Indie games have seen a boom in popularity over the years, and fans can look forward to a new cozy underwater survival game by the name of Loddlenaut. Players take on the role on a space custodian sent to the ocean planet of GUP-14 to clean trash and muck left behind by the player's corporate overlords. As players clean up GUP-14's oceans, they will come across cute sea creatures that were the original inhabitants of this alien planet. Called "loddles," players will be able to raise and and form connections with these creatures while also restoring the beauty of their environment.
Devs Ricardo Escobar and Jin-Young Sohn of Moon Lagoon first started developing Loddlenaut as a thesis project at NYU, and are in the midst of a successful Kickstarter campaign to help support the game. Speaking with Game ZXC, Escobar discussed Loddlenaut's connections to games like Sonic Adventures 2 and Subnautica, plus the inspirations for the creatures behind the game's name.
Loddlenaut Started as a New Version of the Chao Garden
A main focus in Loddlenaut will be its pet-sim gameplay elements. Escobar explains that Loddlenaut took inspiration from the Chao Garden in Sonic Adventure 2, to the point where it jumpstarted the game's development journey. Many who played Sonic Adventure 2 may remember going to Chao World to raise baby Chao, evolving their characteristics, making them race, and hatching new eggs.
"That was the original idea for the game, before we thought of anything else. 'We need to make a new version of the Chao Garden.' It was so fun back in the day, and many people have been waiting for Sega to make an official spin-off. We thought, 'Why don’t we make this ourselves?' Then, what if it was all underwater, and you’re raising these little fish-like creatures. Then, the clean-up came after that. The initial idea was that we have to make an underwater Chao Garden game."
Many of the elements of raising Chao can be seen in how Loddlenaut players can raise and evolve the loddles. However, the inspirations for the game don't stop with Sonic Adventure 2. As Loddlenaut is set underwater, Moon Lagoon looked to other recent underwater games for inspiration such as ABZU, which recently got a physical Switch version from Super Rare Games, and Subnautica. The vast ocean exploration from ABZU and the survivalist elements from Subnautica helped guide Loddlenaut's focus.
Loddlenaut's "Loddle" Pet Creatures Are Inspired by Axolotls
While Loddlenaut took inspiration from different games, its main creature is based on the real-life axolotl. The resemblances are immediately apparent, similar to various video game animals based on real-life counterparts. Originally, Escobar says they planned to have all different kinds of sea creatures that players could raise, but ended up focusing on axolotls.
"They’re just really cute and they look kind of alien already. The more we looked into axolotls and their biology, they already kind of evolve... We can do a lot with having axolotls adapt based on their surroundings, based on their diet, and growing in different ways."
Whether players will be able to pet these loddles may be unclear, but Moon Lagoon is committed to developing ways for players to form connections with them. Cleaning up GUP-14's oceans may be fulfilling on its own, but helping raise loddles will be a treat as well. Different diets can also give loddles a variety of appearances or traits, such as the ability to be resistant to pollution. Escobar explained that players will even be able to directly communicate with the adorable lottles in certain ways.
"Right now, the way it works is that they will repeat whatever little sequence you send to them. It’s just like a basic form of acknowledging: 'Hey, I understand that you’re trying to communicate with me.' We’re hoping that the more you communicate with them, the more they’ll get to trust you."
Even though Loddlenaut takes inspiration from all different games and real-life creatures, it should certainly stand on its own. Fans have already helped the Loddlenaut Kickstarter reach two stretch goals, adding seaweed farming and aquatic cooking to the game. As of this writing, Loddlenaut's next goal involves new evolutionary forms for its loddles, which makes sense considering its Chao Garden inspirations. Chao could also evolve into different forms, notably the Hero and Dark Chao, which opened up the Hero Garden and Dark Garden in Chao World, respectively.
Loddlenauts is in development for PC with an expected 2022 release.
Source: Kickstarter