Games
Bug Fables is a Paper Mario-like RPG launching for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC later this year. We spoke with the developers about bringing this tiny world to life.
A secret society of moon-dwellers, an ancient city lost to a tragic cataclysm, and a classic adventure to save Princess Peach. It's been 15 years since Nintendo released one of they’re greatest RPGs, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
It saw Mario explore a handcrafted paper world alongside an unusual cast of characters. An old sailor bomb-omb named Admiral Bobbery and Koops, an ambitious Koopa trying to prove himself, are just two of the companions you meet along the way. It was a charming adventure elevated by Nintendo's technical prowess that’s still fun to play today.
Both The Thousand Year Door, and Paper Mario on Nintendo 64, have become cult classics. Their sequels, Super Paper Mario, Paper Mario Sticker, and Paper Mario: Color Splash, slowly drifted away from mechanics that made the first two games beloved. They simplified the story, included fewer characters, and moved away from the deep turn-based combat.
Panama-based developers Moonsprout Games, made up of Marcio Cleiton and Jose Fernando Gracia Perez, loved the original Paper Mario games and have tried to capture the same feeling with Bug Fables, an RPG similar to Nintendo's 15 year old classic, with the demo for the game available on Moonsprout Games' IndieGoGo page.
"Some people say that we're filling a gap, but we just made something we want to play," said Perez. "We feel the same way about the Paper Mario series, but I try to respect the whole series, even if the final entries weren't what I wanted them to be."
Bug Fables, which takes the paper crafted world of The Thousand Year Door and applies it to a mythical world of human-like bugs, started out as a comic that Perez and Cleiton drew in an afternoon. "We used to draw comics in our spare time, just quick things we'd do on any topic. Nothing special," Perez said. "We did this one with bug characters and I didn't think much of it until [Cleiton] came to me saying we were making a game with these characters."
Building a paper house
Like the creators of Wargroove, Stardew Valley, and even The Wild at Heart, Moonsprout Games doesn't shy away from the comparison to Paper Mario. It's part of what inspired them.
"We love Paper Mario, definitely. But we play a lot of RPGs," Perez said. "I was playing Persona 5 recently and redesigned some elements of the battle system based off that. We have tons of little nods to games like Tales Zestiria, Golden Sun, the Xenoblade games, and many more."
Bug Fables has a similar combat system, puzzles based around skills you learn throughout the story, and environmental puzzles that require manipulation of the map. But like other games that try to modernise classic franchises, Bug Fables made changes to make fighting and exploration more approachable.
Perez talked about developing quality of life improvements that make solving puzzles with multiple party members more difficult, adding more platforming into exploration areas to make sense of discovery feel stronger, and abilities that have various effects that players will need to use to solve different environmental-based mysteries.
It's a paper bug party
One of the best parts of the first two Paper Mario games was the characters you met along the way. They came with unique abilities, personalities, and backstories. They were still a Koopa or a Yoshi, but they weren't like their counterparts in other Mario games.
"I really like the partner system in Paper Mario, but I didn't like how they would only stick around for their chapter. After they would just become overpowered tanks without much more story," Perez said. "Our characters evolve over the entire game and each have unique abilities that have a purpose in every puzzle."
Bug Fables’ cast includes three main insects: a bee named Vi with a beemerang and the ability to fly, a beatle named Kabbu that can clear certain objects to make a path, and Leif, a resident of the Ant Kingdom, has ice magic.
"Outside of them having different personalities and stories, they serve a different role on the battlefield," Perez said. "I wanted to make sure that none of the characters felt useless at any point. I wanted each of them to feel warm to the player."
The funny thing is that Perez never had much of an interest in bugs. He and Cleiton had drawn different characters and scenes in all types of comics in college, this is just the one they decided to turn into a full-sized RPG. "We made comics about sharks and whatever else we could think of, it was just a different theme for the week," he said. "I didn't care for bugs before this project, but they've grown on me. It just goes to show that there isn't always a funny story behind an idea, sometimes you just have to stick with it."
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