When you think back to those halcyon days of gaming when you’d be riding in the back of your parents' car, holding your Game Boy Color up to the light of the passing streetlamps, it’s very hard to separatethat era from the Pokémon series.
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Everyone who got their gaming sea legs around that period has a natural affinity with the cute, primitive sprite work and the chiptune melodies that made these titles so cozy and comforting. Which is perhaps why these retro ideals are so prevalent in Petalrunner, a game that aims to emulate the GBC-era vibe, but with some modern tweaks to appeal to both old and new players.
Petalrunner was one of the games that stole the show for me at SGF Play Days, as thevibrant, retro-meets-modern art stylewas eye-catching enough to draw me in, but the gameplay that effectively takes the early Pokémon blueprint and strips back all the morally ambiguous aspects is what trulysold me on this indie project.
I finished the short demo, and I immediately needed to know more. So, accompanied by Brandon James Greer and Danny Guo, we all hopped on a little motorcycle and took a tour of Sapphire City.
Delivering HanaPets With Brandon & Danny
Q: So, immediately, I need to open up with the art style and sound design, which, at least for me, evokes fond memories of playing games like Pokémon Red on my Game Boy Color. What led you to go with this art style, and what games, if any, did you attempt to emulate?
Brandon:Yeah, absolutely. Pokémon Red was one of my core games growing up. You play it when you’re 8-12 years old, like me, and you think, that was a great game. Then you find yourself making a pixel art game and reminiscing about these art styles that you liked. It’s the form factor and the size of the characters in the world, as well as how the buildings are scaled to the character, and the abstraction of the features. It’s always something that I’ve been very analytical about.
I have a YouTube Channel where I do time lapses, tutorials, and breakdowns of certain styles, and the Pokémon Red style has always been one that I’ve been honing in on. So, that was the expression that I wanted to use for our project.
Q: So is it fair to say that, from a gameplay perspective as well, this game is trying to be reminiscent of the retro Pokémon games?
Brandon: Yeah, so there is the reference point that this is a creature collecting game, where you go around, and you add all the Hanapets to the database. But at its heart, it’s about nurturing the pets rather than putting them into battles and stuff. So it’s just a different expression of those motifs. I have two cats myself, so I have a soft spot that made me want to do something cute, with mini-games where you’re scrubbing pets and feeding them.
Q: Then, as for the soundtrack, you manage to put together a bunch of chiptune bops. I was bobbing my head along as I went. How did you go about creating this jaunty assortment of tracks, and what separates it from the chiptune tracks of old?
Brandon: So, chiptune music is pretty much baked into the fabric of games that look and feel like ours. So, we definitely wanted that as an ingredient, but we also wanted to elevate it so that it was a modern expression of chiptune music. We brought in higher-fidelity instrumentation that serves as the backbone for the music, such as high-fidelity drum and bass for certain tracks, with chiptune leads on top of that.
Q: So, what we know to this point about Petalrunner is that you deliver pets across town on your scooter. Can you lay out for our readers what the gameplay loop looks like in Petalrunner and how it hooks you?
Danny: Primarily, the story centers around Cali, who is a motorcycle courier delivering Leap Cells. So you are picking these up, taking them to people’s houses, and installing them. Then, the calibration process during installation offers mini-game gameplay. But afterward, it’s always followed by a little bit of story involving the pet that just manifested from the Leap Cell. But this all acts as a vessel for the story involving Cali and Kira.
Q: And, just to expand on that, would you consider it a linear experience, or a more open-world affair where you can do whatever you want?
Danny: Oh yeah, we love the idea of letting the player be free to do whatever they want. We consider our game to be an open-world game. But the progression is pretty linear.
Brandon: Yeah, there will be moments sometimes where you have a couple of questlines available to you, so you’ll see them on the map, and it’s up to you what order you want to tackle those. Or you may just roam the city and try to find all the different NPC interactions.
Q: So, you obviously have your own Hanapet Kira with you on your adventures. But I just want to ask if this game will play out like a typical creature tamer, at least in the sense where you’re encouraged to collect all the different variations, and how do you go about doing that in-game?
Brandon: So, it’s sort of a mix of ways to register pets, and these are dotted around the different districts. We have some that you need to coax a little bit with treats. Then we have those you care for, along with mini-games to try and win them over. Then, we also have the deliveries you make to customers, which allow you to register new pets as well.
Q: And speaking of your own pet, Kira following you around reminded me of Pokémon Yellow where Pikachu is always following behind you outside their Pokeball. Is there going to be any mechanic around your bond with your Hanapet?
Brandon: So, a lot of that will come out through storybeats. Kira is a Gen-One design, which is the oldest model with a battery pack and a handheld design. So, there are a few moments that are related to Kira’s battery and the leash, but giving care and treats mainly happens with the other pets. You do have some fashion options with Kira that allows you to customize their look a little. But yeah, I would say that the majority of these moments with Kira play out throughout the story.
Q: Petalrunner has certain artistic aspects that makes me feel like it’s set in a cyberpunk setting, but it bucks the trend of most and doesn’t lock you into a dystopian and oppressive narrative. Can you tell me a little about the setting and how Sapphire City took shape?
Danny: So, the world of Petalrunner takes place in Sapphire Valley, which is split into four distinct districts, and every district has its own unique aesthetic. Brandon and I are huge fans of the cyberpunk aesthetic, and while I wouldn’t say that the game itself is a cyberpunk game, it does have a lot of cyberpunk-inspired features. The funny thing is, we actually met each other while browsing cyberpunk hashtags.
Brandon: Yeah, we would always pop up or find each other organically in these Cyberpunk circles, and that’s how we met by exchanging comments or complementing each other’s artwork. Then, when it came time to work on a project, I knew I had someone who was on the same page as me, and we decided to see what we could come up with together.
Q: You also have a bunch of mini-games in Petalrunner that punctuate each delivery. How did you come up with each of those, and was the intention to make these feel like tending to a Tamogachi?
Danny: We love Tamogachi, and we’re a two-person studio, so we are very agile. So, we really enjoy sitting down in the evening and conceptualizing a mini-game and bringing it to life over the span of like 72-hours.
Brandon: Yeah, we kind of view it like every mini-game was kind of its own mini-game jam. It always comes back to player control and intuition, and that’s something you always want to nail in those little mini-games. So we aimed to have simple actions, a fun theme, and also something that relates to pet care.
Q: Petalrunner also sets its stall out as a coming-of-age, slice-of-life story. What can the player expect from the narrative? Is it warm and fuzzy, or is there the potential for this one to be a bit of a tearjerker?
Danny: We want the game to look inviting and comfy, but there is an emotional storytelling element to it. But that’s all I’ll say right now.
Brandon: Yeah, it’s been fun to play that mix of wholesome and cozy, but also with this cartoony, villain of the week at play, and a mystery that is woven through the narrative as well. Then, of course, focusing on the relationship between Cali and Kira to pull on the emotional heartstrings of what it’s like to have a pet, and to grow with them.
Q: It won’t be news to you when I say that the cozy sub-genre is a saturated one. So, tell me what you feel is the USP that Petalrunner has that helps it stand out from the pack?
Brandon: I think it’s mainly the tone of the game. I think it comes across even before you sit down and play it. The visuals accurately capture the cozy feeling you experience while playing. I think that’s what makes it stand out and gives Petalrunner its core identity. There’s a relaxing feel to just existing in the world, but you can also get locked into the story like you would binge a TV show.
Q: In short, the USP is just vibes?
Brandon: Vibes, it’s all vibes, man!
Q: Then lastly, what are your favorite cozy games? And you can’t say your own!
Danny: I played a lot of Animal Crossing: Horizons on the Switch, and that was a really good time.
Brandon: This is a weird one, but I would say Death Stranding. Sure, it’s a bleak word and a serious story, but I would just hop in there and spend hours building a bridge, and by the end of that, I would feel fulfilled.
Petal Runner
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