TomozoP‘s career as a Japanese casual game developer is particularly fascinating.
His journey begins as a student at a technical high school. Eager to test his skills as a developer, he creates a project with Unity for his diploma. It’s something simple, designed primarily to challenge himself. The result is very well received, so much so that TomozoP starts looking for work in the video game industry. His passion and determination to work in the field are so strong that he even turns down a job offer in another sector. Because making video games has always been his dream.
During his job search, however, TomozoP doesn’t sit idle. He begins developing video games. The first is Kyomu Sodate, a title where the player simply has to tap the screen of their mobile device to grow the Void, a kind of black hole that has materialized in the protagonist’s room. Growing this Void to its maximum size offers no reward or achievement; instead, it triggers a message on the screen that breaks the fourth wall and communicates directly with the player, prompting reflections on existence and what someone is willing to do to pass the time. Thanks to this project, TomozoP catches the attention of a company, KAYAC, which hires him to work on hyper-casual games.
Thanks to KAYAC, TomozoP officially begins his career in the video game industry. However, he doesn’t stop creating personal projects. It starts with a running game titled Saikyo Retsuden Jidai Hashiru, Strongest Legend: Run in the Times in English, envisioned as a hypothetical and bizarre spin-off of a purely fictional video game. Next comes Ketsutou, a game based on a wild concept where ninjas armed with katanas must fight to the death. Nothing seemingly unusual—except that the katanas in question emerge from the fighters’ backsides, and they can only attack each other by executing jumps that are tricky to calibrate. Then, there’s Shinkochu, a game in which players control an astronaut on the Moon who must move zero-gravity objects and solve simple puzzles. And finally, Power Dogeza, a title where players perform heartfelt and powerful dogeza – deep bows where one prostrates fully to the ground, touching the floor with the head – creating shockwaves so devastating they sweep away everything in their path.
TomozoP continues to create games with simple yet immediate and entertaining mechanics. Then one day, he discovers the GYAAR Studio Indie Game Contest, a competition organized by Bandai Namco, GYAAR Studio, and Phoenixx, aimed at supporting indie game development and open to independent developers worldwide. TomozoP decides to enter the contest’s first edition with the prototype of a completely new project for him: The Strongest TOFU, Sugoi Tsuyoi Tofu in Japanese. It’s a more structured game compared to his previous works, where the player must overcome horizontally or vertically designed levels filled with obstacles and enemies of all kinds while controlling a small block of tofu. All of this comes with the awareness that the tofu cube can be destroyed – and thus eliminated – in countless ways. Even a simple, imprecisely executed jump can lead our soft, white hero to an inglorious end. “I had always wanted to create a game playable with a controller, so I decided to challenge myself with The Strongest TOFU” TomozoP tells Excaliber. ” All while staying true to the concept of creating a simple game based on a single idea. I believe my approach to designing video games has not changed much compared to the casual titles I created in previous years. “
One of the many unique aspects of The Strongest TOFU is that its protagonist, a small and seemingly fragile cube of tofu, is inspired by something very basic: the 3D models often used temporarily by developers in the early stages of video game design, when the appearance of main characters and other in-game figures has yet to be defined, and simple white cubes are used to represent them.
“I don’t know how to draw, and I’m not very skilled at 3D modeling” TomozoP admitted, reflecting on the beginning of The Strongest TOFU’s development. “So I tried to do something simple by creating cubes.” Those cubes immediately reminded him of tofu’s shape, which then became the game’s protagonist. “The gameplay of many titles, including some acclaimed ones like Splatoon, started with nothing more than cubes.”
The work on the project continues tirelessly. Then comes the big day, when the winners of the GYAAR Studio Indie Game Contest are announced, with The Strongest TOFU standing out among them. The victory earns TomozoP a prize of 10 million yen – equivalent to more than 62,000 euros – which allows him to complete the development of the game, culminating in its release on Steam last October. “GYAAR Studio did not just provide me with significant financial support” reveals TomozoP “ but it also offered me many opportunities to grow professionally as a game developer. Among these, they organized monthly playtest sessions, bringing together all the winners of the Indie Game Contest and Bandai Namco employees to exchange feedback on the demos of the selected projects. Both I and the other winners received extremely valuable advice from developers who have been creating games since the golden age of arcade video games. ”
The final version of The Strongest TOFU stays true to its original concept and delivers simple, immediate gameplay. But that’s not all: it also features an endless mini-game called ‘Tofu Factory’. And, as if that weren’t enough, the entire work is accompanied by a soundtrack composed by Ryo Nagamatsu, renowned for his work on OSTs for games that have gone down in history. “I sent my collaboration request to Nagamatsu directly through the contact form on his website” TomozoP recalls, reflecting on how he got in touch with the maestro. “ He created a retro soundtrack that also offers a modern touch, taking into account my sensibilities and the pace of the game. He even provided incredibly precise feedback on the game itself. He was very enthusiastic about his involvement, and I think the most enjoyable moment in creating this game was chatting with him on Discord late into the night! ” Moreover, the high-quality videos seen in the interlude sequences of The Strongest TOFU, which explain how tofu is made, were also crafted by maestro Nagamatsu himself, providing support that went far beyond composing the soundtrack.
With such a recipe, the success of The Strongest TOFU was inevitable. And, indeed, the game received an excellent response in Japan. “I am grateful that more people than I ever expected have played my work!” TomozoP’s enthusiasm is truly genuine. “While many players appreciated the cinematic quality of the videos between levels or other elements of the game, I am particularly happy that they also enjoyed the pacing of the gameplay and the sensations it offers, which I put a lot of effort into when creating The Strongest TOFU.” It’s no coincidence that the challenges faced during the game’s development were many. “It was the first time I developed a 2D action platform game, and I struggled a lot with structuring the level design. Those who have played the game might understand this, but even placing individual blocks sometimes turned out to be quite tricky. During development, I created as many levels as possible and, through testing, discarded the ones I found boring. By consulting developers with similar level design experience, I discovered that they had used a surprisingly similar approach in their projects, which made me realize that perhaps my method was the right one. ”
Certainly, the success of the title was also influenced by the numerous references that The Strongest TOFU is filled with, perfectly represented by a level inspired by the 1981 classic Donkey Kong. “The Strongest TOFU was heavily influenced by games from the past, even though the core gameplay is undoubtedly inspired by Kirby and Super Mario, particularly Super Mario Galaxy. In fact, the initial attack method of the tofu cube protagonist was exactly the same. ” Something that can be seen in this short video posted on X by TomozoP himself.
The inevitable question arises: what new projects can we expect from TomozoP in the future? That remains unknown, but one thing is certain: “I will continue developing video games!” he reveals with great enthusiasm. “I would love to release many more on Steam!” And how better to pass the time while waiting than by diving into The Strongest TOFU? Perhaps pairing those evening gaming sessions with a dinner – guess what? – featuring plenty of soft, cubed tofu.
