Gamezebo is at GDC this year, catching up with our favourite mobile games developers. We caught up with Nyamyam, the talented folks behind the pop-up book adventure Tengami. For those that haven’t played it yet, it’s a gorgeous point and …
Gamezebo is at GDC this year, catching up with our favourite mobile games developers. We caught up with Nyamyam, the talented folks behind the pop-up book adventure Tengami. For those that haven’t played it yet, it’s a gorgeous point and click adventure that takes place inside a Japanese pop-up book.
The team is now working on Astrologaster, which also draws inspiration from pop-up books. This time though, the art-style is entirely based on Medieval art. In fact, Astrologaster tells the true story of medical astrologer Dr Simon Forman, who looked to the stars to try and cure patients of a wide variety of ailments.
You’ve probably guessed by now that his success rate wildly varied, so you can expect Astrologaster to be chock full of humour. In a gameplay demo we played during GDC, we chuckled wildly at various different whacky cases.
One particular case that stood out involved a lady who believed her Scottish neighbour had bewitched her for kicking her cats, who regularly invaded her garden. If that doesn’t have you in fits of giggles, Forman’s response that it’s a well-known fact that witches come from Scotland absolutely will.
This level of British humour is deeply intertwined throughout the entire experience, so fans of classic shows like Blackadder will get a real kick out of it. It helps that the entire game is fully voice-acted too, with the actors doing a terrific job of sounding truly authentic.
In gameplay terms, Astrologaster isn’t a far cry away from Tengami. It still features a lot of pop-up book style gameplay but the focus is way less on exploration, interaction, and puzzle solving. Instead, you’ll look to the stars to help guide you as diagnose your patient’s illnesses.
In total, you’ll work with 14 different patients over the course of the adventure. These guys will come to you with a variety of afflictions, ranging from the psychological to the physiological. Heck, some clients will even come to you to help them solve business or personal issues. The stars have all the answers, right?
So you’ll consult the zodiac to help you decide how to treat the patient. The zodiac is simplified though, so you’re not mashing your way through a bunch of menu screens. Rather than consult all 12 zodiacs, the game presents you with the three most relevant to the case. Then you’ll simply pick the one that appeals to you most.
While there is an overarching goal – and that’s to get your medical licence by getting a bunch of recommendations from successfully treated patients – it’s actually up to you how you decide to play. You can try and genuinely help patients or go out and try and deliberately annoy them just so you can have a good laugh.
We can’t wait to play the full release of Astrologaster later this year, when it launches across iOS and Steam. Sadly, Nyamyam isn’t ready to announce the release date yet, but we’re hoping it’s very soon. In the meantime, learn more about the game on the official site.
