Digital Media Concepts/CrossCode

CrossCode is an action role-playing video game developed by Radical Fish Games and published by Deck13. The game's development began in 2012, and was later introduced as a crowdfunded project on Indiegogo in early 2015. Following a three-year long early access beta phase, CrossCode was released for Linux, macOS, and Windows in September 2018, and will be released for the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2019. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Synopsis
CrossCode is a retro-inspired 2D action role-playing video game set in the distant future, combining 16-bit Super NES-style graphics with smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story. Players control a mute character named Lea as she plays a fictional MMORPG known as CrossWorlds.

Development and release
CrossCode is an action role-playing video game developed by Radical Fish Games and published by Deck13. Development of the game began in 2012. It was later introduced added as a Indiegogo crowdfunded project in February 2015, being released as an early access title on Steam for Linux, macOS, and Windows later that year. It officially released out of early access on September 20, 2018. In January 2019, an enhanced version of the game for the Nintendo Switch was announced, set for release sometime later in 2019.

The soundtrack was composed by Deniz Akbulut, with an official soundtrack being released on September 6, 2018.

Story
In the prologue of the game, Shizuka Sakai attempts to stop her brother, Satoshi Sakai, from working on an unknown project. Then the game jumps to the main story as the main protagonist, Lea, as she is stuck in a MMORPG with the inability to speak. She proceeds to play through the MMORPG called CrossWorlds, where players can play as one of the five classes. The five classes are Triblader, Quadroguard, Pentafist, Hexacast, and Spheromancer. Lea's class is a Spheromancer, then she meets a new friend, Emilie a.k.a Emilienator, who is a Pentafist and challenges Lea into a dungeon race in Rhombus Dungeon. After Lea entered the dungeon to find Emilie, there's Apollo, who is also a Spheromancer, and finds Lea suspicious and suspected her as a cheater. Lea then decided to play CrossWorlds together with Emilie, meet new friends, join guilds, and more importantly is to learn the truth about herself.

Main Characters

 * Lea
 * An Evotar based on Shizuka Sakai and is the main protagonist of the game. She is a Spheromancer who has lost her memory and is playing CrossWorlds in an attempt to recover it.


 * Emilienator
 * Her real name is Emilie-Sophie de Belmond. She is a competitive Pentafist who befriends Lea during the tutorial and later joins her party.


 * C'tron
 * His real name is Toby Tremblay. He is a new member of the First Scholars. He is also quite a shy Hexacast.


 * Schneider
 * His real name is Lukas Fink. He is an experienced Triblader and a member of the First Scholars guild.


 * Apollo
 * He is a dramatic, justice-obsessed Spheromancer who sets himself up as Lea's rival after suspecting her of cheating.


 * Joern
 * He is Apollo's more levelheaded Quadroguard.


 * Shizuka
 * Also known as Bento-chan. Last name is Sakai. She is a briefly playable Spheromancer during the prologue. Her big brother, Satoshi Sakai, has gotten her involved in some nasty business.

First Scholars

 * Hlin
 * Her real name is Linda Palmer. She is the leader of the First Scholars and a friendly, motherly Quadroguard who is very passionate about the lore of CrossWorlds.


 * Beowulf
 * His real name is Albert Grumpesto. He is the founding member of the First Scholars and a quiet, intimidating Hexacast who tends to keep to himself.


 * Buggy
 * His real name is Raphael Luiz Vega. He is a laid-back Triblader and a member of the First Scholars. He is also kind of a troll.

Maintenance Crew

 * Sergey Asimov
 * A colleague of the Instatainment who is responsible for getting Lea started in CrossWorlds.


 * Carla Salvatore
 * An employee on the M.S. Solar, who befriends Lea and helps introduce her to CrossWorlds.


 * Captain Jet
 * His real name is Gerald McFly. He is the captain of the cargo ship M.S. Solar who has agreed to let Sergey use his ship to prepare Lea for CrossWorlds.

Other Characters

 * Evotar Lukas
 * An Evotar version of Lukas Fink a.k.a. Schenider, who lives in Vermillion Wasteland and really cares about Lea.


 * Ketin D'Kar
 * An odd player with multi-class equipment who collects useless, low-level equipment.


 * Holiday Man
 * An NPC who enjoys gifting for fun! Typically appears around Christmas. Bears no resemblance to any anime characters.


 * Satoshi Sakai
 * A colleague of the Instatainment and Shizuka Sakai's big brother. After getting her involved in a bad situation, he undertook a mysterious project despite his poor health to ensure her freedom.


 * Designer
 * The blue avatar with game-breaking powers and delusions of godhood controlled by Gautham Ranganathan, a collegue of the Instatainment, and is the main antagonist of the game. He recognizes Lea from before she lost her memory.

Reception
CrossCode received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Awards
The game was nominated for "Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game" at the SXSW Gaming Awards.