Kickstarted cozy MMO Loftia is back with another development blog this week, this time recapping the last month of effort over at indie studio Qloud Games. A large chunk of the post is devoted to worldbuilding.
“[A]las, it’s impossible to build a floating island in a day,” Qloud writes. “There is still a lot of work left to do before we even dive into features and activities. Right now, the focus is on shaping the world itself, fleshing out environments, adding natural landmarks, and making sure every space feels connected. With layouts in place, we start transforming grey-boxed spaces into fully realized landscapes. Placeholders are making way for detailed models, and every addition shapes how players engage with this district, whether it’s a hidden path leading to a secret lookout, or a unique landmark that hints at the lore of the world. The placement of each rock, tree and river adds more depth and meaning to the district.”
The post also includes 3-D versions of crafting stations, like the flower mixer, paint mixer, seed maker, biofuel station, and hydro station (we mentioned this is a cozy game, yeah?). We also spy new fish, the new UI for painting objects, concept art for new furniture sets, the friend list, local chat, speech bubbles, a “gossip” system – and yes, quite a lot of effort is going into the social systems.
“Social features are one of our biggest priorities, as after all, Loftia is an MMO! Some of our biggest inspirations have been Club Penguin, MapleStory, Roblox, and Discord (yes, social media apps have been just as inspiring as classic MMOs). But getting social systems feel right is a challenge. As Loftia draws inspiration from very different genres, like traditional MMOs and web games to farming sims, so we have been designing social features that blend the best of these inspirations while adding Loftia’s own flavor into the pot.”
