Bringing Magic Hazard's Journey to Life: A Story-Driven Shooter with Xsolla Accelerator

In a crowded gaming market, innovation is key to standing out. For Magic Hazard, this means introducing a unique twist to the top-down shooter genre with their debut game, Memory Lost. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk city called Detraxis, players take on the role of an AI implanted in an assassin robot, fighting for freedom and destiny. What sets Memory Lost apart is the ability to capture enemies' memories, adopting their abilities and playstyles, resulting in diverse and adaptable gameplay. This mechanic allows players to master various skills without needing to create and level up multiple characters. The idea for Memory Lost was born out of a discussion between Sergei Kuznetsov and his friends about the types of games they enjoyed playing as children and what was missing from them. They wanted to play as the enemies they fought against, not just using their weapons but also inhabiting their bodies and experiencing their perspectives. This concept sparked a passion project for the young and inexperienced development team. Kuznetsov explains that the goal was not just to create a mechanically sound game but also to explore the narrative implications of inhabiting an enemy's body. The team balanced the gameplay to ensure that players are always adapting, with a focus on finding new enemies to capture and master their abilities. The development of Memory Lost began in 2020 with a small team of five people, including a programmer, a game designer, and novice artists. Over time, the team grew to 19 members, but they faced significant challenges as a young and inexperienced team trying to bring their vision to life. After a year of work, they presented their prototype to a panel of experts, receiving constructive feedback that helped them improve the game. The team reworked the game from scratch, addressing points such as clarity in using the transference mechanics, variety in enemies and skills, and level design. They also improved animation and visual impact. As development continued, it became clear that Magic Hazard needed additional assistance to make Memory Lost competitive. The team was inspired by campaign-led games from the 1990s and early 2000s and wanted to focus on storytelling, with over 90,000 words of text and a narrative that explores dark humor. The story is delivered through dialogue, lore drops, and interactions with NPCs, with multiple endings to unlock. The team's lifeline came from Xsolla, which provided financial aid, mentorship, and guidance through their Accelerator program. The program helped Magic Hazard improve the game, with additional funding enabling the creation of more animated cutscenes and voice acting. The team also learned valuable lessons about pitching their game to investors and publishers, creating effective presentations, and improving the onboarding process for players. With the help of Xsolla and feedback from experts, Magic Hazard released a free Steam demo, which received over 90% positive feedback. The studio is now collaborating with ESDigital to publish Memory Lost in 2024, with plans to port the game to multiple platforms and ensure it reaches a wide audience. Despite not being able to implement all the ideas from Accelerator, Kuznetsov is hopeful that they will be considered in future games, marking a promising sign for the studio's future prospects.