Namra, the creator ofAka, recently endured every indie game developer’s nightmare: a mixed reception at launch. InAka, players take on the role of a red panda by the same name as the game, and adapt to island life much like farmers flocking toStardew Valleyand other similar cozy titles. But unlike AAA juggernauts,indie titlesoften lack the resources to bounce back or course correct after making a rough first impression.
After a positiveshowing at Gamescomand other previews that accrued positive interest, Namra is determined to turnAka’s fate around. Game Rant recently caught up with Namra to discuss his experiences since launch, and his hopes forAka’s comeback story.
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A Rough Landing for Aka
Namra’s initial response to the harsh reviews was confusion. The game had been shown off ahead of launch in several formats and venues, includingJirard Khalid’s IndieLandevent, all to largely positive reception. When Namra realized that players' grievances were based on progress-blocking bugs, he felt awful.
“There’s always a fear you have as a game developer… You know, you do your maximum. You have a QA team. There was a demo. People played it at Gamescom, and it was well-received, but you are always afraid that there will be a game-breaking bug. And that’s what happened to Aka.”
Between the final work push to getAkato launch, the promotion leading up to the launch, and the rough feedback to the initial response, Namra has commented that the past six months have been “a living nightmare.” But as soon as Namra realized the majority of user complaints were due to the game’s unintended dead ends, he switched to communication mode, letting fans know that fixing the problems were has top priority. In the weeks since launch, Namra has never worked harder.
Building Aka 2.0
Aka, at it’s core, will remain the same after the planned relaunch. The game revolves around farming, as well as mini-games such as simple takes on rhythm action music and card battling. But Namra wants fans who have been following the game from the beginning to feel satisfied and rewarded for their patience.
“Right now, it’s bug fixing. It’s making sure the player has a good experience. We’d like to take one or two more weeks to make some nice little additions, refining some stuff here and there. Maybe adding a few new elements. And then we are going to communicate again, ‘Look, it’s Aka 2.0! It is stable. It’s the game you are waiting for.'”
The primary priorities for Namra’s fixes are the progress blocking bugs, followed immediately by finding ways to preserve players’ saves. Additionally, Namra hopes totouch up the user-interface, which, despite seeing a positive to neutral early reception via demos and events, was a point of sharp criticism in the post-launch reviews. Apart from the changes, Namra has considered adding a suffix or extra word toAka’s title to let players know that it is a thoroughly re-vamped upgrade from the original title.
It’s clear thatAkais very important to Namra, not only as a business venture or means of testing game design skills, but as a piece of personal artistic expression.Aka’s underlying themes of finding peace with one’s own path, facing survivor’s guilt, andovercoming traumato find inner peace, have a high-minded, heartfelt approach to escapism.
Comeback Kings
It is impossible to re-do poor first impressions, and incredibly difficult to overcome them, but the overwhelming successes ofFinal Fantasy 14andNo Man’s Skydemonstrate satisfying comebacksin very tangible forms.No Man’s Skyis in contention for the “Labor of Love” honor again in 2022’s Steam awards, and each newFinal Fantasy 14expansion draws a fresh round of critical acclaim and praise from fans.
Admittedly,Akahas a lower profile and less support than most ofgaming’s greatest comeback stories, but many gamers expressed conflicted feelings about not recommendingAkaon Steam, and stated that they would revise their reviews if certain changes were made. Hopefully, Namra will be able to capitalize on that good will and realize his dream of givingAkaa fresh start. If nothing else, the eponymous Red Panda protagonist’s future isn’t set in stone.
Akais available on PC and Nintendo Switch.
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