Petal Runner Interview

At this year’s Summer Game Fest Play Days, slice-of-life RPG Petal Runner was featured at a booth on the show floor. The development team at Nano Park Studios was on-site, and RPGamer sat down to chat with several members about the game’s inspirations and design, among other elements. Developers present were pixel artist Brandon James Greer, writers Lauren M. Crowne and Adam Dolin, and programmer Danny Guo. Petal Runner is currently in development for PC, with a demo available on Steam, and will release later this year.

Jordan McClain (RPGamer): What inspired Petal Runner‘s visual style? Were there any particular games or other media that cultivated its aesthetic?

Brandon James Greer: I’ve always been inspired by retro games, particularly the kind of form factor that we see in the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance. Really like the chunky pixels in that. I have a YouTube channel where I do pixel art tutorials and kind of like break down the styles of different games. And so I’ve got to digest a lot of different styles and kind of find my favorites through that. And so putting this together, it was just like sort of what my favorite aesthetic was to use, which was that.

Adam Dolin: You should definitely follow Brandon’s YouTube channel; it’s a really good channel.

RPGamer: A lot of people are familiar with cyberpunk or steampunk, but what does it mean to be solarpunk? I noticed that was sort of a description for the game.

AD: Okay, so I’ll take that one. I think you originally had said cyberpunk in the original Steam description, and I played through the game, and because the game is powered by flowers and these flowers are solar powered, it feels like solarpunk was sort of the better description of it, I think. When we think of cyberpunk, we think of dark and gritty, and that just did not feel like the game to me when I first played it. It felt like a warm and gentle, kind game, which I feel like solarpunk is more… feels like solarpunk is a more hopeful genre, which is what Petal Runner felt like to me when I first played it. So I suggested that, and Brandon and Danny kindly agreed.

BJG: What we’re doing a lot with the minigames in the core mechanic is that we’re nurturing the pets. Nurturing the flowers to give life to the pets. So, I think as Adam’s saying, just with the hopeful nature of solarpunk, focusing on that nature aspect of it. It really is in tune with kind of the cozy and wholesome feel that the game has.

RPGamer: Is there anything about Petal Runner’s story and themes that you want to especially communicate? What are you hoping to evoke from players?

Lauren M. Crowne: The thing that really stands out to me is, like, the narrative core, is the idea of the relationship between a person and a pet. And running just the full gamut of emotions and experiences, even if, yes, our pet can speak human language and talk with you. But it’s still exploring that really special relationship and its goods and its bads and its bittersweet moments. And, hopefully too, it’s something that will really resonate with pet owners, but will also resonate with everybody. Because at the end of the day, it is a relationship and all of us have some sort of relationship with our families or friends or acquaintances or the strangers around us. And, yeah, I just really hope that that is something that connects with people.

Danny Guo: I’ve got something to add. I think our visuals inspire nostalgia, and we certainly get a lot of that from the community feedback. But I think the narrative itself also inspires nostalgia because it’s like a coming-of-age story. Everyone’s had a friend like Kira; Kira is a fox who’s all fantastic and speaks human language. Everyone’s had a friend like that at a certain age, and I think the narrative also touches on that, and it’s a really relatable story.

RPGamer: Traversing the city as a Petal Runner is a major gameplay component. How did you go about designing Cali’s motorcycle, the controls, and Sapphire Valley?

LMC: I feel like that’s a Danny answer.

DG: So I ride a motorcycle in real life. I’m also the programmer behind the game, so like, having a motorcycle feel good was very important to me and also to the project. I think the motorcycle is a part of Petal Runner’s identity. Yeah, so we did a lot of play testing to find what worked, and we went through a lot of different iterations. The sound design was also very important. These are real sounds lifted off my motorcycle. And also, like, so we do RPM simulations to get unique sound effects. When you mount and dismount the bike, like the engine start, the kickstand sounds, these are tactile feedback experiences that matter to me in real life, like they make the whole experience feel good. And I want that to come through in the game even for people who don’t ride motorcycles. And also, Brandon’s done such a great work with all the sprites, like the 16 directions of bike movement is a very impressive project.

RPGamer: Is there anything else you want our readers to know about Petal Runner?

BJG: So, Petal Runner releases in 2026 this year. And right now, we have a demo up on Steam if people want to try it out ahead of time. Yeah, so just, if it looks of interest, it’s there and available now.

LMC: And just potentially, the demo that we’re showing at SGF is exclusive to SGF, but the demo that is available on Steam is a totally different section, has its own little narrative arcs, has even a little bit more polish with sidequests and NPCs and full flavor text. So hopefully for you as well, but all of the readers too, like, that’ll be a great insight into the beginning of the narrative journey and the beginning of the wholesome arc into some of what you’ve seen today.

RPGamer would like to thank Brandon, Adam, Lauren, and Danny for taking the time to answer our questions, iam8bit for extending the opportunity, and Brooke Poulin and Jordan Boyd at fortyseven communications for facilitating and setting up the interview. Petal Runner is currently in development for PC and is set to release in 2026.