Solo developer Dennis Kroener, aka A Grumpy Fox, released recently his first-ever gameLunistice. While this was a long-time goal of the gamer-turned-streamer-turned-developer, it seemed to be a task too hard to finish alone. In fact, while he was working as a technical producer forGerman publishing house Deck13, he developed close relationships with his gaming community that would eventually help onLunistice.
Kroener had been working on the idea of a game for a long time, but never found his way to development. Instead, he created a community by streaming onTwitch. For years the community grew alongside his professional life, and Kroener found his way to an online game magazine as lead video editor. While he had found his way into the games industry, it still took time to make his true dream a reality. Game Rant spoke to Kroener about his relationships with other gamers and developers, and how that helped him achieve his goals.
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Lunistice Was Originally a 2D Metroidvania
A few years before he found himself working for Deck13, Kroener had started working on a new project.A love of Metroidvaniasveered Kroener toward creating one himself, and 2D platformer seemed like a natural path for a starting developer. However, it was over-scoped for a Metroidvania, and while Kroener loved to create pixel art, he wasn’t able to find an art direction he was happy with.
When Kroener started to experiment with 3D tools, his initial idea was to create a rail shooter. While the game was far fromLunisticein its current state, it already shared the name and general world concept. However, Kroener would find that working in 3D has its challenges, especially for aninexperienced solo developer. After struggling with creating a shooter, he decided to scrap the idea and go with a more approachable, simple 3D platformer.
“I wanted to sit down and get some kind of 3D pipeline going and see if I could come comfortable with it. It turns out, I did.”
After years of struggling to find a way to create his game, Kroener said last year he forced himself to make the concept work. This required focusing intensively on the project for a month straight and coming up with something that resembled a game. After a grueling 30 days, Kroener had a prototype forLunistice- which needed a lot of work but had promise.
How Community Guided Lunistice
The game was far from finished, but its skeleton was viable and Kroener wanted to see whatLunisticecould turn into. He decided he would take the next year or so to polish and release it as his first full game. While the core was done, much of the work - includinglevel design and progression- was still ahead. Fortunately for Kroener, he had an online community that would help him achieve his goal.
Kroener was always very open with the development ofLunistice, especially with hisclosest communities like those following his Twitch streams. Much of the development was fueled by community efforts, as even some of its very core ideas, like the visual design, came from a brainstorming session while streaming. Everyone was welcome to share their ideas, and while Kroener said some were not as good as others, it was the community that helped propel him forward.
While Kroener had a uniformstructure for the game’s levelsthat helped him get through them quicker, the themes were decided together with his Twitch chat. Much of the variety one can experience inLunisticewouldn’t exist without the help of his friends in the online community.
“I got a lot of input from the community, especially my Twitch chat, with a lot of early development. That’s why they are also credited.”
There were also a few special developers that Kroener wanted to work with in one form or another. That is whyLunisticeincludes two bonus characters that are unlocked after completing the game the first time: Toree from theToreeseries by Kroener’s friend Siactro, and Toukie fromDeck13-publishedHolomento. To Kroener, game developers rooting for one another is an important aspect of working in a tough industry. He’s proud of being part of the retro 32-bit community, which he sees as particularly close-knit and welcoming.
Kroener’s own collaborative efforts were realized with a warm response to the game from the community and also media influencers. The Completionist, a YouTube gaming personality and host of the charity event IndieLand, includedLunisticeinthis year’s live IndieLandevent. Kroener has enjoyed The Completionist’s work for years and followed IndieLand closely, so it was as amazing as it was surprising. Yet the 32-bit indie community and his Twitch chat would undoubtedly agree that it was well-deserved.
Lunisticeis available now for PC and Switch.
