Indie Retro Homebrew Showcase Interview: Discrete Orange

Today's Interview Spotlight from our friends at the Indie Retro Homebrew Showcase at Super MAGFest 2025 features the charming action-puzzle game Discrete Orange by Tardigrade! In this quirky adventure, you'll play as a cute little Orange, and you must navigate through puzzle-filled levels and collect chocolate, using non-continuous turn-based movements.

Curious about how this fruitful concept came to life? Read on to see the development story behind Discrete Orange!

Tell us about how your game was born.

Tardigrade: "I wanted to build on a game idea I had back in 2007—a platformer that felt like a Game&Watch. I made a prototype for the PSP back then, but I barely scratched the surface. When the GBA Jam 2024 was announced, I thought it would be great to create something for the GBA, and that’s how the project started."

What was the development like?

"Balancing work on the game with a full-time job and family life made finding time challenging. Thankfully, using public domain assets and a relatively simple library (butano), certainly helped. One of the main focuses became level design, a task I had a lot of fun doing."

What's your favorite memory as a gamer?

"Not surprisingly, some of my favorite gaming memories come from playing Game & Watch LCD games back in the '80s. I still have a deep love for them to this day."

What games influenced Banana Bash! the most?

"The discrete movement mechanics are inspired by Game & Watch games like Donkey Kong. As for the turn-based element, I've always enjoyed games of that type, especially
a 1996 puzzle game called D.R.O.D. (Deadly Rooms of Death), which had a really strong
impact on me."

Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

"Not especially fun or wild, but a nice development was having my sister create the artwork for the game. She's a talented artist but had never used digital drawing software before, so she took this opportunity to learn, and I think she did a great job."

Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?

"I don’t believe we should cling to outdated gameplay mechanics if they don’t hold up. I prefer to explore interesting ideas, drawing inspiration from both old and new games without distinction."

What makes this game unique?

"The idea of discrete movement and turn-based platformer was never done before
to my knowledge, and I think it opens up possibilities for interesting puzzles."

Anything else you'd like to add? Promote?

"The version of Discrete Orange playable at MAGFest is a demo. The full release, featuring new mechanics and levels, is set to launch on cartridge in 2025. If you enjoyed this demo, stay tuned for more updates! 😀"