Revived Witch Interview with Yostar and PixelNeko: Developing for nostalgia and modern sensibilities

Revived Witch had been hovering on the periphery of mobile games to look out for since at least January 2021, with the start of one of its numerous testing phases. The game eventually released globally on 10 November 2022. We had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with publisher Yostar and developer PixelNeko to answer a number of our questions about this charming pixel RPG game.

We sent these questions prior to the Spring Festival events. The interview has been edited for clarity. If you haven’t seen the team before, their appropriately pixellated selves can be found on the website, while here’s a group shot:

BUILDING BLOCKS

Tell us about the “concept” behind Revived Witch. What inspired you to make a game like this, especially with its blend of pixel art and more “standard” 2D spritework?

PixelNeko: The main reason is that we have a special affection for pixel games. When we were younger, we played and grew up with games like Pokémon Sapphire, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, and some RPGs even older than that. RPGs in those days were mostly pixel graphics making one of our happy childhood memories for plain and simple joys.

Of course, as game developers, in addition to our personal preferences, we also did a lot of market research in the beginning. We looked up several Final Fantasy mobile games, and we found that Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius were some of the most liked. Then we have Stardew Valley which had been on the best-sellers list for the Nintendo Switch for quite some time, and Sonic Mania sold more than Sonic Forces despite both being Sonic games. All of these proved the potential of pixel games.

These high quality pixel games not only arouse player enthusiasm, but also inspire infinite creation and development of developers. We believe there must be players that love pixel games as much as we do, and we are determined to give them a sense of nostalgia from these classic RPGs.

However, things are changing. It’s inevitable that innovation is added to the classic pixel style. We tried a style to appeal to most players, whether or not they’ve played pixel games before. We wanted to bring nostalgia to older players, and express the pixel charm to newer players, resulting in a combination of 3D and 2D elements.

At first, we tried to make it a completely 2D game. When adding 3D elements later, we found that the atmosphere could be more immersive. After internal tests and adjustments, we decided on something all of us thought looked cool.

What goes into the design of the Dolls, with regards to their character, voice, story, skills, etc.?

PixelNeko: Story wise, we wanted to make a “Witch” game because it’s the personal preference of our producer, Eighteen (Baiyu Yang), and the team also agreed. Games with magic themes are typically either “high magic” and “low magic”. A “high magic” setting sees the hero easily mastering their destructive power, while a “low magic” setting needs them to learn from scratch. Our game is a “low magic” setting, so you can see the Witch slowly grow and learn from her experiences to regain her memory.

Our Witch started out as a lively, short-haired, preteen, but our game designer had a different idea. The character setting for the Witch should be a little aloof, and seldom reveals her inner self. So, we changed the design to a girl with long straight hair, with asymmetric earlocks to give her a little cuteness. The change allowed for a “flowing” animation, so that she wouldn’t look too stiff. We hope the contrast between the Witch’s appearance and her personality will give players that sense of “gap moe”.

How do you design the maps, in specific, since there is an aspect of exploration in the levels?

PixelNeko: We started deciding map elements according to the game’s background setting, followed by the exploration routes and timings according to the map size. We also simulated the routes to optimize the trap layout and monsters to maintain a balance between combat and puzzles.

The in-game puzzle design follows three principles:

• Easy to understand: If players can’t understand what the puzzle is, or why they get stuck, they might get annoyed. So, puzzle elements only appear in separate scenes, and all related mechanisms can be found in 1or 2 screen shifts. We also use camera movement and highlights to provide hints.\
• Mechanisms based on “common sense”. The rules need to be easily grasped and accepted by players, like how thin ice will break if you step on it, or you flip levers to control elevators, things like that.
• Must give a sense of achievement. The game is for fun, and the puzzles are meant to be solved, not trap players.

There’s that one playable male character, Avil, in the game. What’s he there for?

PixelNeko: There is no specific reason or intention to Avil in the beginning. When we developed the worldview story, we focused more on designing “waifus”, but it didn’t feel right if there was no male character in the game, hence Avil. Surprisingly, he’s drawn a lot of attention, so we are considering whether we could release more male characters in the future.

We now also have the second male playable character, Datheios, with the Cassiel story update in January. With his own unique identity and mission, there’s a deeper story waiting for players to uncover. There will be other male characters coming soon.

DEVELOPMENT TO LAUNCH

How long did it take to develop this game, considering there were multiple tests even prior to January 2021? 

PixelNeko: It took us almost three years to develop, with many tries at art and gameplay. Our team is used to making games with our self-developed engine, but Revived Witch is our first time using Unity. We went through a process of trial and error before finding the “right” way. The same goes for our combat system that went through many iterations; first turn-based, then Active Time Battle (ATB). We also tried a system with three energy gauges that players found too difficult to grasp. After all the testing and player feedback, we settled on this dual-energy with Outbreak Mode combat system.

Our graphic artists have made a lot of adjustments to details in scenes, like the dynamic grass effect that’s been altered dozens of times. The early stages saw the Witch lying down on the bare ground. Adding grass still made it look odd before we had collision effects to make things look more realistic. Thinking back, it took us almost half a year to achieve the final effect. At least now, we are quite satisfied with the result.

What made you decide on a basically simultaneous global release?

PixelNeko: When we first started the project, we already decided on a global release. There wasn’t any particular reason, nor did we have that much confidence in it either. After all, developing a game is a long-term effort, working for years before showing your work to the players and getting their feedback. It’s hard to foresee the future.

Any particular challenges with regards to localization?

PixelNeko, Yostar: Between English and Chinese, there are lots of differences in string length, font size, and reading habits. We made adjustments to nearly all the interfaces in the game. The user interface got a lot of feedback following the closed beta test for the global server. The main issue was that it looked kind of unsightly and illegible, without taking the language difference into full consideration e.g. character limit, so we did lots of fine-tuning after that.

At the time, there were less than 2 months before the official release, but we still decided to make a complete adjustment to the UI. The good thing is, we’ve received lots of positive feedback since, but UI optimization is also a long-term project and we will continue to work on it.

What did you feel were some of the most valuable feedback from the various beta/testing periods?

PixelNeko: Many players didn’t get how the Witch Courtyard worked, and also found that some necessary tutorials were missing. After discussions, we added illustrations while making optimizations, so that players can find it easier to understand the Witch Courtyard’s functions.

Some players also said there weren’t enough Mana drops during the closed beta, so we increased the drops to improve the gaming experience.

FUTURE PLANS

Currently, Blue (Mercury) Dolls are dominating the majority of tier lists compared to Red (Brimstone) and Yellow (Saltstone) dolls. How do you plan to balance the elements in the future?

PixelNeko: We will go on making adjustments to the Doll attributes, to allow different formations to be advantageous in different stages.

What kind of collabs can we expect in the future? Any hints?

PixelNeko, Yostar: There aren’t such plans yet. Hopefully, we may arrange some collabs in the future. 

In the future, can players expect more ways to interact with their Dolls or ways to display them more prominently, like a Secretary system?

PixelNeko: We have planned events that will allow players to interact with their Dolls. Stay tuned for the upcoming Valentine’s Day and White Day events, and you might get some mysterious gifts.

Can you share with us plans for future endgame content, or game modes?

PixelNeko, Yostar: We plan to release different events during their associated festivals celebrated worldwide. With the release of Chapter 5, Cassiel, we have the new Floating Isles map and the Path Not Taken feature where players can set their own difficulty depending on the modifiers they choose and test their capabilities.

How far do you typically plan content in advance? Is there a schedule you’d like to stick to?

PixelNeko, Yostar: We usually start preparing for a new patch 3 to 6 months ahead of its launch. We’d like to release events according to the global holidays.

Anything else you’d like to tell the players?

PixelNeko, Yostar: We hope we can share our game with more pixel lovers and let them explore our world. We hope to hear more feedback so that we can adjust the game for the better, and their opinions can also show us where to go next.

Thank you for your love of Revived Witch. We will work hard to provide a better game experience to all players.

With that, that’s all the answers we got! Much thanks to the team for getting back to us with their answers and we hope you’ve been enjoying the game too. Wouldn’t it be nice to get some kind of pixel art resurgence? Or maybe that’s the old person talking.

We’ll see you next time!

Download

Revived Witch

Publisher: Yostar Inc

Developer: PixelNeko

Release Date: 2021-11-11

Android, iOS

Revived Witch is an adventure RPG game that combines both 2D dynamic pixel art and 3D lighting. You play as a young witch who enters a mysterious tower and travels across various worlds to fulfill her destiny. You’ll meet many companions with different personalities and fight with them against powerful enemies on your journey.

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