An exclusive email interview with Pixel Tribe, the developers behind the upcoming Kakao Games title, Goddess Order, reveals insights into their pixel RPG development process. We spoke with Ilsun (Art Director) and Terron J. (Contents Director).
Pixel Tribe: A Deep Dive into Goddess Order Development
Droid Gamers: What inspires your pixel sprites?
Ilsun: As Art Director, I oversee Goddess Order's visuals. Building on the success of Crusaders Quest, we aim for high-quality pixel art that evokes a console gaming feel. Inspiration draws from countless games and stories, but it's less about direct references and more about the cumulative influence of our experiences. It's a process of absorbing inspiration from daily life and leveraging the synergy within our team. The initial characters, Lisbeth, Violet, and Jan, were born from solo work, but their development was greatly enhanced by collaborative discussions, refining details and shaping the overall art style. Ongoing conversations with scenario writers and combat designers further enrich character design. For example, a narrative concept like "a refined noblewoman who becomes a fierce dual-blade warrior" is brought to life through collaborative sketching and refinement.
Droid Gamers: How do you approach world-building in a fantasy RPG?
Terron J.: World-building in Goddess Order starts with our pixel art characters. Lisbeth, Violet, and Jan formed the core, influencing gameplay and narrative. Each character possesses a distinct identity, purpose, and backstory. Developing these characters felt less like work and more like a journey, uncovering their stories of growth and heroism. The game's manual controls stemmed from the characters' strength and the scenarios we crafted.
Droid Gamers: How do you design combat styles and animations?
Terron J.: Goddess Order's combat features three characters taking turns, using link skills for synergy. Design involves defining unique roles for each character—powerful attackers, quick strikers, or support characters—and ensuring strategic battle formations. We meticulously refine character abilities and controls to maximize combat effectiveness and prevent cumbersome gameplay.
Ilsun: Visually, we emphasize dynamic action. Despite the 2D pixel art, characters exhibit three-dimensional movement. We use physical models of weapons to study movement for authenticity.
Terron J.: Finally, technical optimization is crucial for smooth mobile gameplay, ensuring consistent performance even on lower-spec devices without sacrificing cutscene immersion.
Droid Gamers: What's next for Goddess Order?
Ilsun: Goddess Order offers a narrative-driven JRPG experience focusing on the Lisbeth Knights' quest to save the world. We'll continue expanding the story with chapter scenarios and character origin stories. Future updates will include additional activities like quests and treasure hunts, along with advanced content that pushes the boundaries of action gameplay.
