For solo developer Nicholas Jacob, his debut project Luminids is “more than just another colony sim.”
He views the relaxed colony builder as something much closer to “an exploration of consciousness, emotion and empathy” that aims to offer “a chance to slow down a little in this busy world” while meeting, befriending, and guiding its loveable titular mascots.
Inspired by genres in which “you slowly shape a world over time,” Nicholas treats Luminids as an opportunity to tap into the experience that colony builders, survival, and automation games provide while smoothing the rougher edges.
Although it promises “depth, systems, and discovery,” it doesn’t come with the “usual pressure of combat, raids, punishment loops, or constant optimisation” that make these genres a hard sell for some gamers.
Instead of immediately overwhelming, Luminids gently eases players into its economy system before adding complexity.
“Early on, you’re gathering basic resources yourself and learning how the land works. Wood, stone, plants, light-based resources, food sources, that kind of thing. From there, the colony starts to become more capable,” the developer explains.
Nicholas neither wants Luminids to eventually become “a spreadsheet game” nor to remain shallow. That’s why he’s aiming for “a layered economy where basic natural materials feed into refined goods, crafted tools, better buildings, […] and more specialised colony roles.”
Readability plays a key part, making it easy to “understand where things come from, who helped make them, and why they matter to the colony.”
While it’s hard to understate the importance of the systems driving the whole experience, the titular colorful creatures – more often than not seen smiling – help set Luminids apart from its peers.
Although they can “help gather, tend, carry, refine [resources],” and otherwise support the efforts of developing your colony, Nicholas wants the Luminids to feel like “little living beings, not just worker units.”
To this extent, you’ll have to be mindful of their needs, moods, traits, and preferences.
“Some may be braver, some may be shy, some may prefer certain tasks, places, or other Luminids. The idea is that you learn who they are over time,” according to the developer. “You might notice one is nervous away from the colony, or another loves working near water, or another becomes attached to a certain part of the sanctuary.”
These particularities impact their behaviour, ability to perform specific jobs, the way in which they respond to different events, and how much assistance they need when navigating the world.
Aside from guiding and caring for them, you also build structures that provide safety and ensure the colony meets its needs.
The personality of each Luminid “can develop as they experience the world,” leading to those who start off frightened becoming braver or solitary ones becoming “more settled.” Unhappy Luminids, however, impact how harmonious a colony you have.
In practice, this means reduced effectiveness at work, a tendency to avoid completing tasks – potentially leading to rippling effects in an automated colony – or becoming withdrawn. It’s less about enacting rough punishments for failing to meet their needs and more about drawing your attention to issues that need solving.
Pulling away from Luminids’ main stars, it’s also worth pointing out that the colony sim allows switching between isometric, first, and third-person cameras in a manner that’s “quick and natural.”
The isometric view is mainly used for setting up your colony, since its wider camera angle makes placing buildings, managing tasks, and getting a sense of the world’s shape easier.
The first and third-person perspectives come in handy when exploring and gathering resources, while also bringing you closer to your Luminid pals when interacting with them.
Since Luminids lacks combat, “curiosity, resources, mystery, biomes, ruins, hidden places, […] discoveries, story fragments, and upgrades for the colony,” drive you towards exploring its world.
“You are not going out because the game says ‘kill ten things,’“ Nicholas explains. “You are going out because you saw something strange in the distance, or you need a rare material, or a Luminid reacts to something, or you find an old place that changes what you understand about the world.”
The tension that would normally come with the threat of an enemy camp waiting beyond a distant hill stems instead “from darkness, distance, weather, uncertainty, navigation, and caring about what you might lose or discover.”
Nicholas then notes that “different biomes also connect to different Luminid behaviours, resource chains, building styles, discoveries and progression paths.”
These resources play a role in the colony sim’s flexible building system, which is part voxel-based and part 3D, leaving “a lot of room for shaping and customising the world.”
This is one area that will receive a lot of attention during early access. “Building systems are one of those things where players always find better ideas than the developer had alone. I fully expect to expand it with more pieces, more decoration, better usability, more colony function and more creative freedom as the game grows,” Nicholas said.
Although it is built “primarily as a solo experience first, because the emotional tone and colony systems need to work properly there before anything else,” Luminids also supports small-scale co-op, allowing between two and eight players to team up. Persistent progression is “absolutely important”, but dedicated servers aren’t on the cards for its early access launch.
Although Luminids will first be available on PC, Nicholas would like to bring the title to consoles, naming the Nintendo Switch 2 as a potential first target. Roblox, mobile, and Unreal UEFN collaborations are also on his radar, but they won’t happen until “the PC version [is] as good as it can be.”
You can keep track of Luminids ahead of its February 2027 early access launch by wishlisting and visiting its Steam page and getting a look at some of its systems while they’re being developed on its YouTube channel.
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