I sat down with the team behind Flynn: Son of Crimson!

3 years ago

Let's see what they had to say!

1. So what's your game all about?

Flynn: Son of Crimson is a handcrafted 2D action platformer inspired by the 90s era of video games that takes the player on a journey of discovery and conflict as they learn to master the art of Crimson Energy. On their quest the player will help Flynn and Dex (Flynn’s giant mythical dog) save Rosantica before the evil from The Scourge, an alternate dimension claims his home.

2. What inspired you to make this game?

Growing up in the 90s era of video games had us playing lots of the classics (as known nowadays) such as Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Donkey Kong Country and many others. We always had these retro-platformers in the back of our minds whilst creating Flynn and the world around him. Modern titles such as Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight and the like were also influential during development. At the time of designing stages and mechanics, we were playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and would be telling porkies if that didn’t inspire us too!

3. What's the most challenging part of making your game?

The toughest part for us was letting old ideas and mechanics go. Something not talked about all that much in and around the game development industry is how a LOT of features don’t make it in the final cut, however fleshed out and polished they are. We started out creating more of a metroidvania style game that had you plopped into a huge sprawling world, traversing all the nooks and crannies of Rosantica. We ultimately had to drop this idea to allow for better level design based around a level by level progression system. As this decision was made more-or-less 2 years into development, it was incredibly hard to let go.

4. What are your goals in the game industry?

Our main goal is simple - we want to create games that people enjoy as much as we enjoy making them. We’ve always had a “game-feel first” approach when it comes to developing. If we ever feel like we’re not having fun on the creation side, we know for sure that it would reflect on the game itself. Seeing people’s reactions when they are surprised/rewarded by an event followed by a laugh or an angry, light-hearted quip at us always makes it worth it.

5. What game inspired you most growing up?

The aforementioned Sonic, Mario and Mega Man games were surely a huge part of our childhood and still to this day. (Case:) I’ve always had a soft spot for Super Mario World and I guess this can be seen in Flynn’s map system.

6. If you could give any advice to anybody that wants to make their own game, what would it be?

I'd say a good way to help develop knowledge and skills in design is to always be analyzing games you/your friends/family play. Try to pick out things that make you feel good as much as the things that make you feel not so good and always have something handy nearby to take notes.

A shout out to Mark Brown of Game Maker’s Toolkit as his videos are top-notch and every aspiring game developer should check him out, they’ve helped us a lot! https://bit.ly/3AMtCq4

7. Where can people find you and your game?

You can visit the Studio Thunderhorse website and find our updates over on social media - we’re mostly active on Twitter but we are also on Facebook, Instagram and have a YouTube account. Flynn: Son of Crimson is out on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and Game Pass.