[Exclusive] ICEY developer is back with a very different-looking project called Limbo Disco
Back in 2017, an action-packed 2D sidescroller named ICEY launched on mobile devices and quickly gained tons of buzz as one of the best indie games of the year. It even ended up making its way to the PC and multiple consoles, where it garnered similar positive buzz.
Now the developer of ICEY is back with a very different-looking but similarly exciting project called Limbo Disco. We spoke with the game’s producer, Mark, to learn what gamers should expect out of this colorful new experience.
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TapTap: Your previous game was ICEY, which was very well-loved. Limbo Disco seems like a very different game from ICEY, though. What inspired the change in direction?
Developer: The main reason is to challenge me to try making games of different types, because single-player paid games and free service games are completely different for a game designer. I want to challenge myself. When making single-player paid games, I usually get very little feedback, and it feels like I am challenging the whole world alone. It relies heavily on personal intuition during the game production process. This feeling is very wonderful, both lonely and confident. The game will only start testing with players when it is close to completion. Although it is risky, it is very exciting.
But with Limbo Disco, I want to try another approach, which is to start engaging with players in the early stages of game design. This is completely different from my previous approach to making games (although I have only made one game before). The challenge, in my opinion, is that the feedback from players will be more diverse and scattered. However, our production cycle and capacity will certainly not allow us to implement every suggestion from players. So the focus is on how we choose the player’s feedback and balance our abilities. This is also the main challenge I want to try in this production process.
Another reason is that recently I really liked Brotato and Vampire Survivors, but both of these games lack some elements that I want, so I am preparing to make one game that includes those elements.
TapTap: Are there elements of Limbo Disco that fans of ICEY will recognize or appreciate?
Developer: There may be some similarities, but not many, as ICEY and Limbo Disco differ too much in terms of the art design, gameplay, and production methods. I’m aiming to use this game to help improve my development capabilities more comprehensively, so I have not considered incorporating many elements from ICEY into this game. However, there will definitely be some surprises in it.
TapTap: You’ve said that Limbo Disco is inspired by Vampire Survivors. What have you taken inspiration from in that game, and what elements set Limbo Disco apart?
Developer: Comparatively, Brotato has had more influence on me than Vampire Survivors. I felt that Vampire Survivors took too long to construct the complete gameplay, and I prefer fast-paced games, such as making skills more directional rather than targeting enemies through movement. Another reason is that I prefer intense combat, so I want to shrink the map and increase enemy movement speed to make the game experience more exciting, dodging faster-moving enemies that are more threatening than those in Vampire Survivors.
In terms of constructing the complete gameplay, I hope to be able to actively decide what skills to choose, rather than being decided by the map or other factors. Therefore, I have set three kinds of skills for each role, namely attack skills, passive skills, and super skills, which are passive skills that influence all roles. This way, I can combine what I feel is the most suitable skill pool for the stage’s challenge, and the more roles the player obtains, the more different skill combinations they will have.
TapTap: Vampire Survivors is a notoriously addictive game. How many hours of Vampire Survivors have you played? And do you expect that Limbo Disco will pull players in for similarly long stretches?
Developer: I have played Vampire Survivors for over 70 hours and Brotato for over 40 hours on PC and mobile. I never wanted to surpass these two products. I just had some different desires while playing these games, and it was clear that the subsequent updates of these two games did not include my desires. Therefore, I wanted to make a version that I like more.
TapTap: I love the visuals and character design of Limbo Disco. What gave you the idea to use such a cute, cartoony style even though the game is set in Hell?
Developer: In the past two years, I have been especially fond of some games and animations, such as Helltaker and Hazbin Hotel, and they have been the primary source of my ideas. I also particularly enjoy hunky characters like Doom’s Doom Slayer and Halo’s Master Chief, so I thought I could incorporate some of their features into the game. For example, our main character is a helmeted muscle man who shoots love hearts, and I love this character so much that I lost more than 50 pounds to prepare to cosplay him, and I even learned how to ride motorcycle, LOL.
TapTap: How long have you been working on Limbo Disco?
Developer: It took about four months, but the early stage was mostly exploring art and adjusting the development mode of the game. As I mentioned earlier, there are enormous differences between single-player paid games and free-service games. Therefore, both I and my team needed to adapt to it. In the first two months, we were basically adjusting the development mode.
For example, we play our own content every seven days within the team, but our team is relatively small, so we want to involve more players this March to get more feedback and ideas from players, and help us improve the development.
TapTap: How long do you expect to continue working on Limbo Disco between the release of this test version and the full, final release?
Developer: I set a deadline for June, which is why we hope to get feedback from players on Taptap, in order to reduce our rework rate. Sometimes our development is not smooth because our perspective as developers is different from that of players, which results in rework and modifications.
We plan to collect feedback from players on the current game version while we continue to develop, in order to increase development efficiency and reduce rework rates.
TapTap: You’re asking for feedback from gamers on TapTap after they play the test version. Is there anything you’d like those testers to know before they jump in?
Developer: Since we have not been developing for a long time, there are definitely many shortcomings in the game, so we hope everyone can give us as much feedback as possible. Sometimes we cannot provide immediate feedback or modify things in the game immediately, but this does not mean that we have not heard the player’s feedback. More importantly, we must consider many factors and set priorities for development and optimization, which is quite difficult for the current team. So we hope players don’t give up on giving feedback just because we don’t always respond to it. This will make our subsequent development difficult.
What we need is the players’ perspectives on the game to supplement the developer’s perspective. So please give us more feedback. Thank you for your help!
TapTap: Finally, part of the concept of Limbo Disco is the idea of DJing a disco party in Hell. What’s one song that you think would be a popular DJ pick to play at the Hell disco?
Developer: It’s hard to say. Our music mainly leans towards electronic music, but this only reflects my own preferences. I cannot guarantee that the music in the game will always be popular, so it would be great if players can also appreciate it.
A small-scale test for Limbo Disco is scheduled to begin on March 10. Note that the game is still in its early stage of development. To ensure a smooth testing experience, a limited number of 100 players located in North America will be able to join the test. Future testing opportunities should be available to players in other regions.
⬇️ Get in touch with the Limbo Disco team ⬇️
Join the Limbo Disco Discord Server!
https://discord.com/invite/t7Rp8bRZEu
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