Run-and-gun shooters have been one of the prominent genres in gaming, evolving considerably over time. While modern shooters such as Returnal and Doom Eternal have garnered critical and commercial acclaim, many still look fondly back to the older days of Contra and Metal Slug.
Many indie developers have sought to recreate such experiences for fans, with varying degrees of success. One such developer is Blastmode, which has been toiling away at Mighty Goose for some time now. A 2D run-and-gun shooter where players take on the role of a bounty hunter goose, Mighty Goose seems to be checking all the boxes when it comes to creating a nostalgic arcade-y experience. Game Rant sat down with Mighty Goose's solo developer Richard Lems to talk about the game. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
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Q: How long have you been working on the game?
A: I had been working on the game at solo capacity for about half a year. After which the ambitions changed quite a bit due to running into MP2 Games, which offered to port the game to consoles. The project became more serious and we hired a freelance composer, got an external QA team, and signed up with the publisher Playism. It took another 1.5 years to develop the game to completion. So total development took about two years.
Q: How did you have the idea for using a goose as a mascot?
A: I sketch a lot of silly characters in those small Moleskine-style books. One of those characters was Mighty Goose, a goose wearing power armor. At the time I thought my character was super cool and original, "a goose main character wow!" Of course, I didn't know Untitled Goose Game was in development. When UGG came out I was kind of facing a dilemma, should I change my character to a duck or something? In the end, I'm glad we kept the goose, I think there's room for another goose in gaming. Maybe it's just the start of a movement.
Q: Did your previous work on games such as Kunai have any tangible impact on Mighty Goose, except that both games featuring similarly goofy mascots?
A: In the broad sense it definitely helps to experience the full development process of a game. Even though the development process behind Kunai was totally different, it helps to know what is coming, when certain key assets need to be done, etc. For example, I was able to make a ton of cinematics and art for use in trailers and such because I reserved time for it.
Content-wise there was not much impact, because both games have totally different inspirations and design goals. Mighty Goose actually overlapped Kunai's development for a good year. One shared feature you'll see, though, is that shooting downward changes your vertical momentum, but to be fair this is totally inspired by Cave Story. I just love that mechanic!
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Q: It's common to see solo developers having low-productivity stretches. Did you have any such experiences, and how did you motivate yourself to keep going?
A: There was only one productivity dip in Mighty Goose and that was during the final period of bug-testing and -fixing. Although it wasn't really an unproductive period, it was ultimately boring. It seemed to take forever. There's also nothing creative happening, so it just feels like you're stuck with the same project after all that time. But I feel a good music playlist does wonders, at least it does for me. I'm certainly glad that period is done now though.
Q: What’s the main gameplay hook of Mighty Goose, and how did you nail it down?
A: The core of Mighty Goose is a pretty simple arcade game, inspired by the timeless classic: Metal Slug. The chaos and polish of those classics is unmatched, and Mighty Goose kind of is a tribute to those games. Of course, it’s not a clone, the game is totally different. The gameplay in Mighty Goose is a bit faster than the typical run-and-gun game. Using a combination of roll-jumps, hover shots, and honks, Mighty Goose can practically fly through enemy encounters. In that regard, it kind of feels like Dead Cells meets Metal Slug. This level of mastery takes some practice, but I think one of the big hooks of the game is getting in that flow and seeing the carnage unfold.
Q: How did you go about balancing retro and modern game design elements in Mighty Goose?
A: While it is an arcade game, the game has been broken up into separate levels selectable on a map screen. It tailors a bit more toward a pick-up-and-play design rather than playing all the levels back to back. It's also more forgiving than a retro arcade game would be, with subtle systems like delaying enemy actions when the player is not doing great, dropping more powerups, etc. It's still very much skill-based though, perfect actions get rewarded but the game doesn't demand total mastery.
In the end, everyone playing the game should have a good time, so the game tries to help make that happen. The game comes with various unlockable playthings to mess around with, including secondary weapons, passive/active abilities, and even A.I. companions. These can be selected in the game's armory, where you can basically customize your loadout. It's not something you'd typically find in an arcade shooter, but it's just a modern thing to help the game stay interesting.
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Q: How many levels will be in Mighty Goose, and which one is your favorite?
A: The game has nine levels and my favorite one is the second act of level 2. This mission has Mighty Goose jumping from vehicle to vehicle in a Mad Max-style vehicle convoy. It also includes a segment with the Goose Bike which ups the adrenaline even more. The soundtrack here is a banger, the dynamic environment and the pure chaos in this level make it my favorite.
Q: On the same note, how long does a Mighty Goose playthrough last?
A: Mighty Goose is a short and sweet experience. A normal playthrough typically lasts about three hours. That's skipping all of the secrets and unlockables. For completionists, there's enough to do and also an New Game+ mode to beat.
Q: How has the porting process for consoles been?
A: Working together with MP2 Games for the console ports has been a joy. We've had the game running on the Nintendo Switch from a very early point in development. This was great because out of all of the platforms it's basically the weakest one, so if it runs smoothly on Switch, it's smooth everywhere. MP2 Games worked alongside Blastmode as development happened, so if something was inconsistent it was always quickly addressed.
Q: Mighty Goose will be releasing on PS5 as well, so did you leverage its DualSense features?
A: Nope. Would have loved to try it, but Blastmode doesn't have a PS5 devkit, unfortunately.
Q: What are your thoughts about the indie scene on Xbox Game Pass?
A: Currently it's more of a high-profile indie scene, but there's not much wrong with that though. We've only recently started talking to Microsoft through Playism, so I would say the process behind it all could be a bit more indie-friendly.
Q: Apart from Mighty Goose, what’s your most anticipated game this year?
A: Two totally different type of games: TMNT: Shredder's Revenge! and Total War: Warhammer 3. Because I'm a nerd.
Q: Do you have any hints about your future projects?
A: I'm currently prototyping several ideas, also working on a very unique visual style that I haven't seen anywhere before. Can't really share much other than that!
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Mighty Goose is slated to release on June 6, 2021, on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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