I often say that game design is like cooking, because creating a gameplay experience feels a lot like selecting ingredients, mixing them together until it feels good. But we can make the analogy with cooking even larger: making a game is very similar to creating a complete meal! Gameplay is the main dish, for sure, but you also have to think about the starter and dessert. And as much as starters go, what’s better than a good old opening movie?

Opening movies really set the mood before you start the game. The first time you launch the game, you get a peak at the tone, the values, the characters. You project yourself on the journey. It’s a teaser. Then, you discover the game, and you spend hours on it. Each time you launch the game, the opening movie is there. As soon as you hear the first note, you are swapping worlds. Like the smell of a dish, you anticipate it, it makes you salivate. The opening is not a teaser anymore, it’s a welcome.

Japanese games have a tradition of opening movie playing from the title screen. Each time I launch a game like this, I let the opening play once before loading my save. It’s like watching the opening of a TV show or an anime. It’s part of the experience.

In Phantasy Star 2‘s opening, I like how the title screen says that it’s bigger than a kingdom, it’s a multi-star fantasy. There’s mythology and tech. Even the music covers two different tones, starting from gloomy and mysterious to something more cheerful and positive.

Persona games openings are always pieces of art. They present everything with style: characters, world, story. I can’t hear the first notes of Persona 4‘s opening without feeling a chill down my spine. Dragon Quest XI opening movie is much more classic, but no less strong. It’s the image of the game, a pretty classic yet epic adventure of a group of friends.

Years later, when I watch the openings from old games, they take me back. In a couple of minutes, they revive the memory of the whole adventure. Hopefully, we can create that long lasting connection for Haven, with a memorable opening that captures the game magic.

Please enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bIhi9FP97Ys

The opening movie was directed and created by Yukio Takatsu – an expert of anime openings, with the support of Yapiko Animation. Takatsu-san did an incredible job bringing our concepts, world and characters to life. The editing really makes Danger‘s original music created for the game shine, and vice versa. We hope it will make you want to dance and twirl like Yu and Kay.

The art style is different from the art in the game of course, but it’s in essence exactly what we are trying to express with the game: a couple of characters who love each other, and with whom we hope you are going to fall in love in turn. An established relationship, that’s still evolving, in movement, gliding and twirling at a fast pace, tied by flow and rust, across different planets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ragUUT9bsFQ

We are hard at work for finishing Haven and bringing it to PC and consoles this year. We hope that you liked the starter and still have a bit of appetite for the main dish!

Emeric and The Game Bakers

We’re happy to finally disclose more about our upcoming RPG Haven with a full gameplay trailer!

Share the journey of two lovers, escaped to a lost planet in a desperate attempt to stay together. Glide over the grasslands of a shattered planet, unraveling its mysteries to find a way to settle for good.

And if you are curious on why we created Haven after Furi? Emeric Thoa, co-founder and Haven creative director explains a bit of the decisions and intentions behind the game. Read his blog post here: https://www.thegamebakers.com/hand-in-hand-in-haven/

Also, we’re happy to announce Haven is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (full list of platforms and stores not final) and that we will have a DEMO at Gamescom (media only) and PAX West so get in touch if you’re a journalist or content creator and you’d like to test the game.

• Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/983970/Haven/
• Web page: http://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/thegamebakers

— Full press release below

Haven gameplay reveal

The Game Bakers unveil more details on their upcoming RPG Haven with a full gameplay trailer and a demo at Gamescom and PAX West.

Montpellier July 9th 2019,

In Haven, you share the journey of two lovers escaped to a lost planet in a desperate attempt to stay together. You play as Yu and Kay, gliding over the grasslands of a shattered planet, unravelling its mysteries looking for a way to settle down.

“Haven is a very accessible RPG, a relaxing game. It’s purposefully a very different experience from Furi.” writes Emeric Thoa, the game creative director. “But as with Furi, we tried to make a game that you have never experienced before. The story of a couple fighting for their freedom, an established relationship: what love looks like when you’ve moved past the early seduction phase, when you can be your true self with one another… I don’t think that’s been done much in video games.”

Haven is a story-rich adventure, with touching characters with whom you fall in love as you follow them through their challenges and everyday life. But it’s also a (J)RPG with an innovative combat system that lets you play the two characters at the same time, and chain actions using tactics and timing. “It’s a game with many inspirations, but to sum it up, I like to say Haven is kind of the lovechild of Journey meets Persona” details Emeric Thoa in his blog post about the game experience and influences.

The colorful and dreamy art direction of the light science fiction world of Haven is coming to life thanks to an original electro soundtrack by Danger, with a range of tracks that will carry players from the energy of a sunny morning to the tension of a fight in the mountains at night.

Haven is a solo game at its core, but at any time, a second player can jump in locally. Players can then share a moment of exploration and progression together.

The game will be available for PC, PS4 and Switch, and the complete platforms plan is not final. A demo will be playable at Gamescom (media only) and PAX West, contact us to book an appointment.

Key info and sites:

• Platforms announced so far: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch.
• Release date: 2020

• Blog post: https://www.thegamebakers.com/hand-in-hand-in-haven/
• Game Page: https://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/
• Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/983970/Haven

• Press kit: www.thegamebakers.com/press/sheet.php?p=haven

• Music: Danger 2emedanger.com

So we made Furi. A frenzied boss rush game about freedom. A game designed to be memorable because it was demanding. What would be next? Another hardcore action game? Furi 2?

It has never been on the table. We made Furi, next we had to make something different. Something that would explore another range of emotions. What do you need after Furi? You need a break. Can we make a game that feels like a break? A game that feels like a breath of fresh air. A pause in our fast paced lives. 

Like Furi, Haven is about fighting for freedom. 

Haven is about two characters, Yu and Kay, a couple in love. They escaped to a deserted planet to stay together. You play both of them, you live with them, you explore fragmented planet Source with them, gliding over the tall grass. 

It’s a completely different pace. It’s a game that aims at making you feel relaxed, making you laugh, making you fall in love with Yu and Kay. It feels good for all types of players, skilled and less skilled. It’s a solo game that’s welcoming for another player to tag along, so you can explore and progress together. 

Exploration is designed to create thrill, serenity and satisfaction. Gliding feels like going down a beautiful ski track, leaving a trail, cleaning the rust that covers Source’s landscape.

In combat, you control both characters at the same time. It’s not turn-based, but not completely real time either. You load orders for each character by holding buttons, and they launch their action when you release. It requires tactic and synchronization to either chain attacks or combine them. There’s no real stress to execute the orders with speed, but there is a sensual rhythm to the combat. 

The story is told through the daily life of Yu and Kay. You cook, eat, sleep with them during their journey. Dialog choices impact what you learn about the story, but may also have long term consequences…


Of course, life for Yu and Kay is not always a vacation. Survival is not even their bigger problem. The original soundtrack created by Danger covers this wide range of emotions: the pleasure of waking up on a sunny day surrounded by a beautiful landscape, the dreamlike feeling of being alone in the universe or the tension of being hunted down. 

Now that I have talked about our intentions with Haven, you can make up your mind by checking Haven’s first gameplay trailer. Enjoy!

Haven is a very original game, there’s not really a game like it. But I like to pitch it as the baby of two of its main inspirations: Journey meets Persona. Here is a picture that’ll tell you more about the various inspirations. 

Click to enlarge

We know Furi fans might be surprised by Haven. But we feel it’s our mission to surprise players. To make no compromise and create original games, with that same intention of creating lasting memories.

Thank you for supporting us!

Emeric and The Game Bakers

Venez participer aux playtests de notre prochain jeu Haven.
Les tests ont lieu à Montpellier, tout l’été à partir du mois de juin. Tous profils de joueuses et joueurs sont les bienvenus !
Plus d’infos dans le formulaire d’inscription.

Haven: http://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/
Formulaire d’inscription : https://forms.gle/PwLr8tmib1F7qEo26

[Poste pourvu]

Nous recherchons un ou une artiste expérimenté.e en level art / technical art pour participer à la production de notre jeu Haven pour consoles et PC.

Mr Boss is still there, bossing around! If you didn’t beat him already by chaining combos, now seems to be the right time.

As you may know, supporting a game is a lot of work. As developers, we make a game, test it, polish it, release it… and sometimes update it after launch. When it is stable, we think we can breathe, take some days off, and maybe, make another game. But reality isn’t as simple. A game that worked great at one point in time will eventually stop working. Not because we left a bug. Because new devices require an update, because there’s a new version of the OS, because the rules of the stores change… It’s not the game itself that’s buggy and stops working, it’s the environment that changes and breaks it. For us, the developer, it means days or weeks of extra work to keep the game working. This is what we call « support » and it’s also a significant amount of money to spend on a game. That’s why unless the game keeps making enough revenue, we can’t support it forever.

For instance, Combo Crew was removed from the Play Store. The same version that was approved a couple of years ago was removed, because the requirements changed, and it required too much work to update it. It’s still available on iOS, but at one point, it might not work on Apple devices as well.
We are working hard to close our next Consoles and PC game, Haven, and we can’t spend too much time and money to work on our beloved 2013 mobile game… But because we love Combo Crew and want people to keep playing it, we decided to make it free!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuW2fmz4S3Y

So, as for today, Combo Crew is available for free on the Apple App Store, and we’ll just host the Android .apk file on our server.

– Download Combo Crew on the Apple App Store
– Download the Combo Crew apk for Android devices
To install the apk on your device, you may need to allow the installation of unknown sources.

Disclaimer
– As our agreement with Capcom ended, the Capcom characters (Viewtiful Joe + Street Fighter) are not playable in this version.
– In App Purchases will not work (note: they were never needed to play and finish the game, so no worries on this side. They were just shortcuts.)

Have fun with the game!
The Game Bakers

Haven – Yu & Kay design

Haven is about two lovers escaping to a forgotten planet. Character Artist Koyorin joined our team to design the characters and their complete range of expressions. Their art is a perfect fit for Haven because they manage to communicate a lot of nuances in the characters expressions, even in a simple portrait.

Research for Yu and Kay’s everyday life on Haven – by Koyorin

Koyorin – Mini Interview

Hi, I’m Koyorin. I’m a freelance character designer and illustrator, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with The Game Bakers as their character artist for Haven.

– What makes a good character design?
From a purely subjective standpoint, the most effective character designs to me are the ones that are not over-designed and mostly avoid functionless parts or patterns. While I’m not a purely function over form person myself, I do think there’s a threshold for that haha. A design being both simple and effective helps it to be more memorable, in my opinion.

– Can you tell us a little bit more about the design of Yu and Kay?
It was intended to carry the look of “researchers”, hence the primarily white outfits which were mean to be reminiscent of a lab coat, or people who work in a research environment. And yet, they also needed to have the look of “otherworldly” and “adventurous”, which were aspects I took into consideration when creating their overall designs. A few early drafts of them were even more otherworldly and even somewhat alien-like, but we reeled it back to keep them in more relatable territory.