Solar Ash, the last game released by developer Heart Machine, represented a shift away from how it approached the development of its first game, Hyper Light Drifter. For Solar Ash, Heart Machine mainly worked with publisher Annapurna Interactive, whereas with Hyper Light Drifter, the studio allowed the community to shape the project to an extent. Although the collaboration with Annapurna resulted in a game that the developers remain proud of, they do not want to focus on publisher partnerships going forward. So the studio announced today that its upcoming project, Hyper Light Breaker, will have a “community-focused development process” once again.
Essentially, this means that Heart Machine will put out various forms of content to engage with its playerbase, including consistent blog posts, streams, content drops, contests, and events, some of which may occur in person. Additionally, the studio encouraged its players to submit feedback as well as anything else on their minds before Hyper Light Breaker‘s Early Access release. The studio went on to express its admiration for the artists, streamers, speedrunners, writers, and other creators who engage with its work.
Bringing on the helping hands to make a more complete game
Alongside this announcement, Heart Machine shared a few details regarding Hyper Light Breaker. Although the game takes place in the same universe as Hyper Light Drifter, its story does not directly precede nor follow up on that of its predecessor. In addition, Hyper Light Breaker sets itself apart by taking place in a fully three-dimensional world. It will even have an online co-op feature that players can engage with.
Gaming communities tend to be at their healthiest when they have some involvement in the development process, so Heart Machine’s decision to allow this with Hyper Light Breaker is a wise one. Hopefully, this approach will help Hyper Light Breaker become the best game it can be.
