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Binding (update 2)

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We thought writing regular updates about how the project is going might be a pretty good idea. We have been focused on figuring out some of the more creative parts of the project lately. Lighstromo's focus is bringing narrative experience to the audience. It means we look up to companies like Quantic Dream and TellTale games who have been consistently producing arguably the best narrative heavy games. We want to be like them one day, and it means we have to make really cool cutscene that can speak volumes without necessarily openly saying much. Making cutscenes in Unreal 5 is technically not that difficult, but it still requires quite a bit of learning. For now, we have been using Mixamo animations quite heavily in our project for character movement, but we also wanted to have the ability to animate Billy's face. One of the faster ways to do so requires using LiveLink system (it's basically a motion capture app for your face!) which works with iPhones (I believe any iPhone ...
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New game in development: Binding (update 1)

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Lighstromo as a company has always been focused on smaller client-centered projects. This means we have been working mostly on mobile games, with an exception of a project we did with Eyemobi and SeeCom, which was a small PC game using the hand-tracking technology to teach sign language. After releasing our first IP on Google Play Store Birds of New Zealand , which was subsequently adopted by ZEALANDIA in Wellington to become Birds of Zealandia , we have decided to finally switch it up a little bit, and start on the journey of PC/console game development. Enter The Binding , a post apocalyptic survival game about a young boy named Billy, and his dog Tessa.  The world of The Binding, which is developed in Unreal Engine 5 , is a lonely place filled with unspeakable horrors. Between mutated monsters and unfriendly militarist groups, Billy is trying to piece the fragments of his past life back together. When Billy hears a familiar voice on the radio he picked up from the streets, ...
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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The Drawing App Post Mortem

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  Finally, the moment has come! What initially started as a simple project aimed to replicate a popular drawing app (being a part of some workspace research), ended up being one of the most challenging projects we've ever had to deal with. We decided to do a short write-up on the things that went wrong/right, as it might be useful to someone. Why: As mentioned earlier, this project was never meant to be more than a research project. It was originally inspired by another game we worked on, called Nonoi The Kākāpō . There was a small drawing game within it, which we always found the most fun to play and work on. The painting algorithm in it is done via a simple sprite colour change, which means one can't do any finger painting, so for our own drawing app we wanted to have functionality, meaning that we could not use sprites any longer. Since Lighstromo is located in New Zealand, where the fauna is all avian (all birds!), it made sense to us to focus on birds. There is such a goo...
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