Five Questions with Zockrates Labs – Down By The Riverside

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Ruffy and the Riverside, being developed by German indie studio Zockrates Labs, is a visually striking 3D platformer inhabited by 2D sprites, all of which is hand drawn. It’s cartoony aesthetic caught my interest, but seeing the Ruffy’s inventive SWAP mechanic in action convinced me to highlight the game late last year. The player can utilise the SWAP to change the textures of the environment to help Ruffy explore the world, fight enemies, solve puzzles, and stop the villainous Groll from destroying Riverside!

After the developers dropped a new trailer announcing additional localisations and another launch platform, I reached out to Zockrates Labs to find out more about Ruffy and the Riverside‘s art direction and transformative SWAP mechanic. They were happy to share some details on how they approached designing the game, the origins of the SWAP, and how they incentivise the player to experiment.

Ruffy and the Riverside's world is so vibrant and full of character"”what inspired its colorful aesthetic and the whimsical designs of its inhabitants?

We are big fans of the colorful games from the N64 era like Banjo-Kazooie. Those games were certainly a big inspiration for us. However, we also wanted to create something new. Fresh characters, new stories and above all, unique gameplay! Now, setting up a new world with new characters and new gameplay isn't easy, and it takes a lot of time to bring it all together.

Luckily, drawing a whole game takes a lot of time as well, so while we were drawing thousands of textures and character sprites we kept talking about the world and its characters. I really think it all came together so nicely because we had so much time reflect on it.

The combination of a 3D world with 2D hand-drawn sprites gives the game a unique and striking style. What drove the decision to use this blend of styles, and how does it influence the player’s experience?

We were new to game development so just started with what we were good at: drawing. We immediately loved the look, so we kept on drawing! Of course, we didn't expect that it would take us seven years to draw the whole thing, but once we saw how good it looked, we just couldn't go back to 3D object-based characters.

For the players, the hand drawn style will increase immersion and enjoyment a lot, as there is so much detail to discover that usually doesn't exist in 3D object-based games. There is plenty of time for reflection while drawing, and that's when all those little ideas come in. Just look at what Ruffy is doing with his fingers while running, how his cape waves in the wind, and where he is looking. Who would really animate each finger of a 3D character when he can use the same hand animation repeatedly? But when drawing, you will have to draw each hand from scratch anyways, so animating the fingers is no extra work but a fun thing to do while you are at it.

The Swap ability is a standout feature in Ruffy and the Riverside. What was the initial idea behind this mechanic, and how has it evolved throughout development?

Swapping things is fascinating, and once again we got that idea during drawing. Once I just colored a waterfall red, so it looked like a lava fall. I thought "Hey, this could be a great gameplay mechanic! A game about changing materials and looks!" So, we made a prototype.

In the beginning, the SWAP was quite different from how it is now. Ruffy had an inventory for all textures he had collected so far. From this inventory he could choose textures and apply it to the world. It really played terribly slow, and it was a hassle to deal with the huge inventory. We made a dramatic cut and changed it to "copy & paste"; only one texture at a time. Suddenly the whole world was Ruffy's inventory AND his canvas. It immediately felt right. The SWAP was born.

How does Ruffy and the Riverside encourage players to experiment with its mechanics, especially the Swap ability, while still maintaining a clear sense of progression and discovery?

Like the Force in Star Wars, the SWAP is a very powerful skill. However, a Jedi would say that the Force is useless without the right idea in the right situation. In other words, the story is much more important than the sheer power of the SWAP. You will have a strong sense of progression from how the story evolves in all its funny and dramatic twists and turns, but also from the collectibles you can find and the way you can level up Ruffy's character.

Balancing a mechanic as versatile as the Swap ability must be challenging. How did you approach designing puzzles and exploration to ensure they remain engaging without being overwhelming?

Good question! During the design process we had one top priority; Create SWAPPABILITIES - lots of swappabilities, and make them all different. Variety was key here. Now Ruffy can swap all sorts of materials, like lava, ice, wood, iron, water, stone, grass and much more to change the environment. But he also can swap colors, numbers, symbols and pictures, so he can change the world in a physical way, but also in terms patterns, meaning and narration.

Although this adds up to a lot of possible SWAPS, it never feels overwhelming, because of the copy and paste mechanic. You can always work with the stuff that is around you, so the solution is always close by. Only in very few situations you will have to transport a texture from far away to use it somewhere else.

Another core design principle was to avoid "single swap solutions". We didn't want Ruffy to solve puzzles by accident, because it doesn't feel very rewarding. Instead, players should trust their imagination, develop an idea, then make that idea happen with a couple of SWAPS. You have a goal, and then magically you will work your way towards that goal. It's always great to finally see a world that was in your mind just seconds before. Of course, not every idea will work, but that's part of the fun. Just go on swapping and see what happens!

It is always interesting to learn more about each studio’s development process, and see the journey a game takes from concept to release. 2025 is set to be a big year for 3D platformers in the Indie scene, but Zockrates Labs are making sure that Ruffy and the Riverside has no replacement.

During our discussion, Zockrates Labs were kind enough to share an exciting piece of news: a demo for Ruffy and the Riverside is set to release on Steam soon! Don't miss our detailed announcement HERE to get all the info on when and how you can try the game for yourself.