Explore a heartfelt puzzle platformer

Colorbound is a wonderful puzzle platformer that's really quite special so I asked developer Isaias Romero all about its themes and gameplay.

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Anku has to get the band back together no matter what!

A.J. ▸ Hello! Colorbound incorporates music and colour in its story and gameplay. Can you explain your relationship with music and colour and how you hope players will resonate with these elements? v1d30chumz tzyzvvyztxyzvw

Isaias ▸ My relationship with music goes back many years; ever since I was a kid, I've loved music, and at some point I decided I wanted to be a composer. At music school, I learned to work with various styles, and that's where my passion for Latin American folk music began.

As for the game, the music is meant to accompany Anku's entire adventure, so I hope to convey, above all, a sense of nostalgia, joy, and warmth. That's why we used a pastel color palette; our goal was always to convey a sense of warmth and tenderness, starting with the color palette.

On the other hand, drawing inspiration from Andean culture, we hope that people from these Latin American regions will be able to identify with the traditional colors and sounds of this place, and that international audiences will feel curious and get to know a little bit of what exists on this side of the world.

Climbing is easier with the power of music and colour on your side

A.J. ▸ The story premise of Colorbound involves loss and memories yet it's a lighthearted and upbeat game. Did this stem from personal experience and how do you feel this approach may help players who are dealing with loss?

Isaias ▸ Well, to be honest, I wasn't directly inspired by any specific experience, but I think we've all gone through grief at some point, so I wanted to take that feeling and portray it from a more innocent perspective, contrasting it with the experience of old age.

I really didn't want to make a game that felt heavy, despite the theme, the game isn't meant to be a heart-wrenching or pretentious story. So I decided to take this story in a simpler, more optimistic direction. While the character goes through ups and downs, the ultimate goal is to have experienced an adventure that accompanies Anku's grieving process and to empathize with the feelings of the elderly.

Although it might sound a bit cliché, while grief will certainly lead us through very sad moments, I believe that in the end, it's a driving force that helps us understand that we should make the most of life while we have it. And that's kind of the spirit of the game: there are sad moments, but the goal is to keep living and enjoying the company of those around us.

That alpaca is so cute with their little hat!

A.J. ▸ The art style of Colorbound is gorgeous with its soft colour palettes. Were there any rules that you set to make it visually cohesive and unique and are there any particular details that you'd like to talk about?

Isaias ▸ At first, we simply defined a palette of pastel colors, which we used to create the game prototype. But when it came time to start production, we worked on developing a pixel art style that felt unique.

Much of this style comes from our artists, mainly Neko, our pixel artist who has a very distinctive drawing style.

So after iterating on several ideas, we decided to combine her pixel art style with watercolor art. At least for the elements that can be painted, her sprites use transparency that blends with the background, so it was perfect for simulating a watercolor effect.

On the other hand, all the designs for the environmental elements are inspired by the Andean regions and cultures such as the Aymara. We made this decision because I personally really like Andean folk music, so considering that Aymara and Inca cultures are often represented through color, it was the perfect direction on which to base this adventure and thus bring all the elements together under a single theme.

Be careful when pushing your elders down a hill

A.J. ▸ The music has a lovely energy to it as well so how did the soundtrack come together and what instruments were used?

Isaias ▸ One of my favorite parts. As I mentioned earlier, I've always been interested in Latin American folk music from all the countries in the region. But this time, I focused on folk music from the Andean region, including Bolivian rhythms like the huayno and the caporal, which are also performed in Chile and Argentina, and other rhythms such as the Landó and the Festejo from Peru.

So the main concept was to compose music inspired by these styles, using their traditional instrumentation and trying to avoid European orchestral elements, leaving everything to the characteristic timbres of Andean folk music.

However, I wanted to combine these instruments and rhythms with more modern harmonies and try to achieve a style that felt fresh.

Some of my inspirations for achieving this were musical groups like Inti-Illimani, Illapu, and Eva Ayllón, as well as the soundtracks of video games like the "Zelda" series and movies like "Forrest Gump".

For the instrumentation, the five traditional instruments represented by the game's characters are the Zampoña and the Quena as wind instruments, the Guitar and Charango as string instruments, and the Bombo Legüero as percussion.

But more instruments were actually used throughout the game, as we needed to create contrast between the different zones. We added instruments such as the tarkas, a bass (very important), the Cuban tres, shakers, panderos, water sticks, piano, marimba, and accordion. Oh, and a triangle haha.

The goal is in sight so let's try and work this out...

A.J. ▸ How did the concept of solving puzzles by colouring your environment come about?

Isaias ▸ It all started with my participation in the LAGS Game Jam 2025, a Latin American game jam focused on promoting Latin talent in video games.

For this game jam, they used the phrase "What the eyes don't see, the heart doesn't feel" as the theme. So our task was to create a game in 7 days based on this phrase and interpret it however we wanted.

From the start, I wanted to make a puzzle game, so I interpreted the phrase to mean that the player cannot interact in any way with objects they cannot see. At first, I thought about using light and shadow to hide objects, but I quickly realized there were only two options (light and dark), which significantly limited the possibilities for designing interesting levels.

So, as I kept refining this idea, it occurred to me that the best way to hide things was by using color, since any object that matches the background color becomes invisible but still exists; therefore, the way to make it visible again was to change the background color.

This is how the game's main mechanic was born: The player can change the color of environmental elements to alter their visibility.

Later on, I added new mechanics to keep the gameplay fresh, but even with just this core concept, there were plenty of possibilities for creating interesting levels.

Things certainly get complicated but it'll be worth it in the end

A.J. ▸ As you worked on the puzzle designs, how did you ensure the player will remain challenged throughout? Are there any additional mechanics you'd like to discuss?

Isaias ▸ Given that the game is divided into small levels like "Baba is You", the idea was for each level to have something interesting to show, or to teach the player something new. This is usually done in puzzle games, because nobody enjoys solving puzzles the same way all the time, you lose that "aha!" moment that makes a puzzle interesting.

It's not really necessary to add new mechanics all the time; sometimes, simply adding an object can help the player learn a new interaction or face a new challenge, which is what we're after.

⚠️ SPOILER I think one of the moments I like best is when the blue gravity mechanic is introduced, it feels very fresh and adds an extra layer of possibilities that the player begins to consider and learn.

Another moment is when you can paint yourself with the cascades of color. It also introduces a new obstacle where the player is affected in the same way as other objects in the environment.

I have so much more to explore, chums!

A.J. ▸ For players of Colorbound who are interested in learning more about Aymara culture and history, are there any books or pieces of media that you recommend checking out?

Isaias ▸ To be honest, I don't know much about Aymara audiovisual material, especially in English. But I can recommend this YouTube documentary that I watched back when I was gathering information.

On the other hand, I could recommend some artists who play Andean folk music, in case anyone is interested: Inti-Illimani, Illapu, Kjarkas, Los Atipak.

Aymara Documentary → I have a feeling that cactus is going to be a problem

A.J. ▸ Finally, the silly question of the day: if Anku could be a guest character in any 2D puzzle platformer, which one would it to be and why?

Isaias ▸ I haven't really played many 2D puzzle-platformers, but if I had to choose a puzzle game, it would be "Baba is You" or "Paper Trail". Mainly because they're games that inspired Colorbound and have brilliant mechanics. Although "Baba is You" is pretty hard.

I've been tooting my flute for so long that I'm turning purple!