Shadow Fight 2: Q&A

Hello, friends!
Today we prepared for you a little adventure to the past, and answered your most interesting questions about the creation of Shadow Fight 2. It’s been a long and interesting journey, and we’re ready to share it with you!

Was there a story planned from the beginning? Or was it supposed to be a game without a story like the previous one?

Originally, Shadow's story was a short adventure where the brave hero defeats six demons and then the main villain, and afterwards he regains his body. All in all, a straightforward story, just like the first part. But then two scriptwriters joined the project who made Shadow Fight 2 as you know it today. One of them is still working on the series and Shadow Fight 2 in particular.

During the creation of SF2, were there any ideas and mechanics that were later abandoned?

There were no mechanics that we abandoned, but there were a lot of ideas that we couldn't implement in the script for one reason or another. For example, in chapter seven, in the Titan's world, there was a character who was supposed to buy and sell bodies. According to the game's lore, a shadow entity couldn't enter our world without a material shell. And this character was wheeling and dealing bodies on the black market. Shadow had to interrogate him during the story and find out where the body he was looking for was. However, the producer of the project thought the concept itself was too dark, so we scrapped it.

How did you arrive at Shadow's story? Was Shadow a hero at all?

Shadow's adventure is a classic story of becoming a hero who comes to understand his powers and responsibilities and the mistakes he has made. This was the case with Ezio Auditore, for example. There is no doubt that Shadow is a hero. A three-dimensional, deep, tragic hero. That's what we like about him.

Where did the idea to make the characters completely black silhouettes come from? And why did you choose it?

The idea to use only silhouettes has its roots in technical limitations (it makes the characters easy and fast to draw), because the first version of Shadow Fight was created by just one person—Eugene Dyabin. Initially, the emphasis was on animation, and unnecessary graphics could distract from that. Of course, as time went on, this became a hallmark of the series, and the graphics themselves became much more complex (for example, today you can see the details of uniforms on the silhouettes, and, in Shadow Fight 3, silhouettes became a separate combat mode).

Where did the first weapon concepts come from, and what was your inspiration for them?

The visionary behind the series, Eugene Dyabin, really likes martial arts movies, especially Chinese ones. He has seen an incredible number of them. The way the heroes use their hands and feet, their surroundings, and various weapons (not guns, only melee weapons)—all this became the basis for the creation of Shadow Fight. So we dove headfirst into books about weapons...

How did you come up with the demons and Titan?

The demons and Titan himself are composite characters. Titan has a bit of Thanos in him (even their names start with the same letter), Hermit has a bit of the old martial arts master who "trolls" the protagonist in Kill Bill, etc. All our bosses are things we've seen in movies, read in books, or encountered in video games.

What were your expectations for Shadow Fight 2's story mode? Did you have an outline for part 3 when you were working on part 2?

When we were creating Shadow Fight 2, story in mobile games was more of an exception to the rule. That's why we were optimistic about our game. And we were right: as the years went by, more and more story-driven games appeared on mobile platforms! And we started coming up with Shadow Fight 3 while working on the second game. The announcement teaser with three warriors' epic battle for a mystical orb is actually an artifact of that era. At the time, we didn't know how the future story would end, but we already knew what we wanted to say in it.

The last act of SF2, which consists of three parts, is very different from the other chapters. A lot of work was put into it. What were the challenges in creating it? Are there any stories that you still remember to this day?

The first and foremost difference is the technogenic setting. Our hero was entering a world that was unfamiliar and incomprehensible to him (as well as to the player). So, we wanted to tell a bit more about the world beyond the Gates, and, at the same time, we wanted to update the rules of the game (in a broad sense). For example, we introduced guns. Another story comes to mind: the project's lead game designer really wanted us to have a cutscene for the first time in this chapter. However, the game engine isn't designed for that, so the scriptwriters had to think hard about how to make the first meeting with Shroud memorable. They came up with the idea that the player needs to LOSE to start the story scene. And then came tormenting the programmers to put this all together correctly.

What works (comics, etc.) inspired Shadow Fight 2's scriptwriters?

There is a legion of them. During the creation of the second game, the writers were inspired by everything they liked from their childhood, from action movies with Jackie Chan and sci-fi like Equilibrium (here's a riddle: find the Grammaton Cleric character in "Old Wounds") to Marvel comics and B horror movies.

Were there story chapters planned after the defeat of Titan? Why start the 4th-tier Underworld story if the Raids storyline ended quite logically in the 3rd tier?

Shadow's story after the Shadow Fight finale is revealed in Shades, as well as Shadow Fight 3. But we've always had ideas for our favorite characters to go on new adventures that take place alongside the events of Shadow Fight 2. For example, we wanted to tell May's story for a long time, and now you can learn a little about her in the comic based on Shadow Fight 2. The 4th tier of the Underworld came about because we found an interesting concept for continuing the story. And the ending of this story arc will free the scriptwriters' hands for good!

Have you ever thought of giving Shadow a human name?

That's an interesting question! But unfortunately, no, we haven't. Although now we are...