Software Engineering Daily

Mina the Hollower

46 min

This episode of Software Engineering Daily features David D'Angelo, lead programmer at Yacht Club Games, discussing the development of *Mina the Hollower*, a top-down action RPG inspired by classic *Zelda* and *Castlevania* titles. Key insights include the technical challenges of building a custom C engine named Propeller, emulating Game Boy Color art constraints in a modern rendering pipeline, and designing a combat system focused on deliberate positioning rather than reactive dodging.

Summarized by Podsumo

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

The game uses a custom C engine called Propeller, built from scratch for *Mina the Hollower*, with tooling for palette effects, animation, and combat systems.
2

Art style emulates Game Boy Color constraints (3-4 colors per sprite, global palette) but runs on modern hardware via textured triangles instead of sprites.
3

Combat philosophy is inspired by NES *Castlevania* — positioning is key, with no dodge roll; the burrow mechanic acts as a slow, invulnerability-linked jump.
4

Open world saves every screen and has no load screens, causing unique bugs like players saved in impossible positions.
5

The game features 60 trinkets and 15 sidearms, with a complex balance system to ensure all builds are viable across the open world.
6

New Game Plus includes 7 rounds, with modifiers like item shuffler (randomizer), horizontal world flip, and area level scaling.

💬 Notable Quotes

"We just wanted to make something that is a little bit different and a little bit like interesting, and maybe not something you've experienced before. But at the same time, we want to make sure that everything in there is like consistent and like when you do an action, like what happens is what you expect."