Introduction

Sunna Entertainment, an indie game development studio, embraced Magma to navigate the complex challenges of modern game development — from pandemic-induced remote work to tighter timelines and the need for more agile creative iteration. By integrating Magma into their workflow, Sunna transformed their creative collaboration process and launched Planet Cube: Edge successfully and on schedule. This case study explores how Magma became a central part of their creative toolkit.

The Challenge

As COVID-19 reshaped the way creative teams operate, Sunna Entertainment found themselves working across dispersed locations. With artists, designers, and developers collaborating remotely, they struggled to share level design ideas, iterate on concept art, and review assets in real time. Traditional methods — passing files back and forth, relying on screen shares, and managing feedback across various platforms — slowed their progress and made it difficult to maintain creative momentum.

In the words of Jose David Garcia, pixel artist at Sunna:

“Before putting ideas into the game, we had to find a way to talk about them visually — that’s where Magma came in. It became our whiteboard, our sketchpad, and our shared studio.”

The solutions

Sunna initially used Magma casually for collaborative doodling. But as development ramped up, Magma became their go-to solution for real-time collaboration. When organizing their creative assets became a challenge, Art Spaces provided an intuitive system for sorting canvases by project, level, and design stage. Transitioning existing work into Art Spaces was seamless and helped the team stay focused and organized.

Key features that made the difference:

• Real-time collaborative sketching: Teams could sketch and build on each other’s ideas live during calls.

• Layered iteration: Artists layered concepts directly on top of one another to compare ideas for level layouts or character designs.

• Integrated feedback: Sharing links via Slack allowed teammates and leads to jump in, review, and contribute asynchronously or live.

• Storyboard features: When their publisher requested a new logo, Sunna used Magma’s storyboard view to pitch and refine designs visually.

• Smooth integration with workflows: While task tracking remained in Jira, Magma became the creative execution space, reducing friction in the pipeline.

“It was so much faster to explore and present ideas. Instead of juggling files, we just screenshotted concepts and dropped them into Magma for discussion. Everyone knew where to find things.”

The Results

Using Magma, Sunna Entertainment launched Planet Cube: Edge on time and within budget — an impressive feat given the remote setup and creative complexity. But the impact went beyond the project’s release. Magma helped create a culture of visual-first collaboration that the team now carries into future projects.

Magma’s collaborative environment led to:

• Faster iteration cycles: Sketches turned into refined assets quicker due to direct, multi-user canvases.

• Improved feedback flow: Whether through live sessions or asynchronous reviews, the team’s creative dialogue became more fluid.

• Empowered artists: Artists used Magma not just for team tasks but for personal projects and prototyping, highlighting its intuitive feel and utility.

“I’ve used Magma since the day it came out — for team work and for my own sketching. It just feels good to create in.”

The Conclusion

Sunna Entertainment’s journey with Magma shows how an adaptable and intuitive platform can transform the creative development pipeline — especially under the constraints of remote work. Magma didn’t just replace traditional tools; it enabled new ways of collaborating, iterating, and delivering great games.

“We turned Magma into our creative headquarters. From logos to level layouts, it helped us stay connected and keep building.”