The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

If you’ve followed my work on the site, you’ll find that I am a regular attendee of the Penny Arcade Expo in Boston each year, also known as PAX East. I’ve always enjoyed getting to see new video games on the horizon, especially those made by independent developers. Since 2025, I have chosen a few games of the show that I deem “PAX Picks” – essentially, these are my favorite games of the show, and ones to look out for. It’s been a blessing to honor these devs with the title, and I always love seeing their excitement when we praise their game.

This year, I decided to reach out to some of these developers and interview them about the games they’re making. The first of this series is Joe Yu, a South Korean developer who is working on Katuba’s Poacher. This beautiful musical boss-rush roguelite was one of the most surprising titles I played at PAX East this year. The game follows a would-be poacher and their designated target as they run from the law and a world of larger-than-life beasts. I was blown away by the vibrant colors, the jazzy soundtrack, and the difficulty curve of its frantic gameplay. I spoke with Joe about this inspired indie and I learned quite a bit!

---

Graydon Webb: How long have you been working on Katuba’s Poacher, and how big is your development team?

Joe Yu: Katuba’s Poacher is being developed mostly by myself. The project was first planned around October 2022, and development began in July 2023. I made a small demo in 2024, and my original plan was to build a team afterward, but I decided to continue alone. As I considered building a team, I realized I’d spend time on budgets, risk, sales, and revenue. Those things matter, but my goal was a little different. 

I wanted to create a game that players would remember and recommend long after they finished playing it. I wanted to make something worth revisiting and exploring in different ways. So I chose the solo developer path and have been working on it full-time since 2025.

That said, I haven’t done everything completely alone. I’ve been fortunate to have friends who support my direction:

• When I run into technical issues, I’ve received help from the GDevelop community. 
• The music and sound are currently being created with the help of an outsourcing partner. 
• When things get busy, friends sometimes help with translations, art support, and other tasks. 
• My publisher has also been a big help.

They’ve been very supportive of the project’s direction and generous with their time. Their insights have been invaluable throughout development!

I love seeing small teams at conventions each year. Was this your first PAX East? How was the experience?

It was my first PAX, my first trip to the US, and my first long-haul flight. And it was even better than I expected!

PAX had always been the event I wanted to attend most. The games and communities there matched my interests, and it felt like a place where people truly appreciate creative work, not just new releases. People still play older games, discuss them, and celebrate them.

I joined PAX without any big marketing strategy. My main goal was to watch people play and hear their honest reactions. Rather than getting as many players as possible, I wanted visitors to fully experience the demo, even if it took longer.  People watched others play, enjoyed the art and music, shared their thoughts, and gave detailed feedback.

Some even came back to play again!😆

Many noticed things I had spent a lot of time thinking about and gave thoughtful feedback that I had never received at other events. Seeing those reactions in person had a real impact on the game’s development. 

That’s why receiving the PAX Together · VGU Pick was meaningful to me!

The roguelite genre is all the rage these days. What makes Katuba’s Poacher different from other games you’ve played?

I love roguelites, and I love classic action arcade games. My goal is to combine the strengths of both. Most roguelites focus on procedural levels and random upgrades. In this game, I wanted to place more emphasis on memorable boss encounters as the core experience.

[On map generation] Beyond procedural map generation, I added systems where players chase, compete with, or run away from target monsters during a run. Part of this idea came from seeing “hammer bros” move around the world map in Super Mario Bros. 3.

[On in-game boss battles] One trade-off is that boss attack patterns are fixed. That might feel out of place in a roguelite built around repetition. The attack patterns also sync with the music. I considered adding jazz-style improvisation, but it made bosses feel unfair and harder to learn. So instead, I plan to add variety in other ways. Even when the same boss appears, different support enemies can spawn, and random bosses may join the fight and attack in sync with the music.

While I love roguelites, I’m heavily inspired by retro games. I prefer upgrades that create clear visual and gameplay changes rather than simply increasing numbers, such as attacking one more time or generating lightning effects.

I was blown away by the soundtrack of this game. Very reminiscent of Persona! How did you land on this jazz vibe?

The simplest reason is that I like jazz and rhythmic music, and I believed that development would go better if it was music I liked and understood well. Another influence came from Tom and Jerry, and Cuphead. Tom and Jerry inspired the relationship between action and music.

I also think jazz works especially well for action games. Its improvisation and chaotic energy fit the fast pace of the gameplay.

For the early demo, I created much of the music myself. Since mid-2025, however, the entire soundscape has been replaced and improved through professional audio outsourcing. But I still create the musical concepts myself and contribute throughout the production process!

In the end, the main reason is simple.
I love rhythmic and chaotic jazz music.

The art style of this game immediately drew me in. How did you decide on the Paper Mario-style 2D cutscenes?

When I first started defining the art direction, I wanted to make something colorful, charming, and expressive. I wanted players to quickly recognize and remember the characters, even during the game’s fast pace.

There was also a practical reason. I knew I couldn’t do everything alone, so I built a flexible workflow that could be updated at any time. Art was drawn first, then reworked to vectors for easy updates.

As for the cutscenes, I wasn’t actually trying to imitate Paper Mario.😄

Since I couldn’t draw every frame by myself, I introduced a system that animates simple mesh-based artwork. A mesh can be used to deform a straight-lined image while preserving sharp shape changes. That’s why I chose bold straight outlines, clear silhouettes, and strong shapes. 

I kept the backgrounds simple to keep the focus on the bosses. This lets me adjust and improve the art direction as development continues. With this workflow, I can adapt and refine the art direction based on player feedback throughout development.

You mentioned wanting every battle to feel like a concert. I love the expectations there! Has this led to any challenges along the way, or has it all come pretty naturally to you? 

Creating it is a challenge, but I really enjoy making it!

The idea itself came very naturally. It simply felt like the right direction for the game. I put a lot of effort into giving each boss its own theme – personality, music, gimmicks, attack patterns, and presentation. 

The biggest challenge is the number of boss battles. Since it’s an action game, content tends to be consumed quickly, but each boss requires a significant amount of work, including music, animation, and design. As I mentioned, I’m adding different support enemies and sometimes other bosses can join the fight as well. That makes each boss’s identity even more important.

Most of my inspiration comes from cartoons, movies, music, and classic games. In many cases, a boss starts with a moment from someone else’s work that left a strong impression on me. Interestingly, the final result often ends up very different from the original inspiration.

For example, King Louie from The Jungle Book (2016) was one of the inspirations behind the spider boss fight. What impressed me most was the moment when he started singing (“I Wanna Be Like You”). I remember feeling excited and thinking, “Wow! The show starts.” That feeling is exactly what I want players to feel when the spider boss appears.

I love the boss rush aspect of this game. Are most of the bosses inspired by insects and woodland creatures, or will we see other enemy types?

Yes, creature-based bosses are definitely the core of the game. There will be enemy types beyond woodland creatures, but creature-based bosses will remain the core identity of the game. Even as new enemies and bosses are introduced, they’ll stay true to the themes of Katuba’s Poacher.

The original concept was inspired by the food chain pyramid illustration. In the early areas, I wanted cute and relatively weak first-level predators. Later regions would introduce stronger predators that hunt those creatures, creating a natural progression through the world.

But it’s not the top priority. What matters most is simply making bosses that are fun and memorable!

You mentioned being inspired by Cuphead, could we see local co-op play in Katuba’s Poacher, or is it exclusively a single player experience? 

Nothing is finalized yet, but I am considering adding co-op after release. I’ve already tested it and confirmed that it’s technically possible. However, due to the development schedule, my current focus is on delivering the best possible single-player experience at launch.

Co-op is something I’m keeping in mind for a future update after release.

---

I want to thank Joe Yu again for speaking with me and sharing those details with us about Katuba’s Poacher!

The game is currently available to wishlist on Steam, and Joe has hinted at a future Next Fest demo, so be on the lookout for that at some point. We’ll certainly update you whenever we hear more about this awesome game, so stay tuned to VGU!