It’s interesting to think that entire game genres can fall out of style. Trends in gaming have shifted around so much that, at times, decades have gone by without any genre representation. The arcade adventure genre is a perfect example of a game style that has fallen by the wayside, but Lumo looks to breathe some life into it yet.
The arcade adventure genre was at its most popular in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. These games featured isometric 3D artwork, fairly revolutionary for the time. Each game mostly revolved around puzzles and platforming, with exploration thrown in as well. Lumo draws inspiration from all of the classic games in the genre to bring the game style to a modern audience.
“Lumo is a modern reinterpretation of the isometric arcade adventure genre, which kicked off in the 80s with Knight Lore,” Lumo creator Gareth Noyce told iDigitalTimes. “Then there were games like Head Over Heels and Solstice, Equinox on the SNES. It was a genre and type of game I loved playing growing up.”
Noyce is a former big-time game developer who has previously worked on games like Fable 2, Crackdown and its sequel, and Project Gotham Racing 3. He has since left AAA gaming to work for himself. Lumo is a game inspired by the ones he grew up playing and motivated him to pursue a career in the industry.
“It’s been a totally different experience from working on AAA games,” Noyce said. “Every day is sort of a school day.” Noyce is a programmer originally, so dealing with art especially was a new experience for him. “I’ve had to learn new stuff like animation, character skinning, rigging, I haven’t dealt with a lot of 3D assets before I had started,” he said. “Most of my experience has been programming or design or production, so doing the lighting and color grading and all that stuff was good fun.”
Noyce said his background in programming has helped guide all of his other decisions, making it easier for him to focus on what’s possible. “I was aware of the limits that I could do from a programming basis, so that shaped what went into the game,” said Noyce. “I didn’t really try to bite off things I knew I couldn’t chew, but it was nice to get hands on all the aspects of asset creation and have the freedom to make things look and sound how I wanted.”
So what is Lumo actually like? According to Noyce, “It’s a mix of exploration and skill-based platforming with a few puzzly bits.” Players take on the role of a little wizard who must solve puzzles and make it through traps to explore a castle. There are four different zones, each with their own play styles and mechanics.
Lumo is also an incredibly personal game for Noyce. Just about everything you can find is a reference to something from Noyce’s past or something that has inspired him. “If you like Easter Eggs and spotting things in games, there’s quite a lot of references to Rare and Ultimate Play the Game for starting the genre,” he said. “There’s also quite a lot of references to magazines and the 80s video game industry in the UK.”
“In part, it’s a little bit of a love letter to those who inspired me, and gave me a lot of joy as a kid,” Noyce adds.
Lumo also features a great soundtrack from the artist Dopedemand, who Noyce had worked with on AAA games in the past. “I like it, because it’s not what you’d expect for a game soundtrack,” said Noyce. “It’s not retro in any way, it’s just sort of a really good ambient score that adds lots of atmosphere to the game.”
The soundtrack can be streamed on Dopedemand’s Bandcamp page.
Lumo will be releasing on PS4, Xbox One, PC and PS Vita on April 22. No price has been announced yet, but Noyce mentioned it will be around $20.
So what do you think? Did you play any arcade adventure games back in the day? Are you interested in checking out Lumo for yourself? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
