"I've always dreamed of making video games," says Adam Starlight, founder and creative director of Wishfully Studios.
He left a career in the advertising industry when in 2018 he teamed up with seven others to start a single-game studio.
They are one in a series of examples of successful video game productions from the Gothenburg and Skövde area.
Studio Ghibli-inspired
In "Planet of Lana" the girl Lana lives on a beautiful planet far away.
"She is forced on an epic adventure with a small animal named Mui, and together they try to rescue Lana's older sister, who has been abducted when a robotic army invades the planet.
Adam Starlight describes the game as a "cinematic puzzle adventure" with various obstacles. The setting is inspired by Japanese Studio Ghibli films such as "Spirited away" and "My neighbor Totoro". The environments give the feeling of hand-painted magnificent nature combined with sci-fi.
The project grew
"We tried to pitch the game and convince publishers that this was a good idea. Which isn't so easy when it's one's first game.
Eventually, the project grew to over 20 people. After exhibiting at their first game fair, they received a call from world-famous composer Takeshi Furukawa, who worked on "Star Wars", "Star Trek" and "The Last Guardian".
See what happened when the Star Wars composer got in touch in the video.
"Planet of Lana" released in May 2023 was released for PC and Xbox. A sequel is in development.