Hanako: Honor & Blade - personal Inspiration and challenges of a small studio

The cofounder of +Mpact Games spoke with us about the creation of his passion project.

November 3, 2021 9:00 AM

Set in Feudal Japan, Hanako: Honor & Blade is a new online beat’em up game. Developed by +Mpact game, the title has been in development for many years, and has taken inspiration from several fictional and real-life sources. We sat down with the cofounder of +Mpact Games to learn more about the development of Hanako: Honor & Blade and the challenges faced along the way.

Shacknews head of video Greg Burke was joined by Matt Canei, cofounder of +Mpact Games to talk more about Hanako: Honor & Blade. The game was originally conceived back when Canei was in college alongside a couple friends. The trio formed +Mpact Games as they worked on Hanako. In the interview, Canei talks about the struggles of being a small studio.

Canei also talks about his inspirations behind Hanako: Honor & Blade. The game is a tribute to his mother, who passed away in 2007. Canei recalls the year she first got sick, and how the media he consumed around that time inspired him. “She let me pick out an Xbox game to rent and I rented Shenmue on a whim and it blew my mind.”

The full interview provides some valuable insight into game development, particularly on the indie-side of things. For more exclusive interviews with developers, be sure to subscribe to the GamerHubTV and Shacknews YouTube channels.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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