Welcome to the world of Shadow Bug! This is an open letter from Muro Studios to all who may be interested in our game: a letter telling you how Shadow Bug came to be and why we wanted to make it.
In a nutshell Shadow Bug is a platformer game with a unique core: you move by attacking enemies. We've heard people compare it to games like Limbo and Super Meat Boy, and I guess in a sense it's something between those two. Shadow Bug is action oriented, but it also has lightweight puzzles. And of course the action culminates in glorious boss fights.
Shadow Bug started as a small prototype by our programmer, Kim. Though it wasn't Shadow Bug at that point. Here's the before / after:
The prototype
Shadow Bug in action
From the get-go we wanted to create a unique core mechanic. We felt that this way we could create something special, since we would have something new to offer. At the same times we wanted to do something that's like the classic games we love - Super Mario, Zelda, Metroid. So we created a mix of both: a classic platformer with a modern mechanic.
The mechanic we came up with allows you to click on enemies to initiate a leap+slash attack. With a single click you fly to an enemy (even through walls) and kill it. Having a mechanic like this changes a lot of the fundamentals in a platformer, since now the enemies aren't that much of a threat, but instead a tool for moving around. This mechanic allowed us the make new kind of level design for a platformer game.
After our artist Juha created the first scetches for the art style and Shadow Bug the hero, we fell in love immediately. The mechanic of leaps and slashes was perfect for a small ninja insect! And as Juha created such gorgeous forest landscapes, it was fitting that the forest would be the starting point and motivation for our story. The forest is threatened by a factory and it's waste, so Shadow Bug leaves the comfort of the trees and sets to shut down the polluting building of doom.
We really enjoyed making Shadow Bug and we hope you enjoy playing it just as much, if not more. Good luck on your ninja adventure!
Yours truly,
Muro Studios
PS. Write us at [email protected] for PR related stuff like giveaways, streaming and such.