After an era of battle and conflict between humans and dragons, peace finally settles over the land of Archend. But when the principal protector mysteriously vanishes, the kingdom's sealed dragons begin to awaken, and the burdens of the hero fall upon his son, Kris.
Watch the Dragonyhm Trailer:
Dragonyhm is an immersive RPG that combines real-time elements with turn-based battles. It is entrenched in a fantasy-filled world where you explore, solve, and battle your way through this heroic adventure, meeting memorable characters while uncovering the rich history of the land of Archend.
Watch the Developer Spotlight Video:
Of course, we had to skip over a few doors down to the office of Mr. Chris Beach, our Head of Publishing Relations at ModRetro, and give Lead Artist and Composer Cowboy Bumbiss a ring to ask them about Dragonhymn. What goes into creating a vast world, all within a cartridge that fits in your hand?
ModRetro Blog: Well, I think you two know how this works! Thanks for meeting with us today. Introduce yourself and the game to the people!
Chris: Hey there! I’m Chris Beach, the owner of Spacebot Interactive. I’m also the Project Director and developer of Dragonyhm.
Bumbiss: And I’m Cowboy Bumbiss, the creative director and co-developer of the project.
Our game is Dragonyhm, an Adventure RPG set in a high-fantasy world. The Kingdom of Archend had entered a quasi-peaceful era in the wake of a lengthy war against the dragons of the land. The player enters the world as the son of an esteemed war hero who’s gone missing. Setting off to find the hero, the player will uncover some of Archend's history for themself, as well as hidden evils that threaten the kingdom once more.
Nice! What would you say is the core gameplay loop of your game? What’s the objective?
Chris: At the core of Dragonyhm are three things: exploration, solving, and battling. There’s classic turn-based RPG combat, but with a real-time element where you’ll also have to navigate enemies and hazards as you explore. The overworld and dungeons feature enemies that give chase, and many encounters can be avoided with some clever maneuvering.
Bumbiss: While the narrative is essentially linear, you’ll find yourself in these moments where you’ve just finished some quest or objective and have no direction for what’s next other than from the people you choose to talk to or your adventurous spirit. The hero is missing after all, and to find him, you have to go looking. You may find yourself exploring some regions or dungeons in a different order than your friend, or you may find out from that friend that there’s a dungeon you missed altogether on your first playthrough. You may need to revisit places you’ve previously been to after expanding your capabilities to experience everything.
Chris: As for the dungeons, there are three tiers: Challenge Dens, Main Dungeons, and Sealed Dungeons. Challenge Dens are largely avoidable and are sort of one-off puzzles or formidable enemies confined to a single room and offering a prize. Main Dungeons are multiple rooms, vary in length, and have challenges housed within; they are more thematic and lend themselves to the narrative. Sealed Dungeons are a subset of Main Dungeons that feature the strongest dragons that remain from the war, and which are generally longer and more complex.
Why did you create this specific game? What were the inspirations behind it?
Chris: Dragonyhm actually started off as a much smaller project, just a colorization of an old release. But when I saw Bumbiss’ work on the GB Studio server, I knew we could create something bigger and better. We kept moving the project to newer versions of GB Studio as the engine evolved, which allowed us to really expand the game and make it something special. In terms of inspiration, my love for classic RPGs like Grandia, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Pokemon definitely influenced the game. The Zelda Game Boy games also played a big role, blending exploration and combat in a way that felt right for Dragonyhm.
Bumbiss: For me, in the beginning, I saw it as an opportunity to apply my skills, and that it would be cool to have my name in a game’s credits. As time went on, I became more invested in it, and the goal morphed into wanting to forge something that would hopefully stack up well against some Game Boy adventures I had as a kid, as well as some classics I hadn’t experienced until more recently. Aesthetically, I consider Game Boy Zelda titles to be an inspiration. Musically speaking, Zelda, Seiken Densetsu/Final Fantasy Adventure, and Pokemon are probably the most consistent inspirations, but there are also some unusual inspirations from outside the realm of 2D 8-bit handhelds, such as Halo. I would also attribute inspiration for all artistic facets to various anime I’ve watched over the years. A little bit of J-rock.
What do you do before all this? How did you get into game development?
Chris: Outside of Dragonyhm, I run the game development side of the business at ModRetro. Before this, I spent seven years running a commercial property brokerage, but when the pandemic hit, I found myself with more free time and decided to dive into my passion for the Game Boy. I’d always wanted to create software for the platform, so I started learning GB Studio. After publishing my first game, I founded Spacebot Interactive, and from there, my journey into full-time game development took off. Now, I’m lucky enough to help push Game Boy development forward through ModRetro, supporting other talented developers on the Chromatic.
Bumbiss: Since about 2016, I’ve been casually making chiptune music with Famitracker and occasionally posting originals and covers on YouTube. I’d dabbled in pixel art before, but had only seriously begun to get into it in the early months of pandemic lockdowns in 2020. I had a desire to make art, and found 8-bit music and graphics to be less intimidating because of the inherent limitations. I became aware of GBStudio, but didn’t think much of it at first, as it seemed very limited in its capabilities. Some months later, I’d caught wind of some robust new features, and began to seriously entertain the notion of making a Game Boy game. In the early stages of a personal project I’d share pixel art in the GBStudio Discord server. It did not take long for Chris to notice.
What game engine did you use, and how did you approach development using it?
Chris: We used GB Studio, which is a fantastic tool for Game Boy game development. It’s been evolving over the years, and we were able to take full advantage of its features as they improved. I started out using GB Studio for a smaller project, but once I saw the new capabilities of the engine, I knew Dragonyhm could be so much more than we originally planned. We kept refining and expanding the game with each update to the engine, allowing us to create a much deeper and more engaging experience.
Bumbiss took charge of the pixel art and music side, making sure the aesthetics aligned with the retro vibe we were going for. The Game Boy's limitations were actually a big advantage, helping us focus on the essentials and create a game that feels true to the platform while still pushing it to its limits.
Ah, it's lovely to catch up as always. We appreciate your time – Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks so much for taking the time to hear about Dragonyhm. We’re incredibly excited to share this game with the world and we are forever grateful for your support. Thank you.
