Keylocker Interview — Nana Moon & Team on Cyberpunk Rhythm JRPG & Music as Rebellion | XEP Interview
In this XEP developer interview, Luke sits down with Moonana Games — Nana Moon, Anglerman, and Elektrobear — to talk about the creation of Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action, a cyberpunk rhythm JRPG where music is outlawed and rebellion is loud.
Keylocker is out now on PC (Steam/Epic), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, launching digitally on September 18, 2024.
The team covers how they built a turn-based combat system with rhythm inputs, why music is banned in their world, what it means to make an isometric cyberpunk JRPG in Game Maker, and how a fully remote studio across Brazil, Iceland, England, the US, Italy, and China keeps shipping ambitious projects.
In this interview:
• How Moonana formed as a remote indie studio across multiple countries
• Nana’s role as director/writer/CEO and how the core team splits art, design, and music
• Why Keylocker is a cyberpunk world where music is illegal – and why B0B0 is a “bug” in that system
• Building a turn-based JRPG with rhythm timing, bullet hell sections, and Guitar Hero–style segments
• Making difficulty meaningful – tying hard combat to story stakes and oppression
• Balancing strong emotion in writing, animation, and music without one overshadowing the others
• Evolving from Virgo Versus the Zodiac to Keylocker – lessons learned and level-up as a studio
• How the art style shifted to isometric and finally “clicked” for the team
• Kickstarter, iteration, and what “success” looks like for Moonana now that Keylocker is on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch
👉 Clear takes. No console-war noise.
🔊 iTunes: apple.co/2OL6SSV | Spotify: spoti.fi/33gSiXa
📅 Chapters below (no micro-chapters)
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00:00 – Intro – Welcome to Moonana & Keylocker
01:10 – Meet the Team: Nana, Anglerman, and Elektrobear
03:40 – Remote Studio & Making Games Across the Globe
05:30 – What Is Keylocker? Cyberpunk Rhythm JRPG Overview
07:10 – Music Is Illegal: Worldbuilding, B0B0, and Jukebot
10:00 – Turn-Based Combat with Rhythm, Bullet Hell, and Minigames
13:00 – Difficulty, Stakes, and Keeping the Story Honest
16:00 – Emotion, Writing, and Building a Soundtrack Around Rebellion
18:30 – Kickstarter, Iteration, and Evolving the Art Style to Isometric
21:30 – Shipping on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch – What Success Looks Like
24:30 – Closing Thoughts and Well-Wishes for Launch