The creators of the cozy game «Tukoni: Guardians of the Forest» talked about the influence of projects by Amanita Design, known for Samorost, Machinarium, Botanicula, and many others, on their development.
The creators of the cozy game «Tukoni: Guardians of the Forest» talked about the influence of projects by Amanita Design, known for Samorost, Machinarium, Botanicula, and many others, on their development.
Tukoni: Forest Keepers is a cute and cozy puzzle adventure game where players take on the role of the forest spirit Tukoni, the Wanderer. The project builds on Tukoni: Prologue, which was released in late 2020, and is based on the books by Ukrainian artist Oksana Bula.
«After years of hard work on documentary projects, I felt a strong need to create something different — something that could give people a moment of peace, a short and peaceful break from the often too difficult reality,» Dream Operator studio co-founder and game designer Oleksiy Furman told the Epic Games blog.
He recalled that work on the prologue began at the same time as COVID-19, and since then, «the world has become even more turbulent.» So a peaceful, hand-drawn walk through the forest «seemed like a lifeline in a year when so many of us were forced to stay home.»
According to Oleksiy Furman, playing in the Tukoni universe is simply impossible without the active participation of artist Oksana Bulaya. «This time, Oksana will take on the role of art director, who will both draw herself and coordinate the artists who joined the project. Due to the larger amount of work, we need a larger art team this time,» the developer told dev.ua in a comment.
Oksana Bula notes that every story can be told through different media, and the form of the narrative is an integral part of the story itself. She said that she was inspired by Amanita Design’s games.
«When I was thinking about a game with my characters, or rather, dreaming about it, I already had in mind a certain aesthetic that I wanted to work in… The movement in 2D space captured my imagination. It felt like you could travel inside a book,» says the artist.
«Tukoni is simply magical. Much respect to the Ukrainian team that created it!», commented Amanita Design on Dream Operator’s post.
In early February, Amanita Design again held a campaign in which they donated all weekly profits from their projects to charity for Ukrainians. Previously, this led to a flurry of negativity from Russian players, but it did not prevent the Czech developers from donating tens of thousands of euros to charities.
Oleksiy Furman noted that cozy games can be a calming experience for Ukrainians entering the fifth year of a full-scale Russian invasion.
«Creating games like this can also be calming and stabilizing. In turbulent and dangerous times like the ones we’re experiencing in Ukraine, you naturally look for stable, calming things to hold on to: your family, friends, pets, hobbies. For us, that anchor is our team and the world we create together,» the developer shared.
«Tukoni: Guardians of the Forest» is participating in the Steam New Release Festival with an updated demo. The game is scheduled for release in 2026.
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