My name is Jérôme Bodin, and I’m the co-founder and Game Director of Mudita Games, an independent studio based in France. We’re a small but passionate team dedicated to creating original and high-quality games with strong replayability and a positive touch.
Our latest project is called Barda. It’s a roguelite adventure game where inventory management is at the core of the experience — the way you pack your bag can literally decide between survival and defeat. The idea came from mixing my love for roguelikes like Slay the Spire or FTL with the more cozy, charming atmosphere of games like Don’t Starve and Spiritfarer. I wanted to build a game that feels strategic and tense, but also welcoming and full of character.
The development has been exciting and full of learning. Even though right now, as many other studios, we struggle with funding and visibility.
We chose Unity as our engine, mainly for its flexibility and cross-platform deployment.
The core gameplay of Barda is quite unique, with the 2D physics-based inventory and the way challenges are solved, so we weren't sure (still aren't) if it had more potential as a hardcore, deep, tactical roguelike, or a more casual, chill and cozy game.
Keep an eye and what other games do and what make them special, unless it's adding too much pressure to your process of creation. Always cut off the unnecessary things, even if they looked cool once.
We’re really excited to share Barda with players soon. We have exciting things coming: demo will be released on Monday during the No Time to Loot Steam festival, we'll be part of the upcoming Next Fest, and we'll launch our Kickstarter campaign at the same time! We'd love for people to try the game and join us on the journey.
Jérôme
