How Parisian commuters inspired the altruistic platforming of KarmaZoo
French studio Pastagames wants to share the love with KarmaZoo, an altruistic platformer that's hoping to show how small acts of kindness are the way forward–both in life and across the title's platter of pixelated of levels.
Those hoping to make headway in the co-op slalom will need to leave their ego at the door. Here, patience and collaboration are the best weapons in your arsenal, with players needing to work together to deftly harness the unique abilities of 50 different avatars to overcome the trials and tribulations ahead.
Despite KarmaZoo looking decidedly zany (what else would you expect from a game published by Devolver Digital), the project was actually inspired by the people of Paris. Specifically, those who ride the Metro each day. During a recent chat with Game Developer, KarmaZoo creative director Nadim Haddad said he noticed how commuters would hold opens doors for each other in a wordless gesture of goodwill, helping strangers reach their destination that little bit quickly.
Haddad wondered if he could replicate that experience in a video game–despite the fact that conflict, in all of its guises, has become the medium's bread and butter.
"There are two mechanics that push players to play together and collaborate," he tells us. "The first one is the Karma system. The pitch behind that is 'help to score.' You have 50 different avatars, and each one has a different way to help. For example, if you hold a door for someone, you get a point. If you make a bridge for someone else, you get a point. Every new way you help someone rewards players with points. This naturally gets people to collaborate."
The other is the "Halo" system, which Haddad explains is based on the idea of "it's not worth doing if you can't share
Read more on gamedeveloper.com
