2017 TGDF Notes: Lanota Development Experience

Speaker | Noxy Games | Chun-Chuan Tu

Chun-Chuan Tu is the founder and programmer of the independent team Noxy Games. With about 15 years of rhythm game experience, he formed Noxy Games with other rhythm game players in early 2015. Their first title, Lanota, launched in July 2016 and won audio awards from Southeast Asia IMGA and the Taipei Game Show Indie Game Award.

─ Excerpted from TGDF official

These are personal notes and may not fully represent the original speaker’s intent.

Other articles in this series

• 2017 TGDF Notes: Creating 3D Japanese Animation Quality in a Small Indie Studio
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Game AI and Level Difficulty
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Finding a Path in a Crowded Market
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Making the Future Present Through Rez Infinite
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Lanota Development Experience
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Postmortem on What Went Right and Wrong
• 2017 TGDF Notes: The Art Direction of Detention
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Visual Design Notes from Qubot
• 2017 TGDF Notes: Survival Rules for Game Software Engineers

Game case: Lanota

Team composition

• Planning: 1 part-time member
• Music: 1 part-time member
• PM: 1 part-time member
• Programming: 2 members, one part-time and one full-time

Development time: 15 months

• 2015/04 Prototype

• 2016/07 Released

• Continuing content updates after launch

Origin of the game

Saving the world through music is a strong enough hook. Simple, but it works.

Development sequence

Core gameplay -> worldbuilding -> story, art, and music.

Related designs

The UI concept comes from the books carried by the young girl, strengthening the connection between interface and story.

The tuning device disk maps to the touch circle in gameplay.

The game originally had three difficulty levels. After launch, players reported that the game was too difficult, so the team adjusted the design into four difficulty levels.

Lanota chart production process

• MIDI -> beat file -> Unity Editor
• WAV -> Unity Editor
• MIDI rhythm point reference
  • Beat accuracy
  • Separate instruments
• Standalone editor
  • Visual editing for designers
  • Embedded actual gameplay screen
  • Reuse code
  • Improve production capacity and quality

Attribution

Please credit ARKAI Studio and link back to this article when quoting or reposting.