensibilities.
A funny story is that while there’s lots of other similar grappling mechanics in games that everyone will think of when playing Frogun, the initial spark of inspiration was that odd grappling hook weapon in Mega Man X2. It was a promising weapon when you got it, and it was used for a few optional items, but felt terrible to use. I wanted to make something like that, but fun and useful. Everything flowed from that single mechanic!
Q: Did you make any distinctions about keeping Frogun's mechanics faithful to what could be seen in that era? Or is it purely an aesthetic choice?
A: It kinda came naturally. I wanted a game with all the good bits of old 3D platformers, like very simple controls and granular and function-oriented level design, but I also wanted to add the benefits of more modern control schemes, like right stick camera rotation. A game that’s been brought up before in comparison is Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, which is interesting because that game is like an iteration of an iteration of mechanics that originally only existed in Super Mario 3D World, but it just ran with it. With Frogun, I originally wanted to go more minimalist, making sort of a Sokoban-style game mixed with platformer, but that felt too restrictive and would inevitably focus more on puzzle solving than the platforming part. Given my love for games like Spyro, Gex, and Crash Bandicoot, it felt natural to transform the game more toward being an adventure-platformer.
Aesthetically, I also tried to make the game look not exactly like old PS1 games looked, but like we would imagine they looked with our rose-tinted nostalgia glasses. I mentioned Mega Man Legends - you can kind of think of it almost being like a “HD” version of that style.
Q: How did you approach added content like photo mode, two-player arena when designing the game?
A: Extras are always good! When they’re not part of the main game gimmick, it can be hard to add them in a non-intrusive way. I remember in Ape Escape, you could unlock a series of mini-games, and they had their own separate area. I loved that, because it was like a separate game you could play if you wanted, rather than a main mission that forced you to play a different game before you continued your adventure. So, I tried to make it a bit like that.
Q: There have been few frog-themed indie games of late, including projects like Frogsong. Do you think there's something appealing about the animal? How did you land on Frogun's narrative?
A: Frogs are simply very cool! They’re small, jumpy, they have googly eyes. Nobody can see a frog as threatening. They’re little friends. Also, their sticky tongue is very unique, even if they’re not the only animals with that trait, so it fit very well with a grappling hook mechanic.
As for Frogun’s main themes, apart from the frog motif, I just wanted something full of adventure - a perfect ground for a young person to proof to herself and her parents that she’s capable, and at the same time, have fun.
Q: How has it been leading into Frogun's release? Especially attending events like the Wholesome Direct.
A: It’s been a blast. Before this project, I would have never expected to be here. It’s like a dream come true; all of these talented creators and super unique projects, and I’m along them. It’s really affirming. I still get nervous about my work not being enough and not meeting everyone’s expectations, but whenever I collaborate with other creators, that fear goes to a second plane.
Q: Is the team behind Frogun still just you and composer Adam Foley?
A: In terms of development, mostly. But it’s important to not undermine the role of Top Hat Studios as a publisher, who in addition to their programming/creation of the console ports, also provided deeper assistance on various technical issues. For example, they rewrote shaders, optimized level mesh colliders/geometry, and helped code certain parts of the game logic that initially acted strange at different frame rates. In fact, the initial builds of the game sometimes dipped to 15-20 FPS because of an issue in the game’s renderer and asset loading system, which is something Top Hat Studios fixed. The QA they provided was also quite important in ensuring a smooth experience!
It also needs to be mentioned that all backers of the kickstarter campaign - including those who, as part of their tier, got to design an enemy, boss, or exploration note - were very crucial to the game. And feedback from the community. All of that is like an extra arm that helped the game be pushed further than would have been possible otherwise.
Q: You also have physical goods coming through Limited Run games, right?
A: So to be clear, the game is actually coming out to retailers and stores (first in North America, with Europe and Asia following later), with Top Hat Studios as the publisher and Limited Run Games being a distributor and point-of-sale. Due to how busy the time before launch is, days go by super fast. One day I’m preparing resources I’m asked for, and a blink of an eye later, the mockups are ready and being shown on social media. I get to be surprised even if I know it’s coming!
Q: Once Frogun releases, what's next? Do you have any big ideas for your next project, or are you going to bask in this one for a bit?
A: Oh, I do have an idea for the next project. I’m documenting it, too. But before that is announced or even hinted, I’ll focus on Frogun for a bit more. Patch any issue that comes up, maybe add a few extra things in an update. I want to be there with all the players who get it when it launches!
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
A: There’s a lot of friends I’ve made in this year and a half, and that’s also way more than I dreamed of. So, I’d like to thank everyone for their support and friendliness.
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Frogun is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.