While the video game industry continues pushing into the future with next-generation consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, many developers are looking toward the past. Nintendo is adding N64 and Sega Genesis games to Switch Online, meanwhile Sony and Microsoft release older titles via PS Plus and Games with Gold every month. Indie studios are also leading the charge with an exponential number of retro-style games However, Pompom: The Great Space Rescue developer Willem Rosenthal feels a lot of developers fall into the trap of making their titles about "being retro" rather than just presenting themselves as retro games.
He said there are plenty of games either utilizing or making reference to antiquated ideas with a nod and a wink. Though this is a perfectly reasonable way to pay homage to consoles of old, Rosenthal is more interested in creating an experience as it would have existed in the early 1990s - despite releasing on modern PCs and Switch. Game Rant spoke to Rosenthal about making Pompom into a game Nintendo "would be proud to put out" on the SNES.
Pompom: Action-Platformer With a Twist
In the upcoming game, players guide Pompom the hamster across eight worlds to rescue his owner Hoshi from the clutches of space pirate Captain Cat and his crew. However, rather than controlling Pompom directly, players alter the surrounding environment: placing platforms, holding objects like lanterns, or using tools like shears to clear vines. "Basically I thought it would be really exciting to build a level as you go," Rosenthal said.
Pompom is the full realization of Walkie Tori, a project made for the 2018 Game Maker's Toolkit (GMTK) Game Jam. The challenge for this game jam, as disseminated by British games journalist Mark Brown; creator of the popular GMTK YouTube channel, was to take a staple genre and remove one of its main mechanics. Rosenthal's idea was to create an action game where players can't control their main character, inspired by Donkey Kong (1994) on Game Boy and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series it spawned, Mario & Wario on SNES, and Lemmings on Amiga. Unlike those games, Rosenthal found Pompom's unique take in emphasizing a "flow experience."
Because Pompom never stops moving, there's a "rushing time-limit sensation." Players have to be quick on their feet to figure out the puzzle mechanics one might see in a game like Lemmings with a limited amount of "freeze time" to place objects, maneuvering the hamster around danger while collecting coins and a single carrot in each level. Pompom began as a side project while Rosenthal felt burnt out on his ongoing action-arcade game Go Go Kudamono!, but he said he's proud of what it has become.
"I made [Walkie Tori] in a game jam and haven't been able to get it out of my head. That's why when the pandemic hit and I felt like I needed a break from Kudamono, this was what I turned to. It clicked that this could be a full-length Super Nintendo game."
Pompom's SNES Blueprints
Rosenthal said the SNES is "probably my favorite console of all time," and its early library set the groundwork for much of Pompom's design. Its art style aimed to be "cute, not saccharine-sweet," more like Super Mario World than other titles of the era he enjoys like Super Metroid. He started by working on the world and level designs, having already established mechanics in Walkie Tori, and then decided to go with a cute animal mascot that "pulls it all together" - specifically Pompom because he liked the Hamtaro franchise growing up.
With those pieces he was able to "connect the dots" and "come up with something that has the right feel," extrapolating the idea of spacefaring feline antagonists because of his hamster protagonist roaming diverse worlds. Another trick he pulled from SNES classics was giving Pompom a distinct motivation, saving a loved one, despite it not being a very story-driven game.
Rosenthal's current development studio TOMO CAMP is a solo endeavor, but he worked with Japanese artist Bruno Levi to help create cutscenes and promotional art emphasizing this motivation. He pulled in Belgian composer and programmer Lynn, who was already into Super Nintendo-style music and helped on Walkie Tori - "Just the right composer for the job." Pompom's sound design was also done in collaboration with Ali Cedroni from the Norway-based audio company NokNok, which has credits including Sable, Totally Accurate Battlegrounds, and more.
However, one of the most important pieces of Rosenthal's design ethos was creating as much content as possible to avoid recycling ideas and keep things as "exciting" and "unexpected" as possible. Yoshi's Island was a big inspiration, and he tried to emulate the way that game introduced new mechanics or enemies almost every level, "different from anything else you've seen."
Keeping Modern Conveniences
A demo for Pompom released on September 25 in preparation for Steam Next Fest. This demo includes eight levels from different parts of the game that were polished up, helping build a roadmap for finishing the rest. Rosenthal said Pompom is content complete and hoping to launch in 2022, but the demo also offered an opportunity to get feedback and tune the design for a kind of platformer people need "a lot of time to get used to."
Pompom is designed to be something unique, but not a punishing experience only "expert gamers" can make it through. Players are meant to die as they learn each stage, but hopefully not to the point of frustration. Despite aiming to create a game straight out of the 90s, Rosenthal is "not a believer that a game which wants to feel like it's from that time period needs to strip away modern conveniences." There are planned accessibility options such as removing screen shake and easier difficulties to add more freeze time - plus he's open to adding a lot more based on playtests.
At the same time, while Rosenthal's "first priority" is creating a well-balanced, fun game for everyone, he'd also be curious to see something like a speedrunning community emerge around the game. The base experience would remain "pure as possible," but he'd love to put in new ways to play, such as special abilities lending themselves to speedrunners. Rosenthal expects people will want a modern experience, but he hopes to give them one that feels truly retro - right down to optional settings like playing in 4x3 with a CRT filter.
"To me, I think it would fit in really well with the early Super Nintendo library, and those are my favorite games. I can only speak for myself in this way, but I try to make something where if I saw it on the shelf I'd want it."
Pompom: The Great Space Rescue is in development for PC and Switch. A demo is available now on Steam.
Source: Steam