Koira creator explains how Day of the Devs’ prettiest game came to be

From the moment I saw Koira from Studio Tolima and Don’t Nod during June 7’s Day of the Devs showcase, I knew it was a game I wouldn’t forget. It is unusual for one game to live rent-free in my mind like this during a period where dozens of titles are being shown off every day during this summer showcase season. But because of its crisp animation, striking minimalist yet vibrant aesthetic, and musical undertones, Koira was the biggest standout of June 2024’s Day of the Devs showcase for me.

After discovering Koira, I had to learn more about how Studio Tolima crafts its beautiful animation and what players should expect from Koira from moment to moment. In an email Q&A, Studio Tolima Head and Koira Game Director Ben Lega revealed new information about all of that.

What is Koira?

Lega believes new games need a distinct look and feel to stand out in today’s crowded gaming space, so the visuals are exactly where he started with Koira. While doing so, he also had to work within the constraints of Koira starting as a solo dev project.

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“I love 2D hand-drawn animation, but I knew that these can be very time-consuming, especially for detailed characters. So, at the time, I was exploring characters designed in a single flat shaded color and without an outline,” Lega tells Digital Trends. ” I started by drawing a flat black character on an empty white background. It was a bit out of place, so I erased the base of their feet. And suddenly, it felt like it was part of this world! Lost in the big snowy plane that had become my sheet of paper, only punctuated by a few dead trees and patches of grass that I quickly added. It looked nice, but it felt cold being lonely in this wintery world, so I added a cute small puppy to