Shades: Birthday Chat
Hello everyone!
It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since we launched globally. That was the moment most of you discovered that we’re creating a game that stands apart from the rest of the Shadow Fight series. Since then, we’ve introduced new gameplay elements, made gameplay changes, added a whole new act, and packed the year with events.
So, what is Shades? Why are we building the game this way, and how are we creating it? Today’s the perfect time to dig into these questions and share more about us.
A game’s first birthday is too big of an occasion to just hit you with dry facts and stats. I’m Grimbago, the narrative designer and writer for Shades, and today, I’ll be talking with the Shades team about what goes on behind the scenes.
Good afternoon, Grimbago. I’d like to point out that your chosen method for gathering information isn’t the most efficient.
It’s our birthday, I’m not here to be “efficient.” Let’s just chat and give the players a a better look at the dev team!
Game designers
Hey, Egor! Being the lead game designer can’t be easy. Do you even get much time to work on the actual design? Or maybe there's something specific you'd like to create?
As lead game designer, I’d say my role is a bit like that of an old, chain-smoking newspaper editor — you’re no longer writing yourself, but you’ve got plenty to critique! My daily tasks are the same—I review endless documentation, make revisions, offer feedback, ask tough questions, and try to play Nostradamus by predicting potential issues. But every so often, something comes up that requires my hands-on involvement. And thankfully, that means writing! As for personal goals, I sometimes miss the calm and creative flow of level design—headphones on, eyes shining, assets flying (along with the deadlines)—pure bliss!
Players have noticed that the bosses in the game keep getting more interesting. Is there a specific approach to their design? And in general, does the Shades game design follow a set of rules, or is it more about inspiration?
It’s great to hear that players appreciate the team’s hard work! We’ll keep raising the bar! We do have a methodology, of course, but each boss is a unique character to us. Our guidelines are more like a blend of best practices and lessons learned over time. Follow them, and things go well; ignore them, and it might go poorly. Sometimes, we even intentionally do something “wrong,” and it can turn out amazing. In those cases, inspiration is key. But spotting those moments and using them well takes experience, not just inspiration or knowledge.
Now, let’s turn to the core game design team. What feature or mechanic that you've worked on are you proudest of, or enjoyed working on the most?
Yan. A. (Zeebarf): Working on an unannounced new core mechanic has been the most exciting. I can’t wait for us to show it off!
E. T.: I’m most proud of Act IV, which I designed. It wasn’t just a big feature with a lot of responsibility on my end— it was also great seeing the community’s positive feedback.
Daniil: I was involved in a massive effort to organize all the game’s resources “under the hood” and also integrated and fixed a ton of locations.
Vladimir: I feel like a mechanic-archaeologist, fixing things that break and studying old code to understand how things work. I’m proud that the project is running well, issues are getting resolved, new features are being added, and the processes keep improving.
What would you love to bring to Shades? Of course, we know not every idea is feasible, but still?
Yan. A. (Zeebarf): I’d love to see a dungeon-crawl mode in Shades with path choices, like in PC and console roguelikes. We often discuss it within the team, so who knows? Maybe one day…
E. T.: We’re lucky that many of our ideas already get implemented! But if I could dream big, I’d love a mode where you can collect weapons and abilities based on defeated bosses and study their mechanics in a detailed codex. Then, you could use that same arsenal in-game to face challenges.
Daniil: I’d love to work on mechanics that give players more choice in gameplay and steer the game more toward a roguelike feel—like a dungeon-crawl mode or something similar.
Vladimir: Improving enemy AI, adding more content, fixing all bugs, and creating new modes (dungeon crawl, for example!).
Seems like the game designers have pretty similar dreams. I could assume some advanced hypnosis techniques were involved.
Not at all! By the way, check out this cool crystal on a chain I have! Watch it closely…
Artists
Time to meet the artists! Let’s start with their leader. Good afternoon, Evgeny. You didn’t join the project from the very beginning, right? Was it hard to get into the groove? And what are the main challenges when working on Shades?
Hi! I was able to get up to speed pretty quickly—I have some experience, and it helped that I could study the existing material in detail, looking over the artwork for locations, characters, and equipment that was already in the game. The main challenge is that Shades is a continuation of Shadow Fight 2, which is now over 10 years old, so a lot of the original graphics carried over to us initially. We had to gradually update, modernize, or even fully redraw all of it. Plus, the artists on the project often had differing visions for the game’s visual style.
So, our first main task was to agree on a unified visual style—making sure the game’s graphics felt cohesive in terms of style yet as diverse as possible in design. We wanted to elevate and “level up” all the art: creating more impressive fight scenes and more intriguing characters (although, of course, each team member had their take on how to do that).
Does the art team have any specific plans for the future?
Primarily, the art team’s plans depend on the narrative designer, the game designers, and most importantly, the producer’s plans. In other words, we create what’s assigned to us, and too much improvisation on our part can be unhelpful.
That said, we do have our ideas as well. For instance, we’re always thinking about how to make our locations even better. We’ve already added more depth layers to some new scenes, making their design more complex and refined, and we plan to continue in that direction.
As for equipment, we’ve tried to add a hint of “historical” style to our armor and weapons designs; when creating a new set, we now pay more attention to how similar items are constructed in real life. Overall, our goal is to make the game’s art more intricate, impressive, and modern.
Finally, I know you don’t just lead the team—you draw too. Tell us something interesting! Maybe there’s a particular piece you enjoyed working on? Or are there sketches that didn’t get a chance to be realized?
Yes, I do draw as well. Naturally, I enjoy working on new things—locations, characters, equipment, you name it. It’s exciting to make concept sketches and come up with fresh designs. There’s always a bit of routine in any creative work, of course, but here, almost everything feels interesting!
Failed sketches? Sure, that’s what sketches are for. It’s all about finding something unique and filtering out what doesn’t quite fit. Some of the unused ideas are interesting on their own but don’t meet specific needs. That’s the nature of game development—you have to let go of some ideas to make the final result stronger.
Thanks, Evgeny, for the detailed answers! Now, it’s time to chat with the artists themselves. Let’s start simple: what’s the most enjoyable part of your work?
Daria K. (NeylaTL): I love working on characters. There are, of course, other exciting tasks with items and locations, but characters are my passion. I put all my energy into bringing them to life, so much that it feels like it takes my breath away to see the final result! I’m especially proud of my work on Wasp. I once drew her for Shadow Fight 2: Special Edition, and she was my favorite character back then. Having the chance to draw her again after all these years, with improved skills, was a real joy for me.
Nikita: Can I just show a timelapse of my work?
Ksenia: I love working on locations the most, so they’re all my favorites. But working on the dojo with the beach was the most enjoyable—it has such a warm vibe, so different from other locations. My second favorite is probably the Berstuuk Forest. Working with ritualistic themes and imagining the stories behind a place is always intriguing.
Sibel: My fav part of the project is creating concepts for new characters, and sketching out their turnarounds. The very first character I drew when I joined—Tzitzimitl—is still my favorite! I also love working on locations.
Yana, 2D VFX Artist: I’ve worked on so many fascinating VFX tasks that it’s hard to pick just one. I love challenging tasks that make you think. Usually, I’ll sketch out a couple of concepts, and from there, we choose the best one to develop into a final animated sequence. For example, I worked on a VFX series for Torment. I had to combine hearts and chains into a single effect since her fighting style is intriguing and full of passion.
You probably have a ton of sketches that didn’t make it into the game or were heavily modified in the process. Can you share some?
Daria K. (NeylaTL): I haven’t been with Shades for long, so I don’t have many sketches yet, but I do have a few! For instance, Berstuuk with different horns, some poses for Kanade, and some designs for May.
Ksenia: I can show a few location sketches.
Sibel: I don’t have all my sketches on hand, but I can share some of my early sketches for Yeong-Hui.
Yana: Sometimes effects don’t make it into the game for various reasons. One that comes to mind is the “Bleeding” VFX, which is a visual indicator of a cut. But due to strict censorship regulations in China about blood, we decided not to risk it and changed the effect’s style. We even dropped the use of purple slime. Another example is the “Jetpack” VFX, which stayed at the concept stage because of technical limitations and time constraints. Who knows, maybe we’ll revisit it someday.
Can’t help but notice that some visual elements are exaggerated. Why is that?
Since this is a game, we need to highlight the most crucial aspects of game objects. We’re primarily storytelling, and we want the story to be captivating and memorable. Realism isn’t always the best way to achieve that.
Programmers
Hey, Mstislav! I’ll be honest—I have no idea what’s going on under the hood of our game. Is there anything, from a programmer's perspective, what makes Shades stand out from other projects?
Even though each Shadow Fight game might look similar, each one actually has a unique codebase that reflects the team’s growth and accumulated experience. Years pass between releases, during which both technology and our development approaches change a lot, bringing new ideas for improvements.
Shadow Fight: Shades was initially built on the Shadow Fight 2 codebase, which is over ten years old. SF2 was originally developed on the cocos2dx engine but was later moved to Unity3D. At that time, our experience with Unity was limited, so the code wasn’t fully optimized for the engine, which left a mark on its structure.
Over time, Shadow Fight 2 accumulated a lot of technical debt, and knowledge about its internal workings was partially lost. When we started working on Shades, we thought we could simply "refresh" the SF2 code, but as we got deeper in the project, it became clear that minor updates wouldn’t be enough. The project needed a complete overhaul; the architecture's shortcomings and unexpected bugs kept holding us back. For example, in one minor release, the number of crashes spiked sixfold. We spent weeks troubleshooting before realizing a major code refactoring was necessary to ensure stability and improve performance.
As a result, we developed a new player profile management system that centralizes data and streamlines access, since Shades has a more complex profile structure than SF2 or other series games. Building on what we learned from Shadow Fight 4, we also created and implemented a new UI framework, which simplified UI work and improved navigation. The result was not just a "sequel" but a new game with a reworked foundation and many unique features.
Are there any long-term goals or tasks for the programming team? What’s on the roadmap for the near and distant future?
Right now, we have a few long-term goals: improving game stability on low-end devices with 2–3 GB of RAM and making fundamental refinements to the combat system and tactics. We’re constantly working on optimizations, graphics, and UI to make the game even smoother and feel more engaging.
And tell me honestly—is there anything you’d like to add to the game just for fun?
I’d love to unify the codebases of Shades and SF2 and breathe new life into SF2 by improving its technical state and adding online features. This would allow us to keep the classic feel of Shadow Fight 2 while making it more relevant and user-friendly for modern players.
Thanks, Mstislav! Do any of the other programmers have interesting stories to share?
Roman: I remember it clearly. It was a typical sunny spring day when we received a report of a strange bug—almost like Neo from The Matrix had into our game, and weapons just "freezed" in midair. A classic debugging process ensued: calling in everyone possible, setting up people in key areas, and placing debugging checkpoints. After playing through the entire game twice, we finally found the culprit! It turned out to be an issue with the time-slowing mechanism. After a few minutes of collaborative discussion, the fix was implemented, and Neo was no longer a problem. We became Neo ourselves!
QA
Playing Shades all day long sounds like a dream come true. Tell us, what’s it really like? What does a typical day look like for a QA specialist?
Artem: It’s very exciting, especially when testing new content or mechanics. You have to be very attentive, as you want to ensure that players have a cool and high-quality gaming experience. A typical day starts with preparation: making sure all devices are charged and ready. You also need to familiarize yourself with the updates from game designers and support, then review task responses and start testing.
R. D.: It’s true, QA specialists do spend a lot of time in the game, but our tasks go far beyond just "playing." Every change, new mechanic, and events can create a chain of potential issues and bugs that may affect the entire game. Unraveling this "knot" can be a tricky task. But we try to learn from past mistakes and create a better version of the game.
Typically, the day begins with planning: prioritizing tasks, gathering info, and preparing for testing, including checking previously fixed bugs.
A. K.: A QA specialist's day is quite busy. Most of the time is spent checking new features and fixing bugs. To do this work, a lot of details need to be clarified and checked: both through documentation (which contains the logic of the feature) and by communicating with colleagues. For example, understanding the original vision of the game designers is crucial—they can be quite varied: from "Boss Razor deals X damage" to the feeling of playing with a specific weapon.
The phrase "Playing Shades all day long sounds like a dream come true" doesn’t quite reflect reality, as all the details, checks, and rechecks leave little room to enjoy the game itself, though there is enjoyment in unraveling the puzzle. You get to truly enjoy the game during release preparation, where tasks allow for more relaxed play.
Were there any particularly interesting cases in your work? Or perhaps some favorite bugs?
Artem: Sometimes funny bugs pop up, or there are situations when we need to convince a game designer that something is imbalanced and overpowered. This usually happens with new content or mechanics. For example, at one point in Act IV, enemies were so afraid of mines that after they were placed, they simply stopped moving. Or there were cases where some parts of the interface increased to ridiculous sizes and did not fit on the screen.
R.D.: Yes, there have been some bugs so unexpected that they were pretty funny. For example, when we added new logic for the settings window, we accidentally allowed players to quit during the tutorial fight at the very beginning of the game. It was hilarious seeing the option to give up in the very first room!
A. K.: I enjoy testing SDKs (tools for adding third-party apps to the project), performance, and things related to the code. There’s more unpredictability here, and the puzzle becomes trickier. I also like events, as the game designers come up with fresh ideas every time. The mechanics are amazing, and the combat visuals keep getting richer.
Now that we've covered all the main departments, we can move on to the produ...
According to my data, something has been missed. The narrative department. I didn’t expect such neglect from you, Grimbago. This time, I'll be asking the questions.
Narrative
You mentioned that you're a narrative game designer and writer. What does that mean? It was rather careless of you to use little-known terms at the beginning of the text without providing the necessary context.
Eugene (Grimbago): Let me start with the basics. A game writer is someone who creates the text for video games. In Shades, I’m responsible for everything: from developing the storyline to writing the descriptions of equipment traits. I also write scripts for in-game comics (expect more in Act IV!).
As a narrative game designer, I ensure that all the elements in the game come together to form a coherent story. My job is to make sure that the music, locations, character avatars, and boss abilities fit together and don't create a sense of "something’s off." That’s why I constantly work with game designers and artists: I write technical specifications and discuss game mechanics. A key part of my job is explaining to the team what emotions different game elements should evoke in players and defining the creative boundaries of each task. I try to suggest locations and characters to artists that they will find interesting to illustrate, and mechanics to game designers that they will be excited to develop.
Do you have any favorite characters or moments in the game? I know people tend to be subjective.
That's a great question, but I’ll keep that to myself. Instead, let me share something else. One of the main narrative tasks for Shades from the very beginning was to explore the characters from Shadow Fight 2. The events of SF2 had to have left a mark on the people involved and on the world itself, and we wanted to show the consequences of that. However, Shades was never planned as a “clone” or anything like that—the project always had its own identity. Honestly, I didn’t write a single line in the first two months of working on Shades, because all of that time was spent brainstorming and discussing the narrative concept with the game’s producer and the Nekki leadership. There was no other way to approach it: each game in the series is exceptional, comparisons with Shadow Fight 2 were inevitable, and we had to offer players something truly new.
When we finally reached a shared vision for what Shades should be (and even came up with the name, by the way), it became clear that the SF2 characters alone wouldn’t be enough—we needed to add new characters, each with a memorable and distinct presence.
Players had to be able to instantly recognize that this is Shades and that it’s something unique. The very first character was Tzitzimitl, whom Sibel has already mentioned, and we continued, for example, with the first key story character—Yeong-Hui, a girl with a striking appearance, a vibrant personality, and, crucially for our game, a unique fighting style. Each new character in Shades, by design, serves as a starting point for expanding our beloved game universe.
Producer
Hello! You've been a part of the project since the start? Games often change a lot during development. Has Shades evolved much from the original vision?
Strangely enough, Shades hasn’t changed much from its original vision. Almost all the features we’ve released over the past year—duels, events, allies, starting quests—were planned from the start and have appeared in nearly the same form. The only differences are in the smaller details. On the other hand, some core ideas have raised new questions. For example, our idea of having players use a different set of equipment in each act has presented quite a few challenges, many of which weren’t apparent a year ago.
What’s next for Shades? What are the project’s plans, and what can players expect, and when? I’d love to see a classic tower mode for fighting games—will that be added?
From the events Shade of Eternity and Possessed by the Past, you may have noticed that Shades is working more closely with Shadow Fight 2. I can assure you that this process will continue into next year, leading to even more new content across both products.
Shortly, we want to focus on improving the core of the game. As I mentioned earlier, there are certain issues with using a unique set of equipment in each act. We’re planning to run a very specific test: balancing the game to allow any items to be used in any act. If this test is successful, it will open up the possibility for us to introduce different content at any stage of the game. We also plan to experiment with a few new event types, beyond the current "complete these chapters in 1-2 weeks."
As for the tower mode—no, it's not planned shortly. The next game mode is likely to lean more towards roguelike elements than classic fighting games formats: designing a classic dungeon or "route" map where players can choose where they want to go. Do they want to fight a weaker opponent to reach a meditation cave, or face a stronger one for a great reward? We could add many new characters with different abilities to this map!
Conclusion
We believe that the best way to make games is to create something we ourselves enjoy playing. When people work on something they genuinely like, it always reflects in the final result, and we hope that Shades shows that. We’ll keep following this philosophy while striving to make the game even more exciting. More adventures, characters, locations... and, of course, battles await!
Thank you for your support! And if you enjoy Shades, don’t forget to tell your friends about the game that we love together.
Stay tuned!
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