Charles Pokrowiecki and Filip Smolnicki are the two developers behind Lumino Games, a small team with a big and genuinely cool indie project in mind. Let’s jump into the interview, and remember to follow the team if you want updates on their work with AFTERBLAST.
Could you tell us how you got started on this project?
At the beginning of our journey we worked on mobile games together, since they’re usually less complex. As our skills improved, we quickly felt the urge to create something more ambitious. That’s when we decided to start working on AFTERBLAST, a game designed for PC and consoles. This direction let us express our creativity more freely, without the technical constraints typical of mobile titles.
Time to learn more about AFTERBLAST. How would you describe the game?
AFTERBLAST is a single-player and co-op rogue-lite FPS. It mixes fast-paced gameplay and an arcade-style feel with procedural dungeons, character progression, skills, unique weapons, and permadeath.
You’re achieving impressive results for a two-person team. What’s your secret?
Thanks, we really appreciate that.
It’s definitely a challenge, but the support we receive and the fact that people enjoy what we’re creating means a lot.
We often understand each other without needing many words. We share the same vision for the project and know we can rely on one another when it comes to our responsibilities.
Unreal Engine also plays a big role in helping us reach our goals. That’s why we try to stay up to date with the latest features and improvements that could make our workflow smoother.
Hey!
Lumino Games (@luminogames) April 16, 2022
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Is there any particular twist or element that makes your game unique?
- Dynamic combat with lots of on-screen action
- Battles against massive bosses that feel completely different from regular encounters
- Each weapon has its own skill and can be upgraded using gems
- An advanced difficulty system built as a core part of gameplay; the higher you go, the more enemies, bosses, maps, paths, weapons, and more you unlock
Did you take inspiration from other titles?
There are many games that inspired us, but the main ones are Doom Eternal, Risk of Rain 2, and Gunfire Reborn.
Tell us more about your pipeline.
Since we started developing AFTERBLAST, Unreal Engine has evolved significantly, and Epic Games has introduced plenty of features that help indie developers achieve great results. When we began, we were working part-time, but switching to full-time development really boosted our progress.
The design of Afterblast is impressive, from textures to 3D assets. Any insights about your design process?
All our assets are created from scratch. Our main pipeline is: Blender -> ZBrush -> Substance Painter -> additional adjustments in Unreal Engine.
Sometimes we also use Photoshop, depending on the asset.