For Minneapolis-based developer AJ Norman, A Frogās Tale didnāt begin with a design document, or a slab of code, but a piece of music about his cat, Roy.
A DJ and electronic musician intent on breaking into the games industry, Norman started work on a portfolio of music for an imaginary game ā and being a fan of 16-bit era role-players like Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger, he started writing ābig, romantic melodiesā in the vein of a Super Nintendo game.
āWhen youāre writing songs you have to come up with, āWhat does this song sound like? It sounds like a desert level or somethingā,ā Norman says.
āSo having to come up with a context or use for these songs was like a world-building project. I had to come up with a bunch of ideas to fill in the gaps. You have stuff like character themes, recurring melodies. It was like the game was starting to come together without me even knowing it.ā
From those songs and story ideas, A Frogās Tale gradually coalesced: a top-down Zelda-like about an amphibian hero and his adventures in a cosy fantasy world. In many ways, the projectās the realisation of a childhood ambition; as a nine-year-old, Norman would spend hours tinkering with GameMaker and trying to make his own Zelda homage.
āItās like my whole life, Iāve been trying to make a game,ā he says. āBut Iām not a super-talented programmer ā I reach this ceiling where I canāt wrap my head around the programming I need to accomplish the ideas I have in my head.ā
Over the course of the past two years, A Frogās Tale has gradually evolved into a full-blown commercial project; with Norman in the role of creative director and composer, the game has artists in France working on the pastel-shaded pixel art, and Quebec-based studio Cathar Games working on the programming and implementation side of things.
If you want an idea of how A Frogās Tale will sound, you can check out some of Normanās music at wfmag.cc/frogtale.
Although still in its early stages ā Norman hopes to have a playable demo ready later this year ā A Frogās Tale is already shaping up to be something more than just another retro throwback.
Itās a deeply personal project for Norman, not just because of his youthful affection for top-down adventures, but because heās using it as a means of communicating the emotions he felt when his father tragically passed away in early 2019. āThe game may look like your typical RPG fare, where youāre trying to find the special item and save the world or whatever, but underneath that, thereās a lot of personal struggle,ā Norman says.
āThe characters look really cute, but theyāre going through some serious stuff. At the end of the day, I hope the stories can really connect with people that have gone through something similar.ā
A Frogās Tale, then, has formed part of Normanās natural grieving process, he tells us: a means of processing the sudden loss of a loved one, and turning that difficult experience into something universal.
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āMaybe the game can bring comfort to those who are having a hard time with loss, like I was,ā Norman says. āItās not an easy thing to go through. What happens in the game is what I hope happens in real life ā itās my optimistic look on death, and learning to accept it and find closure when it wasnāt something possible to get yourself. The main character struggles a lot with that in the game, but learns to accept it. I think it wraps up in a really nice way.ā
Weāre most intrigued by the character journeys Norman describes: āTheir flaws can mostly be traced back to their relationships with their parents,ā he tells us.
Far from a melancholy game, A Frogās Tale will explore its emotional themes with the lightness of touch you might expect from a homage to 16-bit JRPGs and adventures. As well as Zelda, the gameās role-playing elements will draw from the likes of Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, while the battles will take the form of rhythm-action minigames.
The game still has a long road ahead of it, as Norman hopes to use the playable demo heās working on to either attract a publisher or form the basis of a Kickstarter campaign. But the online response to A Frogās Tale has already been positive, and while Normanās never headed up a project of this scale before, heās clearly determined to see it through to completion.
āI want to make a name for myself in this industry, and make something special ā even if it is my first game,ā Norman says. āItās not impossible as long as you find the right people to help you with it. Thatās the important thing as well ā you canāt do everything yourself. You need help. You need friends.
āSo thatās what Iāve been focusing on ā finding the right friends to make this the best game it can be.ā
Genre: Zelda-like
Format: TBC
Developer: AJ Norman / Cathar Games
Publisher: TBC
Release: TBC
