If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to create a successful point & click game, an interesting sci-fi/fantasy world, and puzzles that are challenging without being frustrating, then you’ll definitely want to check out our talk with Giannis Chatzopoulos, CEO of Noema Games, about the development of upcoming title; Aurora: The Lost Medallion.
Tell us about yourself and Noema Games.
Hello to all. I am Giannis from Greece. I am a gamer. An adventure gamer.
I spent pretty much my entire childhood playing adventure games. This passion of mine led me to study computer programming and eventually discover the world of game development.
When I was 7 years old, my parents bought my first computer. It was the infamous Commodore 64 home computer. I was so thrilled with its capabilities that I started to learn Commodore Basic and about 1 year later I made my first text adventure.
I was 19 years old and I had just finished playing “The Dig” when I decided to create a complete adventure game story. {That’s when} I came up with the main premise of Aurora: the Lost Medallion.
However, life came and I never finished it. . .
When Tim Schafer of Double Fine announced his Kickstarter Campaign (for what would later become Broken Age), I {once again} found my passion for making adventure games.
I immediately became a backer and was so captivated by the Double Fine Adventure documentary that I told myself, “This is what I want to do in life.”
So, I quit my job as Chief Marketing Officer and formed Noema Games, recruiting people that could help me finish what I had started more than 20 years ago.
The team (at Noema Games) consists of 7 core members. Apart from Project Leader, I have the role of Lead Game Programmer, Composer, Audio Engineer, and Marketer.
Our Game designer and writer, Foivos Markatos, handles the story, puzzles, and direction of the game. Thanasis Radoglou, our Art Director and Lead Animator, together with our game artists Stratos Tzelepis, Nikos Tzelepis, and our junior animator, Aggeliki Nefeli Moniodi, have brought our beautiful worlds to life.
Our newest member, Manolis Georgiou is our second programmer and we, frankly, couldn’t go on without him. Savvas
Karagiannidis is our intern and he is creating some real auditory magic that we know you will all love.
In Greek, “Noema” means “Meaning”. I chose that name because I wanted to produce games with meaning. Together we’re all working to make an adventure game like the old classics, but with more of a modern feel.
Tell us about Aurora: The Lost Medallion.
Aurora: The Lost Medallion is a 2d, sci-fi, fantasy, point & click adventure game.
It’s a story about an alien girl searching for her purpose in life. The game features hard, but fair puzzles, hand-drawn, cartoony graphics, an interactive, ever-changing, original soundtrack, and a story that’s steeped in mystery, comedy, and drama. (We want players to laugh and cry in equal amounts).
We’ve been working on the game for 3 years now and we expect to have it ready by Q4 2020. The story is so big that we will need multiple games to tell it all, but we can assure you, it’ll be worth the effort.
Why did you choose to work with a Sci-Fi game? What do you love about the genre?
We should probably mention that the game is not strictly sci-fi or, better yet, “hard” sci-fi.
You could easily swap all sci-fi elements of the game with magic and the story would still work.
However, we liked the elements that a space adventure could bring to the table more than a fantasy setting because technology works inside a set of rules. There’s a logic behind it and that sits well with adventure game puzzles.
Also, some of our most beloved inspirations are sci-fi, and that’s actually the real reason. The rest is just there to make us look smart. (laugh)
The world of ATLM is quite large and complex, with its own history, societies, and solar system. Where did you draw inspiration for the game’s universe?
My contribution to the story comes mostly from the text adventure games I made on the Commodore 64, when I was a kid with a vivid imagination. Of course, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica {were also inspirations}.
{I’ll also let our game designer/writer, Foivos answer this question}
As is usually the case, the influence comes from various kinds of works, ranging from games to books, to films and more.
If I had to trace some more specific inspirations I would be inclined to mention games like Broken Age or Journey, classic Steven Spielberg movies, and the works of Ursula K. Le Guin (which will probably be mentioned as an inspiration to every single thing I ever write).
Besides being a sci-fi adventure, ATLM is also a point and click title. What elements are important to pay attention to when making a point and click game?
It seems that everyone on the team has a different answer to that question, but we all agree on one thing; Clarity, coherency, and consistency!
The art must clearly show what it is meant to be showing.
The characters must clearly say what they are meant to be saying.
Adequate information must be given for a puzzle to be solvable. Pay attention to the difference between difficulty and frustration.
Many who’ve played the ATLM Ep1 demo have commented that the puzzles are challenging, without being frustrating. How did you go about finding that perfect balance when creating the game’s puzzles?
Once again, I’ll let our game designer/writer, Foivos answer this one.
I actually wrote the puzzles for the demo in a single afternoon because we were trying to get a demo ready for an upcoming convention.
The reason why they worked as well as they did is probably related to the “Aurora bible.” That’s the first document I wrote for the game before we even began production. It details our design philosophy.
The idea was that if we followed those rules when designing puzzles, we would always achieve the balance you are talking about. I guess it worked!
Aurora: The Lost Medallion will be released as a quadrilogy. Can you tell us anything about how the various episodes will break down? How long will the playtime be on each?
We actually regret calling the game episodic because it gives the impression that the first title is not going to be a complete game.
Each episode is a full game with more than 12 hours of playtime. They will all have a beginning and an end, but will also be tied to a grander overarching plot that will eventually reach epic proportions.
The first game is an initiation to the world and the characters of the game. We will reveal more of the universe and answer more questions with each new episode.
The 1st episode of ATLM is planned for release in the last quarter of this year. What’s your schedule for releasing the other 3 episodes?
Hopefully, the production of future games will last 9 months each.
We’ve already done much of the hard work of setting up the engine, the workflow, and the story, to feel confident that we can be true to this timeline.
ATLM is launching on Steam. Any plans for a console release down the road? How about a physical release?
We would only consider that option for a collectible version of the game and probably only after all episodes have been developed.
We will launch for Android and iOS a few months after the PC/MAC/LINUX release. As for console releases…we would love to do them, but we can’t promise anything.
ATLM Ep1 will be a part of the upcoming Steam Game Festival (6/16-6/22). What do you have planned for this special event?
We would like to use this opportunity to talk with players who are interested in ATLM. We are more than eager to answer any questions they may have (no spoilers though). All of our team will be active on our discord server and we’ll be waiting for you!
Also, our Demo will be online on our Steam page.
What’s your best piece of advice to fellow indie developers creating a Sci-Fi adventure title of their own?
Don’t be too hasty to leave pre-production. Plan for the scale of the game as early and as specifically as possible.
Focus on project management and make sure to give your team time to breathe.
Don’t let anyone be an obstacle in your dream. If you are one hundred percent confident of your vision and fully dedicated to your game, you can accomplish anything.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
What point and click titles would you recommend to our readers?
If they’re after classics, I suggest The Dig, Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis, Full Throttle, everything Monkey Island, the Maniac Mansion Series, Blade Runner, and The Longest Journey Series.
If they want something fresh, then I suggest Broken Age, Thimbleweed Park, Resonance, Guard Duty, Nelly Cootalot, Gibbous: A Cthulhu adventure, and Aurora: The Lost Medallion (wink, wink).
Thanks so much to Giannis (& Foivos) for answering our questions! We look forward to the release of Aurora: The Lost Medallion Ep.1-4.
Be sure to check out the demo of Aurora: The Lost Medallion Ep.1 currently available on GameJolt, Itch.io, & Kartridge, & coming to Steam on 6/16 (during the Steam Game Festival).
Read more about ATLM on the Noema Games website.
Keep up with the latest news via Twitter.
