A Project With Passion
Sometimes a game comes along that can grab your attention with a single frame of gameplay. Shadow of the Colossus, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Cuphead for example. These games capture our imagination before we’ve even touched a controller, and further enthrall us once we have. At this year’s E3, hidden amongst the other passion projects in the IndieCade section, was Earth Night.
This hand-drawn game was developed by Cleaversoft and will release this summer. It is a joy to behold, and a thrill to play. We had a chance to sit down with lead developer Rich Siegel, who took us on a tour through the game he started working on part-time in 2012.
“The whole Earth Night universe is designed by Paul Davey, it’s his world. The original inspiration was to make a video game out of Paul’s art. He makes some fantastic paintings, you can get to them from our website. He spent 7 years meticulously painting tens of thousands of assets and frames. I feel this responsibility that the game, when it’s done, lives up to that quality of art.”
-Rich Siegel, Lead Developer, Cleaversoft
A Beastly Beauty
Earth Night easily grabbed the attention of any passers-by; and for good reason. The stunning artwork of Paul Davey (known on the internet as Mattahan) is a sight to behold. With gorgeous character and background art, all painstakingly hand-drawn and hand-painted, frame by frame, the visual appeal of Earth Night is undeniable.
The uncompromising aesthetic quality extends to the audio as well. Paul Weinstein, aka Chipocrite, has crafted a fascinating soundtrack which combines real instruments with synthesizers, as well as sounds produced using an original Game Boy. Any fan of classic video game soundtracks will be delighted, and won’t have to wait long to give it a listen.
“Chipocrite wrote an original soundtrack that is unbelievable, with a gameboy and a full band, recorded in an amazing recording studio. It’s coming out with the release date trailer in a few weeks.”
-Rich Siegel, Lead Developer, Cleaversoft
Accessible Spelunking
Fans of runner games like Spelunky, or those who enjoy the concept but find the difficulty level to be a bit much, will feel right at home. Earth Night plays like a love letter to Spelunky, albeit with more accessibility. Runner games are fast-paced, and Earth Night is no exception. However, the core components of the game are easy to pick-up-and-play.
“I had started making this game as a more basic runner with fully designed levels, and then I became obsessed with Spelunky. Then it became, no longer am I trying to just make the most beautiful, coolest runner game ever; I’m trying to make a more accessible Spelunky. Someone who had trouble with Spelunky could play this game. On assist mode I think they could beat it.”
-Rich Siegel, Lead Developer, Cleaversoft
More experienced players will find plenty of challenges and rewards as well. The game has a number of endings, and lots of secret content to discover.
“The regular ending actually, when you just beat the Earth Night dragon, is a ‘The End?’ It’s not what we consider a true ending. For someone who’s real hardcore and wants to go for the platinum, there are tons of cool trophies. For those players it could take anywhere from 50 to 100 hours.”
-Rich Siegel, Lead Developer, Cleaversoft
A Tale Of Two Characters
The two playable characters, Stanley (an older, pale-faced bald man) and Sydney (a young Jamaican girl who can call upon a dragon spirit), have different abilities that cater to simpler, or more complex play-styles. Stanley’s abilities are more basic, and more automatic. He simply has a jump, and a long jump. Beginners, or those looking for a more relaxed play-through, will want to choose him. Sydney, on the other hand, has several additional abilities which can combine with power-ups to create some seriously frenetic runs.
“We’re proud to say the little Jamaican girl is the star of the show. Sydney is a bit crazier. After jumping you can either downward dash with square, double jump with x, or forward dash with circle. With her there’s more agency. As a beginner she can get you in more trouble. To an expert, the coolest runs will be Sydney runs. But an expert will enjoy playing Stanley as well.”
-Rich Siegel, Lead Developer, Cleaversoft
An Indie Epic
After spending some time with Earth Night, I can safely say that it’s a very enjoyable fast-paced runner. The replay value seems highly promising, as each play-through promises a unique experience with plenty of divergent paths to take. Combine this with the jaw-dropping visuals and sonically delightful soundtrack, and Earth Night is shaping up to be one of the most epic releases of 2019.
“I would say it’s an epic 2D platformer. Indie games like Celeste, Fez, Hollow Night…they’re epic. My hope is that Earth Night will be considered to be in that category.”
-Rich Siegel, Lead Developer, Cleaversoft
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