Mainstream nostalgia tends to follow a cycle of 20-to-30 years, with creators incorporating elements of media they enjoyed growing up. For example, 1977’sStar Warspulled inspiration fromFlash Gordonserials of the 30s and 40s, meanwhile sitcoms of the era likeM.A.S.H.andHappy Dayswere all about the 50s. Recent media likeStranger ThingsandThor: Ragnarokare steeped in 80s aesthetics, and plenty of video games over the last few years pull from consoles like the SNES. PseudoZap’sBad Borowears its 90s inspirations on its sleeve.
Studio co-creators and cousinsPeter Mosur and Konrad Messyasz grew up bonding over video games, and their interests were incorporated intoBad Boro— described as a twin-stick brawler, but ultimately because “we don’t know what else to call it,” according to Mosur. Its mechanics come from a variety of sources, but the game’s visuals and sound design focus heavily on creating a “punk vibe” befitting its 1990s New York-inspired setting. Game Rant spoke to Mosur and Messyasz about the elements contributing toBad Boro’s design over its four years of development.
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Mosur recalls numerous family gatherings with his younger cousin where they would play video games together. One series they bonded over wasThe Legend of Zelda, among other Nintendo classics, but Mosur said “the first significant game” he showed Messyasz wasDark Souls 3. This gotBad Boro’s artist, who goes by Zals online, into a big Soulsborne phase during the interim beforeBreath of the Wildreleased in 2017.
That interest was hugely influential onBad Boro, as PseudoZap decided to make a “really difficult” game with a mysterious world, vague storytelling, and weird characters.Hollow Knightwas another game Mosur played when they began development the summer before Messyasz attended college — their first major push was creating a demo for the indie game festival Play NYC in August 2018. However, “We really didn’t want to make a Metroidvania,” so they mostly stuck byHollow Knight’s narrative design.
In terms of mechanics, Mosur said indies likeEnter the Gungeonwere big for him and his cousin, and that twin-stick style is apparent inBad Boro.ARPGs likeDiabloalso contributed to its top-down design, with players in control of protagonist Tino as they travel around an expansive megacity, use special abilities, and beat up goons — many under the influence of a rogue AI installed to manage city operations toward utopian ends. Mosur said they took a lot of inspiration from Soulsborne games, but “we were also doing our own thing.”
“It wasn’t like we sat down intending to make ‘this’ or ‘that.’ We had all these different ideas that we threw together. It just came together in a sense, and ultimately it was a convenient way to incorporate 2D art.”
The idea of making a “highly stylized, drawn 2D game” to represent this futuristic take on 90s New York came early. Messyasz is an illustrator like his father, and much of his style is influenced by 90s and early 2000s cartoons. He points to “neurotic or manic facial expressions” fromRen and Stimpy, villain design fromThe Powerpuff Girls, and the gritty, edgy style ofInvader Zimas inspirations.
Messyasz has also been an active Newgrounds user under his pseudonym Zals, with games and cartoons that his friends would share defining much of his design sensibilities. “That harsh, uncouth style that a lot of the games had, along with the super thick outlines which were usually a product of animating in Flash, has always kinda stuck with me,” he said. Mosur said he went on Newgrounds in the early 2000s or so, but was surprised to find “it was making a comeback.” Therecent phenomenonFriday Night Funkin’is just one example of the website’s continuing influence.
In terms ofBad Boro’s top-down 2D aesthetic, Messyasz said theGame Boy Advance titleMario & Luigi: Superstar Sagawas another key influence. He specifically studied its “expressive and cartoony sprite work” to impact character designs inBad Boro.
“With 3D you may just rotate the sprite and it’s a done deal, but with 2D you either have to tediously cover each direction with a unique animation, or you have to cleverly animate single actions to be able to cover a wide area around a character using smear frames.”
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For the Play NYC demo, Mosur said they used an “ultra-realistic” style that was unsustainable in terms of time and effort. Its newer, more cartoonish style shows an understanding of “what details can be left out without sacrificing the integrity of the art.” Yet it keeps the original intent of PseudoZap recreating the feeling of living inNew York. Mosur is interested in urban exploration, taking photos of graffiti and abandoned places, and many of the real-world discoveries he’s made have become references forBad Boro.
ExploringBad Boro’s megacity won’t be an explicit goal, but it will naturally be open enough for players to explore and find secret areas or graffiti if they desire. In fact, one idea the duo have floated forBad Boro’s upcomingKickstarter(launching at a to-be-determined date) is opening tiers for backers to design their own graffiti — be it a custom piece of art or a person’s name.
Another area whereBad Boroleans into its 90s aesthetic is music. Mosur said he’s always dabbled in music as a creative venture, with a particular interest in electronic subgenres like acid house. It’s another interest he shared with Messyasz; who fell further down the rabbit hole with styles like UK garage,dubstep, and 2-step; so having “a weird mix of 90s electronic music” became an obvious direction for their game.
The original demo was composed by Mosur using his own sampler and synthesizer, but for the upcoming demo coinciding itscrowdfunding campaignthe team sought out a professional musician. Their current partner, who specializes in UK garage, will be revealed alongside the demo’s tracklist with that inevitable Kickstarter, and getting funded will hopefully let them hire this musician for the full game alongside other hands.
Mosur said he’s been interested in creative endeavors from an early age, with Messyasz also being attuned to his artistic background. Their familial bond and host of shared interests in games, music, and other media has led to a particularly copacetic indie project. While its final release may still be a long ways off, Mosur feels it has a lot of potential.
“We’ve been going to conventions, getting people to play it. While we are newbies, people have tried it to let us know what they like or what’s strange … It’s our first game, and we want it to be perfect.”
Bad Borois currently in development for PC.
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