Capcom veteran artist runs Kickstarter for new India-inspired game 

Former Capcom artist Satoru Yamashita is crowdfunding a new game project called Dhalman, which will combine side-scrolling metroidvania-style action with curry shop management.  

Yamashita’s work will be familiar to anyone who has played Capcom arcade games from the 80s and 90s. He is most well-known for his iconic pixel art and logo design for Street Fighter II. 

According to Yamashita, the idea for Dhalman came from his interest in Indian culture and his own travels. The game’s titular young hero Dhalman will travel the world to hunt out rare spices to raise the standing of his family’s curry shop. With its retro-style colorful character designs and environments, the game will feature metroidvania-style exploration and 2D fighter-style boss battles with restaurant management. On his journey, Dhalman will meet a varied cast of characters from all over the globe. By collecting spices he can also unlock new abilities, such as stretchy arms and teleportation, which seem to be a homage to Street Fighter II’s Dhalsim. The game’s music will be composed by Akari Kaida, who has worked on titles such as Resident Evil, Mega Man and Dino Crisis. 

In the English-subtitled interview below, Dhalman’s project lead Yamashita gives insight into the varied games he worked on at Capcom in the 80s and 90s. He also discusses his inspirations for Dhalman in more detail. 

The Kickstarter Campaign for Dhalman started on August 2 and is scheduled to end on September 2, 2024. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $1,554 of its $675,000 USD goal. The rewards for backers include game and merch bundles. Top tier perks include having yourself appear in the game as a character and spending a day hanging out with Yamashita and the dev team in Osaka, Japan. 

The Dhalman Kickstarter campaign is scheduled to run until September 2, 2024.