HEROish

Overview

Runt's first engagement with Sunblink Entertainment established the technical foundation for a multi-year partnership. Over 27 months, we provided specialized rendering expertise, engineering support, and custom tooling for HEROish—a head-to-head castle defense game blending MOBA and deck-building mechanics with hand-crafted campaigns and competitive multiplayer.

The project challenged us to deliver hybrid lighting systems, custom shader solutions, and performance optimization across mobile, PC, and console platforms while supporting Sunblink's evolving artistic vision. What began as a traditional contractor relationship transformed into a trusted technical partnership, leading directly to our expanded collaboration on Hello Kitty Island Adventure.

Rendering & Technical Art

Reflection Probe Blending for URP

Universal Render Pipeline lacked expected reflection probe blending functionality, creating lighting discontinuity as characters moved between environments. Developed custom solution enabling smooth lighting transitions across HEROish's diverse battle arenas. The system maintained visual consistency without performance compromise, filling a critical gap in Unity's rendering pipeline.

Campaign Map Rendering System

Architected the overworld map combining 2D and 3D elements with dynamic state visualization. The system rendered fog of war, zone-locked regions, and biome-specific styling while maintaining the tactile presence of a physical game board. This hybrid approach created HEROish's distinctive campaign aesthetic, setting it apart visually within its genre.

Hybrid Lighting Pipeline

Mid-development, Sunblink's creative direction evolved toward more dynamic lighting. Rather than rebuilding for real-time lighting—sacrificing mobile performance—we developed a hybrid approach balancing visual flexibility with efficiency. The custom lighting model respected hand-painted character aesthetics while enabling the lighting changes Sunblink needed.

Terrain Authoring Pipeline

Created a workflow enabling environment artists to sculpt using familiar terrain tools, then convert to optimized runtime assets. Artists kept their natural workflow while we ensured the performance needed for target frame rates. This approach became foundational to Sunblink's environment production.

Specialized Shader Library

Built shader systems addressing specific art direction needs: environment coverage enabling rapid biome customization, secondary motion effects adding life to vegetation, water flow supporting directed fluid animation, atmospheric depth for underwater zones, and custom UI effects for campaign elements. Each shader balanced visual impact against mobile performance constraints.

Performance Optimization

Sustained performance work spanned multiple phases rather than a single pre-launch push. Profiling identified bottlenecks across rendering systems. Architectural decisions early in development enabled rapid optimization during late-cycle crunch rather than fundamental refactoring under deadline pressure. Implemented quality tiers delivering consistent frame rates from mobile through high-end console hardware.

Engineering & Systems

Cross-Platform Multiplayer

Implemented multiplayer architecture enabling seamless crossplay across five platform families. Players could create lobbies, invite friends, and compete in 1v1 or 2v2 matches regardless of whether they were on mobile, PC, PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo. The system handled platform-specific requirements for identity management and friend lists while maintaining consistent gameplay experience across all platforms.

Achievement & Progression Systems

Unified achievement tracking spanning Apple Arcade, Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox—each with distinct certification standards. Built progression systems supporting campaign completion, card upgrades, and competitive rankings with cloud save support enabling players to continue their progress across devices.

UI & Input Systems

Created UI navigation supporting mouse/keyboard, touchscreen, and gamepad inputs seamlessly. The interface adapted automatically to each platform's conventions—touch targets for mobile, cursor navigation for PC, controller schemes for console—without requiring players to adjust their expectations based on hardware.

Platform Certification

Handled technical requirements and certification for five platform families. Each launch required solving platform-specific challenges while maintaining gameplay parity—from handheld compatibility to performance optimization to platform service integration.

Results & Impact

Target Performance

• 30fps on iOS, tvOS, Nintendo Switch
• 60fps on macOS, PC (Steam), PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S

Platform Support

• Apple Arcade: iOS, macOS, tvOS
• PC: Steam (Windows)
• PlayStation: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Xbox: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
• Nintendo: Nintendo Switch

Performance Metrics

Critical & Player Reception

HEROish earned positive reception for its approachable gameplay and distinctive visual style:

• 94% positive Steam user reviews
• OpenCritic reviews praised the game's "charming and cartoony combat" and "deeper-than-anticipated gameplay" (7.0-7.5/10 scores)

The technical foundation enabled Sunblink to deliver consistent quality across dramatically different hardware profiles—from mobile devices to current-gen consoles—while maintaining their artistic vision throughout.

Partnership Evolution

Our HEROish collaboration transformed from traditional contractor engagement into trusted technical partnership. As Sunblink recognized Runt's rendering expertise and problem-solving capabilities, they granted increasing creative autonomy. This trust led directly to our expanded five-year partnership on Hello Kitty Island Adventure, where we took on broader technical responsibilities from the project's inception.

What We Learned

Trust isn't earned through impressive proposals—it's built through solving problems under pressure. The campaign map rendering system was approaching a deadline with significant technical risk. Sunblink handed us the challenge to see what we could do. We delivered a solution that worked. That execution earned credibility.

With that credibility established, we identified an opportunity: the lighting pipeline could support their evolving creative vision better with a hybrid approach. When we proposed substantial rework on something outside the original scope, they were receptive. Another round of problem-solving under pressure. More trust established. The pattern repeated throughout the engagement—each challenge solved expanded what Sunblink felt comfortable entrusting to us.

By the project's conclusion, the relationship had evolved from vendor executing specifications to technical partner identifying opportunities. Sunblink's willingness to take calculated risks on our recommendations enabled technical achievements neither party anticipated at the engagement's start. The lesson: demonstrate capability through consistent execution first, then use that credibility to help clients reach higher than they initially planned.