Matt Newell, creator of Lushfoil Photography Sim

Lushfoil Photography Sim has a certain sunny smell about me, as I discovered it during Summer Game Fest 2024. For those of you who know me a little, you’ll know that I have a (big) thing for walking sims. So when I discovered Matt Newell’s game, which mixes this aspect with photography, I had to jump at the chance to chat with him.

Point’n Think: Can you walk me through your career and what brings you to making video games?

Matt Newell: I studied photography in high school, which is an interest that I’ve maintained throughout the years, but my original course was where I gained an understanding and appreciation for visual art and colour design. I graduated from university with an honours in computer systems engineering, during my time studying I picked up Unreal Engine as a hobby. I worked for a few years as a freelancer doing various projects for clients, none of which were gamedev related, mostly film, tv, interactive exhibitions, live music visuals, arch-viz, etc. I had eventually built up a huge folder of environments and assets that I would use for projects, and so I added a few basic walking/interaction mechanics to a few of them, just as a new way to experience them in real-time. This was what eventually led to starting work on Lushfoil Photography Sim.

Point’n Think: What inspired you to create Lushfoil Photography Sim? Did your personal experience with photography influence the game?

Matt: I was mostly inspired by current capabilities in real-time graphics, I took it as a challenge to see how well I could recreate the places I’d been to. It became a photography simulator because it was fun to work on, and it made the most sense. My understanding and love of photography definitely helped me make the experience more authentic and realistic.

Point’n Think: The game focuses on immersive exploration and photography rather than traditional gameplay mechanics. What drew you to this concept?

Matt: Since the game’s focus is essentially on the environments, I wanted to create minimal mechanics that show them off well and help players appreciate all the details. I also knew I had to choose something light as I was aware of my limited capabilities as a first-time solo developer.

Point’n Think: Were there any specific photography games, walking simulators, or real-world photographers that influenced your work?

Matt: When I had started unreal engine I was inspired by the visuals lot of modern games that had incredible forests like the 2015 Star Wars Battlefront, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. In terms of mechanics, I love indie gems like Journey and Inside, because of their ability to tell a story or show something beautiful without any dialogue or context. As for photographers, there are many that helped inspire me and shape my own visual taste. I was also inspired by the locations that these photographers went to, which led me to choose Iceland and China as locations in the game.

Point’n Think: As a solo developer, what were the biggest challenges you faced while developing Lushfoil Photography Sim?

Matt: There were various difficulties and troubleshooting I had to undertake in order to solve unique problems, but to be straight, nothing was as hard as the console port. It took me an incredible amount of back and forth with learning, implementations and fixes, just to find out it’s not really a feasible workload to undertake as a solo developer. Hence we were able to find a console porting team to handle the project, and being familiar with the certification requirements and intricacies of console development, they’ve been able to do great work.

Point’n Think: How did you manage such a visually ambitious project on your own? Were there any tools or workflows that made the process more efficient?

Matt: The project was only really made possible because of the abundance of pre-made assets on the unreal engine marketplace (fab) and quixel megascans. given that I didn’t have to make the majority of assets, the visual standard was not too difficult to maintain, given that I gave everything the proper treatment in terms of surface adjustments, colour and lighting.

Point’n Think:  What made you choose Unreal Engine 5 for this project? How did it help you achieve the game’s photorealistic look?

Matt: I chose unreal because it was the most geared towards high-fidelity real-time visuals. It is loaded with options and settings that add a lot of visual flare to scenes, and keep things smooth and optimized. It also wasn’t really a choice, as it’s the package I was already working in, but I still think it’s the best fit for this kind of project.

Point’n Think: The environments in Lushfoil Photography Sim feel incredibly lifelike. How did you approach world-building and environmental storytelling?

Matt: I just wanted to create scenes that best represented my experience travelling there. Points of interest, The landscape, the variety and appearance of different areas, all help establish an atmosphere and help something feel more real. I do think a lot of games that use procedural asset placement and automation miss out on these kinds of details.

Point’n Think: The game offers detailed camera controls, including manual focus, zoom, and angle adjustments. How did you decide which photography mechanics to include?

Matt: I’ve tried to include as many settings and adjustments as possible, in order to replicate the feeling of using a real DLSR camera. The game’s main camera currently has: Modes (shutter priority/aperture priority/manual), shutter speed, aperture, iso, flash (auto/on/off), exposure, contrast, whitebalance, lens choice, filter, filter strength, aspect ratio, tilt, vignette, sharpen, export res.

Point’n Think: How does the game balance realism with accessibility for players who might not be familiar with real-world photography?

Matt: Players who stick with the default camera settings shouldn’t find things too difficult, as the image will always be sharp and properly exposed. The goal is to offer depth for photography enthusiasts while ensuring newcomers aren’t overwhelmed, the settings are just there to experiment with if they want to. The game also includes optional learning materials to help players develop a basic understanding of camera settings and techniques, which can also be applied to real-world photography.

Point’n Think: How did you choose the real-world locations featured in Lushfoil Photography Sim? Were they based on personal experiences?

Matt: I selected a mix of places I’ve traveled to that I was heavily inspired by, along with several I discovered online that have a unique look and atmosphere. I also aimed to curate a diverse selection of locations so that each environment feels distinctly different, so players can change levels and feel like they’re playing a different game.

Point’n Think: Some locations, such as churches and houses, appear inaccessible in the demo. Was this a design choice to maintain focus on landscapes, or do you plan to add more interior areas?

Matt: That’s right, but also because of time constraints, creating interiors just adds another level of complexity and many more assets to create or source. But for the last environment in the game I was able to put a much larger focus on interiors, because it made more sense.

Point’n Think: The sound design and ambient soundtrack are key to the game’s meditative feel. How did you select or compose the music?

Matt: I’ve been putting together playlists and moodboards ever since I started the game’s development. The soundtrack includes a lot of musicians that I personally love and was listening to at the time. I’ve curated a unique set of songs for each location, and I think everything fits super well.

Point’n Think: How has player feedback from the demo influenced development? Have any suggestions led to significant changes?

Matt: Yes, there have been many suggestions over the years, and thanks to the game’s open ended-design I didn’t need to have an excuse for many of these features. These include different cameras, different usable items (paper plane, kite) as well as some environmental easter eggs.

Point’n Think: Lushfoil Photography Sim is published by Annapurna Interactive, a studio known for supporting artistic and experimental games. How did this partnership come about?

Matt: I suppose I just emailed them at the right time, they reached back and agreed to collaborate. I love the collection of games they’ve curated and honored to be a part of it.

Point’n Think: Do you see yourself continuing with photography-focused games in the future, or do you have other creative ideas you’d like to explore next?

Matt: If it’s not too much work, I’d love to be able to add extra environments to this game as DLC. I imagine I’ll be spending a bit of time finishing the VR port, which is up next. but after that, I’d really like to get in the weeds with graphics programming, perhaps create something that looks completely different and new, and probably won’t involve photography.