Agate embarked on an exciting project: bringing the visually striking PC game Beneath Oresa to a wider audience on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Beneath Oresa Steam Page
Beneath Oresa is a fun, card-based fighting game that resembles a comic book. This unique look makes Beneath Oresa stand out from other deckbuilding games.
A fruitful encounter at the Game Connection Europe sparked a collaboration between Agate and Goblinz Publishing. Agate’s porting team’s in-depth initial assessment demonstrated the game’s strong technical foundation. This positive evaluation laid the foundation for strong partnership, and we were honored for Goblinz Publishing’s trust in Agate for this project.
Overcoming Challenges, One Step at a Time
The porting of Beneath Oresa presented several key challenges:
Handling comic shader errors and incompatibility
The original PC version’s shaders often caused visual glitches or failed to render properly on console hardware, requiring significant modification and optimization.
Resolving crashes due to memory issues on specific platforms
Consoles have limited memory compared to PCs. This challenge meant identifying and fixing instances where the game consumed too much memory, leading to crashes. This issue required careful optimization of assets and code, particularly on platforms with stricter memory constraints.
Maintain Stable FPS across platforms
Ensuring a smooth, consistent frame rate (FPS) is crucial for a good gaming experience. This challenge involved optimizing the game’s performance to avoid frame rate drops, which can cause stuttering or lag. This issue required platform-specific optimizations, as different consoles have varying processing power.
How We Made It Happen
Once we understood the full scope of the difficulties, we formulated a strategic plan to deliver the project on schedule.
Set Milestones
Agate’s porting strategy for Beneath Oresa involved a carefully structured four-phase approach: pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and gold. We strategically defined each milestone to guarantee a seamless transition from PC to the target console platforms.
Getting Familiar with the Custom Shader
A significant hurdle in the porting of Beneath Oresa was optimizing its distinctive custom-comic-style shader, crafted in HLSL. While visually striking on PC, this shader presented performance challenges on consoles, leading to crashes and frame rate drops. Overcoming this required the specialized knowledge of our technical artists, who collaborated closely with the programming team to refine the shader, ensuring smooth gameplay without compromising its unique aesthetic.
Optimizing Code and Assets
Following the successful modification of the custom shader, the team intensified their efforts to optimize Beneath Oresa‘s code and assets. This step involved adjusting the engine version to address bugs, fine-tuning renderer settings to reduce memory footprint, and specifically for the Nintendo Switch, integrating dynamic resolution to maintain consistent frame rates in demanding areas.
We delivered the Beneath Oresa porting project within three months. Compared to other projects we’ve undertaken, the project’s unique challenges provided Agate’s team with valuable experience. Each project, with its own set of obstacles, allows us to expand our skillset and refine our expertise, ultimately leading to improved outcomes in future game porting projects.
Console Porting: Optimization is Key
Given the growing complexity of game specifications and the constraints of console hardware, optimization is essential for smooth gameplay on any platform. This project significantly contributed to our expertise in both porting and optimization, equipping us to deliver consistent and high-quality gaming experiences across diverse console platforms.
If you’re looking for a partner who brings passion, expertise, and dedication to every project, Agate is ready to help you bring your game to new heights. Reach out to contact@agate.id and let’s create exceptional games together!
