Mulaka: A look at pre-release and early prototype content

Hello!

Mulaka began pre-production way back in 2014. Since then, the game has seen numerous changes throughout development, some concerning small features, while others completely changing how it plays and looks. Today, we’d like to share with you some early screenshots and info on Mulaka from before its release. These are things that were planned for the game at one point but didn’t make the cut or were altered for its final release.

The Not-so-Jungle of Hueráach

An early build of Hueráach had the level in a very different tone. Since this area is based on an actual jungle with abundant flora, we changed it so that it looked all green and gave a stronger sense of the high humidity and densely vegetated environment that can be found in a climate like this.

A Darker Resó Rekubí

The third level of the game features a cave that feels like a dungeon with a series of water puzzles to solve. Previously, this was a darker space that was only lit by sources of fantasy blue light within the underground cave. These were later replaced by natural sunlight coming through openings in the ceiling, thus avoiding a sense of visual repetition with the subsequent level in the game, Arareko, which is the night area in Mulaka and has a blue palette all throughout.

Main Menu

Remember how the main menu of the game features a big majestic waterfall in the background? Well, before that was a thing, the main menu was located inside a cavern superimposed against a wall featuring cave paintings. The idea was to have a fire provide the main source of illumination on the scene and give a peaceful and ‘storytime’ vibe. You can listen to the music theme of this early version of the menu here. It was then changed to a more impactful scenery, as we felt that was more representative of what the game is.

The first version of the game, even before properly announcing it or showing anything, was named Combameai in honor of a leader of the Tarahumara community who was a key figure in their war against the Church. When we were looking for a proper name for our game, we knew we needed a name in the Tarahumara tongue, but it needed to be a name that would be catchy and easy to pronounce anywhere in the world. Lucky for us, during our research we found the word Mulaka, meaning corn stalk, and the rest is history!

We’re posting this kind of content on an almost daily basis for our Discord community server here. There’s a lot more in there, and a lot more coming, so feel free to join us and have a discussion about Mulaka, other games, and anything else! Our Discord server is officially verified too, so don’t forget to look for the checkmark on the title to make sure you’ve joined the right place.

On behalf of everyone at Lienzo,

Adolfo Aguirre

PR & Publishing Manager