Review Fix chats with Kunal Majmudar (Business & Audio Lead, SWDTech Games) about their upcoming game, Pixel Noir, to find out what makes the love letter to SNES J-RPGs a special one.
Review Fix: How was Pixel Noir born?
Kunal Majmudar: I had been in the industry for a while as an audio freelancer—finding a steady stream of work, but always wanting to write music for an RPG. At the same time, my friend Len (now co-owner and creative director at SWDTech Games) had stepped away from game dev for a bit and was jonesing to jump back in. The concept of Pixel Noir came about because both Len and I love more adult/mature-themed RPGs that take the genre away from traditional JRPG settings. For example, Midgar from FF7 is a great and unique setting for an RPG that we always wished had been blown out to be bigger and more expansive. We decided to double down on that direction and came up with the idea of Pixel Noir and its noir aesthetic set in Pinnacle City!
Review Fix: How has development been like?
Majmudar: It’s all exciting! Every day, our team has new goals to reach and new challenges to overcome! Actually, it sounds a bit like an RPG… Hmm…I think I’m getting some ideas now for future games…
Review Fix: What games did you play as a kid? How did they inspire this one?
Majmudar: My favorite games as a kid were mostly JRPGs—Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, EarthBound, Final Fantasy VI & VII, etc. These have all been a huge influence on Pixel Noir. For example, Pixel Noir’s timed hit game design is inspired by Super Mario RPG – and much like Chrono Trigger, battles happen on the same screen as exploration. We’ve taken our favorite mechanics from games like these and tried our best to enhance and improve the design. There are other games, too, that I loved growing up: Secret of Mana, Xenogears, Terranigma, Bahamut Lagoon, Streets of Rage, Street Fighter, etc. – but the first group I mentioned is what really helped shape Pixel Noir.
Review Fix: With so much competition on Steam, how hard was it for you guys to make something that stood out?
Majmudar: To be honest, we haven’t really focused on trying to be different or purposely standing out… Instead, we focused on creating game design and art that would enhance Pixel Noir’s story and core concept as much as possible. That said, years and years of work have gone into this. We incubated the idea for ~four years and have been in development for two years now!
Review Fix: What are your goals for this game?
Majmudar: To ship it – and get it into the hands of both new and veteran RPG gamers!
Review Fix: Why should someone play Pixel Noir?
Majmudar: We’ve got an amazing adventure that takes place in a fun setting – with lots of things to do and explore! Pixel Noir’s art will draw you in, but you’ll stay for the gameplay and noir story: You play the role of a Private Eye who had a once promising career as a detective on the police force. Your world comes crashing down as you’re pulled into a series of mysterious events that spiral out of your control. Aside from the main story, we’ve got tons of side quest-like cases that you can take on – and what JRPG would be complete without a huge number of hidden secrets?
Review Fix: How do you want the game to be remembered?
Majmudar: Hopefully, as a fun game – and a love letter to the RPGs we grew up playing.
Review Fix: What’s next for SWDTech Games?
Majmudar: Lots and lots of coffee until we ship. And then probably a big, long nap. (We’ve been at this non-stop for 6 years now!) In all seriousness, we’ve got other game ideas waiting in the wings – but our sole focus will be Pixel Noir until we ship.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Majmudar: I’m also thrilled to have Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta co-composing the soundtrack with me!
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