Interview with the Developer of 'Protostellar: Impact!'
· Gaming Couch
Protostellar: Impact! was the first third-party game to launch on Gaming Couch. Built by Jens and Katja at GameLoom Studio, it turns players into hungry little asteroids: consume smaller opponents, grow larger, and avoid anything that can eat you first.
That launch is exciting for players, but it is also a practical example for other developers. Gaming Couch is opening its platform to outside creators, with the tools for phone controllers, multiplayer lobbies, publishing, and more already in place. We caught up with Jens and Katja to talk about the journey from a seven-day game jam project to a couch game, and what it was like to integrate with the platform.
“The integration with the Gaming Couch SDK was really quite simple.”
— Jens, GameLoom Studio
Meet GameLoom Studio
Gaming Couch: For readers meeting GameLoom Studio for the first time, who are you, what do each of you work on, and what kinds of games do you make?
Jens: We are Jens and Katja. Katja is responsible for the graphics, while I do the programming. We usually work on whatever we feel like with our only restriction being that if a project requires AAA-level graphics and attention, then maybe not. Some games we have planned and developed for two or three years; some we have done in one week. We practise a form of development called “why-not-driven development.”
From a Game Jam to a Couch Game
Before we go on: a small shout-out to Week Sauce, the game jam where Protostellar: Impact! first took shape in 2023. Its original seven-day build became the foundation for the couch game players can enjoy today.
Gaming Couch: Protostellar: Impact! began as a seven-day game jam project in 2023. Which parts of that first version survived into the game people can play today on Gaming Couch, and did you have to cut any parts?
Jens: The game had to be adjusted for Gaming Couch, as it originally didn’t have multiplayer support and the rounds didn’t have such a clear end condition. We also had to cut some features, including the possibility of the player becoming either a magma or ice asteroids, because they were hard to explain in the Gaming Couch format. For the Gaming Couch version, we also sped up the gameplay significantly so it fit the party mood. I will say there is also an Easter egg: if you play for long enough with a friend, you might get to see some stars in the game ;)
Bringing the Game to Gaming Couch
Gaming Couch: You built the game core in C++ and compiled it for the browser with Emscripten, while using Gaming Couch’s JavaScript tools for the platform integration. Why was that the right stack for Protostellar: Impact!?
Jens: I used C++, but actually only a fraction of its features. The code looks quite a bit like C code, but it wouldn’t compile to C. In my opinion, scripting languages make development too slow, so C++ helps with development speed. I also don’t like to use ready-made engines such as Unity; I prefer to do everything I need myself, including working mostly without any third-party libraries. Obviously, I do use libraries such as OpenGL, but apart from that, I stay away from other libs. Emscripten compiles the build to WebAssembly, which makes it possible to target the web environment.
Gaming Couch: Was it easy to integrate Gaming Couch’s JavaScript SDK with your game build, and were there any bugs you encountered?
Jens: The integration with the Gaming Couch SDK was really quite simple. Overall, there were maybe one or two bugs, but I fixed them in a day or so. The SDK tooling was quite refined for a closed beta!
Gaming Couch: Was there anything about integrating an Emscripten-built C++ game with a JavaScript SDK that surprised you?
Jens: Not really. I think the biggest issue I had was updating Emscripten on my computer: the last time I used it was in 2023, and I hadn’t updated it since. The Emscripten tooling had changed quite a bit in the last three years, which caused some issues at the start.
Gaming Couch: Which part of the Gaming Couch development workflow was most useful while iterating on the game?
Jens: The SDK was really very simple to use. The development harness provided by Gaming Couch was great for testing and easy to use.
What This Means for Other Developers
Protostellar: Impact! shows that Gaming Couch is not limited to one engine or one style of project. The platform currently provides JavaScript and Unity SDKs, a companion app for playtesting phone controllers from the Unity editor, and a browser-based devspace for uploading and publishing builds. The GameLoom Studio integration is a useful example of pairing the JavaScript layer with a different game runtime.
Gaming Couch: Did you previously think about making Protostellar support multiple players, locally or online? If yes, why did you decide to go forward with Gaming Couch?
Jens: No, not at all. I got the idea only after I saw Gaming Couch featured in the Good Game News from Finland newsletter and looked at the platform. Why-not-driven development was the reason I decided to contact the team and suggest that I port Protostellar to the platform.
Gaming Couch: What are your favourite games on the Gaming Couch platform?
Jens: Party Cars: The Heist!
Katja: Protostellar for me (the only right answer!).
Gaming Couch: What is next for GameLoom Studio and for Protostellar: Impact!? Are there updates, modes, or other future projects you are excited to share?
Jens: Nothing concrete is planned for now. We have played around with the idea of a co-op game where you’d play in teams. Protostellar: Impact! is now a free-for-all, but it can be a bit hard if you haven’t played too many games before. A team-based game could be nice—but more on that later!
Play Protostellar: Impact!—or Build the Next Couch Game
You can play Protostellar: Impact! free in your browser with friends and phones as controllers. Start small, eat what you can, and keep away from the big planets.
If you are making a short, social game for 2–8 players, Gaming Couch’s third-party developer tools are in beta. The platform handles the pieces around the game—phone controllers, lobbies, and publishing—so you can focus on the part players remember. Join the developer beta and come meet other builders in the Gaming Couch Discord.