Developer Spotlight: Orczuk

Sebastian, who also goes by Orczuk, is a game developer based out of NYC. On Sebastian’s website, which will be linked at the bottom of this post, you will find a plethora of games from different genres. On the Chris Indie Comet twitch channel we played four games developed by Sebastian, and while they were all different genres, his talent and style were on full display in each game I played.

The stream started with a game called Songs of Autumn. In Songs of Autumn, you play as a Leaflie, a newborn forest spirit. You are tasked with going out into the forest and helping the inhabitants with their problems and to prepare for Winter. There are a colorful cast of characters, ranging from a philosophical bear to a mischievous hustling squirrel. I found the story to be unique and whimsical, aided by the beautifully drawn backgrounds and characters as well as the music. What made this game even more quirky was the song-based gameplay mechanics. The Leaflie uses different combinations of three musical notes to do a range of actions, from picking things up to complimenting a resident of the forest. It is a unique and wholesome adventure game where you have to use all the different note combinations in order to complete the different tasks in the game.

The second game I played on stream was Crabber. A 3D puzzle platformer in the vein of the classic, 3D Frogger. In the game you play as Crabber, a crab who is on a journey to find his lost siblings. In each level Crabber is faced with different obstacles. Such as mazes, buzzsaws, and spike pads. Where the game really gets fun is when the obstacles are combined and requires the player to use timing to get to the next part of the stage. In this game there are also optional collectible fruits which, if collected, gives you something secret at the end. Of all the games this is the one I spent the most time with on stream. The gameplay was so fun that I even reached out to Sebastian asking for even more levels.

Next was a game called Geo Kings. Geo Kings is a 2D platformer in which you change shapes and colors in order to traverse through the stage. The game is fast and timing based, requiring the player to think quickly , and rapidly change shape or color in order to keep momentum through the level. The two shapes, circle and square, each have different properties. As I continued to play my reactions got better and it was easier for me to switch shapes and colors. Of all the games I played from Sebastian, I felt like Geo Kings had the most speedrun potential for players who like to discover the fastest and most efficient way to clear levels. Overall, Geo Kings is a fun and fast paced platformer with incredible music. I especially recommend it for those who like to try to speedrun games.

The last game I played on stream was a 2D platformer called Letters to Mom. Of all the games I played during the developer spotlight this one got the most reactions from chat. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it even made me a bit emotional. As with most of Sebastian’s games you don’t play as a typical character. In Letters to Mom you play as an enveloped letter, written by a little girl , to her mother. The letter gets blown away and now has to find its way back to the mailbox to be delivered. The game has a cute oil painting art style and wholesome music. As the letter, you ride the wind, making your way through the game collecting the postage stamps throughout the map. In the game you can sway left and right and drop straight down in order to avoid obstacles such as rainfall, puddles, and birds. It's fun discovering the different combos needed to get past some of the tricker obstacles in the game.

Sebastian is an incredibly talented and hard working game developer. All of his games have a unique spin to them, from the player characters to the mechanics. If you’re interested, all of the games mentioned above are available for free to download and try for yourselves. I encourage giving them a try.

Games: Orczuk – Take a Chance, Make the Game

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