vN_FTpVEsKU

New Zealand-based game developer Lunar Rooster and Reverb Triple XP recently released the indie game Sky Noon on Steam Early Access.

Sky Noon sees players join a faction – either the Minutemen or the Cartel – then attempt to knock off opponents with air-powered weapons while using grappling hooks and lassos to pull yourself back onto the Level, leading to a “tug of war” pace of combat that’s both hilarious and exhilarating.

Recently the developers that make up Lunar Rooster sat down with Shane from STG for a chat.

Lunar Rooster – New Zealand Game Developers

Shane: Hi Lunar Rooster team, thanks for taking the time to chat with us here at STG. Your debut PC game; Sky Noon has just released on Steam Early Access. How did the project come in to reality?

Lunar Rooster: Hi Shane. Sky Noon began in Media Design School, the goal being to create a multiplayer experience with fast movement, unique combat and that was fun to watch. We all enjoyed online shooters so thought it would be fun to work on one, but to succeed in the market with this kind of game we had to do something truly different. Drawing inspiration from games like Super Smash Bros, we found a
formula that worked in the push and pull based combat that you see in Sky Noon today.

Shane: Other than the usual game development challenges, were there any other obstacles that you faced during production through to release?

Lunar Rooster: Finding external funding has been an issue throughout development. There are a lot of hidden costs associated with making a multiplayer game and we can use funding to use tools to speed up development. We have been fortunate to have won a Unreal development grant as well as coming second in the 2017 Kiwi Games Starter. These grants have allowed us to make Sky Noon more robust and allowed us to focus solely on development.

Shane: Are you all gamers yourselves?

Lunar Rooster: Yep, our love for games is what made us want to make games. We were all big fans of the arena shooter games back in their day (Unreal Tournament, Quake etc) which were an inspiration for us. Today we all play pretty varied genres, from World of Warcraft to Fortnite.

Shane: For aspiring game devs out there, what advice would you give?

Lunar Rooster: For us it was about finding a team of people who wanted to be there and were passionate to see the project through. We also had great advice from experienced people in the industry. If you’re just starting out, try making something with one of the well known engines, even if you make something small. A lot of people get stuck just trying to get started, and the feeling of completing a game and
sharing your work can be a great motivator to move forward.

Shane: For Lunar Rooster what is next in line for the team?

Lunar Rooster: We plan to update the game regularly, we have a roadmap of updates and features we want to add to Sky Noon before our full release in the future.

Shane: Thanks team for chatting with STG today. Sky Noon is currently on Early Access HERE.

[rns_reactions]

What do you reckon?
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0