Sunwolf Entertainment, through its latest creations, shows that Unreal Engine is more than just a 3D game creation tool, it's also great for making games with beautiful 2D art and platform jumping. Yan Chi Zi is a fast-paced action platform jumping game where players will play as Ning, the Yan Chi Zi born from the last spark of the sun. Therefore, fate gave Nin the mission to restore the power of the sun, and he had to explore the mountains and jungles to defeat powerful opponents.
Sunwolf Entertainment is a Peruvian game company, so Yan Chi Zi draws a lot of inspiration from the developer's culture and roots. In this article, Jose Varon, CEO of Sunwolf, talks about how the team infiltrated Peruvian culture into the development of Yanzi, why they chose Unreal Engine to develop 2D games, and the current state of game development in Latin America.
The backstory of the game "Yan Chizi"
The world is immersed in eternal twilight due to eclipses that have lasted for centuries. The land is now full of dangerous creatures, and the remnants of civilization are shrinking day by day. The Sun sent a child to these cursed lands, and his mission was to end this eclipse before the last surviving lives died. In order to end the eclipse, Yan Chizi must defeat the four guardians who stole the power of the sun. They hide in deserts, mountains, jungles and underground worlds. This is an insurmountable task, and Yan Chizi continues to strengthen himself during the journey, but the challenges he will meet are also becoming more and more difficult.
How has Peruvian culture influenced the game's story, characters, and overall portrayal?
The elements and culture of Peru are our starting point. For example, in many Inca and pre-Inca cultures, the sun and moon were important deities. The protagonist's name "Ning" is derived from the Quechua word "Nina", which means "fire".
Why is it an important goal for the team to spread Peruvian culture to the world through this project?
From a cultural point of view, our entire country has a lot to offer. When people think of Peru, they first think of Machu Picchu, but in the desert, jungle and mountainous areas, there are many very attractive pre-Inca cultures that are so unique and worth exploring. For us, it's not just a video game, it's an innovative way for us to share parts of our culture and history with new players and the wider player base.
Why is this project suitable for 2D style?
This is the first game our team has made! For many on the team, it was also the first game they made. This decision was made primarily based on technical considerations: we wanted to start with the type of game we knew and knew its mechanics. Then, we'll keep learning, gradually increasing the complexity of the game in this genre.
In terms of gameplay, what game genres have been influenced by Yan Chizi?
Those games with a simple beauty and a sense of freedom. There are also games that can effectively enhance the gaming experience with music. Music is an important part of our games, inspired by films like Dark Souls, Breath of the Wild, and Wonder and the Colossus.
What action platform jump game elements make Yan Chizi different?
The Psychic Fire mechanism and all the elements associated with it. We think it sublimates the game. The Fire of the Mind is the energy of Ning, which is consumed when using certain skills. It will be restored when approaching the source of fire, which also means that the darker the environment, the less psychic fire the player can recover and the more they need to rely on the torch. In addition, as the eclipse continues, the enemy will become stronger and stronger, and ning will recover less and less spiritual fire.
About the game's reinforcement system and skill system
In the beginning, Ning would only attack once, which is also part of the learning curve. As the game progresses, players will unlock continuous attacks and combo skills, which make the battles even more fun. In this world, the skills that players can unlock are specific to each region.
"Yan Chizi" has a gorgeous hand-drawn style scene and a beautiful soundtrack
Beautiful art scenes attract players, and we want to raise our standards for future games.
The soundtrack contains nine different melodies. Five of the melodies revolve around the characters and the story, and the other four are about the Guardians. The main melody is used to portray the sense of opposition — little Ning against the demigod he has to face. Another example is the eclipse of music, which overlaps two sets of chords (also known as compound chords in composition). Conceptually, we set a Guardian Spirit in each area, and whenever we enter the next stage of the area, the Purpose takes a step forward and then ends in the Boss Battle version of the Guardian Melody. We also recorded a variety of live instruments and choruses in three different languages (Quechua, Aymara and Asshaninka), and had the rare opportunity to record the museum's ancient instruments, some dating back to 4000 BC. It's really special.
About Unreal Engine applications
There are two reasons for the use of Unreal Engine. First, the Blueprint feature allows our lead game designer to design a draft and get to work without writing code. The second and most important point is that we'll soon be migrating to 3D, and Unreal Engine will do a good job of helping us do the job.