Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo Developer Interview

After being recommended to check out the demo for Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, I was hooked with the art direction, specifically the skeletal snake Kulebra and his blue-flamed eyes. At the end of the demo, you fight the game’s first boss, whose novel quiz-based design sparked my curiosity for the game at large. Thankfully, Galla accepted a request for interview and we were able to discuss how the game came to fruition.

How did you decide on the design of Kulebra as a skeletal snake with blue fire eyes? Is that inspired by something specific?

Kulebra’s design originates from a mobile game we developed before Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo. It was an endless runner with story elements where you would avoid obstacles by zigzagging. A snake would be the best character for this idea, but we couldn’t get a seamless tail working, so we separated it into sections and went with a skeleton design. The idea of the game taking place in Limbo came from this design decision.

Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo takes the setting of our previous game and adapts it into a narrative-driven adventure game, which includes our humble little character. The blue fire represents his shining soul.

How do you think Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo will be understood by people from LATAM cultures versus those who aren’t? Or are the game’s themes more universal than its cultural influence?

The game’s themes are definitely more on the universal side, but there are certainly many influences from LATAM culture: Day of the Dead inspired a lot of the aesthetics of the game, but there are other more subtle influences, like the mask of one of the depictions of the Diablo Cojuelo (a figure from the Dominican Carnival) sharing some traits with Kulebra’s face and other elements in the game. The look of the city of Plaza, one of the major locations in the game, was inspired by the colonial buildings present in the Dominican Republic, with “Altos de Chavón” being a big point of reference.

The implementation of LATAM culture elements is not present intentionally or with the purpose of them being the focus, but rather they are a natural part of the world created by two brothers raised in the Dominican Republic.

Did you keep popular representations of LATAM cultures’ views on the afterlife (Coco, The Book of Life) in mind when making Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo? What do you think Kulebra does differently than those?

We definitely looked at other depictions of the Day of the Dead aesthetic for reference as we nailed down the art style of Kulebra, but we don’t delve deep into the folklore from this celebration, so Kulebra’s setting deals with very different themes.

The world of Limbo is more about coming to terms with your mistakes and learning to move on. And sometimes, the only way forward is confronting that which you fear. Limbo is not another step in life but a second chance to find peace.

The game’s demo is entirely non-combat. Was there a version of the game that included combat, or was that a design choice from early on? How intentional is it that the game doesn’t feature combat when that is a common game mechanic?

Avoiding combat was a decision we made from very early on and it’s a very important pillar of the design of the game. The main goal was to create a game focused on getting to know and helping people with their problems by gathering clues and items that would lead you into the solution.

One of the main influences for this game was The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for the Nintendo 64. This game featured combat, but it also put a huge emphasis on side quests where you would help troubled people with their problems. We wanted to take this aspect of this game and expand it into a whole adventure of its own.

With a game that touches on some serious yet all too common topics such as fractured family relationships, how do you go about adding comedic writing into Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo without infringing on those serious conversations?

When it comes to balancing serious topics and comedy, we go based on “what feels right” at the moment. Most of the main characters deal with heavy topics, so we add comedy elements where appropriate to lighten up the tension.

To balance out the main cast, we created the Blanc Souls, which are little clouds that are trapped in Limbo by menial regrets, like having their soda get stuck in a vending machine. These souls offer a break from the main story, so we take this opportunity to have fun.

How long do you expect players to take to complete the game? What do you think will be the biggest takeaways for players when finishing it?

We expected players to finish the game in between 10 to 15 hours. Since it’s a puzzle game, time can vary a lot by the player and how thorough they want to be with the side content. Our estimations have been pretty accurate, with the 100% completion averaging around 11 to 12 hours.

We hope the story and characters make an impact on the players that stay with them after the game ends.

What inspired the papercraft world design? Did you go through several art styles before landing on the paper look, or was the idea from the beginning?

The papercraft art style was picked not too long after we decided to go with the 2.5D exploration. We experimented with a less-papery style at first, but the art style was always 2D characters in a 3D world.

We decided to go for the paper look because not only did it mesh well with the 2.5D look, but it also gave the aesthetic of a pop-up book. Like you’re jumping inside a story being told.

If players walk away from Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo with one thing, what do you hope that is?

What we want is for players to learn something that stays with them even after closing the game. It could be an emotional impact, a lesson learnt, or anything else that can reflect in their day-to-day.

Politically and culturally, we are in a moment where there appears to be more division than unity. Did you design Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo around empathy to combat that? Or was there another reason for making a game that inspires positivity and listening to others?

We didn’t make Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo with current times in mind, but it’s a good incentive to keep driving this message forward.

A strong theme within the game we wanted to emphasise is understanding different perspectives and how people end up in certain situations. With the varied cast of characters in the game, it explores different motives and reasonings while sharing the good and the bad that comes with them. 

While you’re not meant to agree with the actions of all the characters, we hope the game brings a perspective that shows them as human within their flaws.

What would you tell fellow indie developers are the main keys to success to create an emotionally resonant game on a tight budget?

Our two cents for indie developers are to find what the central theme you want to deliver is and what the strengths of your team are. Use these as the pillars from which you’ll build your game from. While change is inevitable and necessary in the creative process, make sure you don’t lose sight of what you’re trying to do. But most important of all, stay true to yourself, as that’s what makes your work unique.

I would like to give Galla a heartfelt thank you for giving us the time with these answers. Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo cuts its own path in narrative-focused games, and I’ll point you towards my own review of the game to get more developed thoughts on how the game tackles the themes that Galla discusses here. 

Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo is now available on PC, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch