#devchat log

Square Tetromino: Hi Tom! Tom: Hi! Thanks for getting back to me Tom: The demo is open! Square Tetromino: welcome, oh nice to hear that. Tom: Its our first public build, testing the alpha before we publish the Beta for IGF next month :) Tom: I wasn't sure if it was quite what your sites normally tacked, but I thought it was worth a shot! I'm very interested on releasing the code for the game too, but I'm saving it for now in case we can offer it in exchange for a donation or a retween - something that could benefit the game in return. Square Tetromino: yes its what rawket lawncher deals with. Square Tetromino: did it sound like a negative remark? Tom: Not at all! Tom: Yess! Hopefully in the future we will go open source - I'll definitely let you know if we do, its something that interests me personally - no idea how I'd have learned to code without open source projects! Tom: It means a lot to me Square Tetromino: nice! let's first introduce yourself. so who is Tom? Square Tetromino: this is for the potential readers who would read these, and i have to admit i don't make their life easy :P Tom: Right! So I'm a fresh new 21 year old indie game dev - I'm still at university but I've worked a year in industry already - enough time to know I wanted to stay indie! Tom: Vectagon will be my second proper game release after a Ludum Dare game I did a few months back - http://kongregate.com/games/ataxkt/xyz Square Tetromino: as an outsider to game development, I would like to ask you what do you think makes unity a good engine? Tom: Its insanely fast to prototype new ideas - I took a little hiatus yesterday to test a new concept out and I had it finished in a matter of hours. I can honestly say I wouldn't have been able to make any of my games without it! Tom: It's also very well documented - coming from Flash, where the API is almost unuseable, its fantastic to be able to google something and have it working in your project within a matter of seconds. They give away demo code for each component in the engine, meaning that you don't need to understand by reading, you just need to try the code! Square Tetromino: is there something you don't like so much about it? Tom: Honestly there's not much. They're incredibly supportive to the indie community so I can't even fault them for their lack of official student pricing, which is one of the problems I've got at the moment - I cant afford the licence I need to publish the game. The Pro version of Unity along with all the mobile publishing add-ons cost around $2000. But given how much use I've got out of it I can definitely justify the price. Square Tetromino: do you have good time management? or have you felt like you have been sparing more time than you should to game making? Square Tetromino: because i am quite terrible at it >: Tom: I think I'm fairly well disciplined. It was certainly hard to find the time to work on the game when I had a full time job because there are some days where the last thing you want to do is look at the computer screen, but I think my new found freedom has invigorated me quite a lot. There's also the IGF deadline hanging over me - I've promised myself that I'll have a beta version of the game to showcase for then. Tom: It definitely depends on the project too - I have folders full of abandoned games that I simply slowed development on as I got bored of them until they started gathering dust, but Vectagon is too far in for me to stop working on it. I'm sure there'll come a time where working on it will pain me, but for now I'm quite content! Square Tetromino: I should have asked this by now but what you are studying is computer/software..etc related i guess. Tom: I do Interactive Media Production at Bournemouth Uni in the UK - I should have said :P Tom: Its less focused on programming and more coming up with unique ways to push digital media - its a tiny course at the moment but I can only see it growing as more and more things become interactive. Games are just the beginning! Square Tetromino: boom! Square Tetromino: what's next then? Tom: Well, first I need to get Vectagon out of the way - balancing marketing, code and design is a nightmare so it might well take me a while to get it finished, but afterwards I'd like to explore a few prototypes I've been working on. You can play the game I made yesterday here - I'd actually quite like to release it soon given how simple it should be to finish up! http://tomkail.com/topdowntetris/ Tom: But now I'm definitely getting ahead of myself :P I think next on the list is finding some people who share my philosophies to join me in creating indie games. I'm sure it'd make projects go a lot smoother! Square Tetromino: can we say, you will try to maintain an indie profile while working professionally in other media related projects? Tom: Definitely! I'm holding onto hope that my indie profile will overshadow my professional work, and that that work will be a shortlived affair :) Square Tetromino: coming back to vectagon, will you add more interface/game elements or they are mainly complete and you will focus on some final touches? Tom: We've got plenty in the pipeline! We're aiming to simply polish the game as much as we can ready for the end of the month beta because most the essential features are in, but after that deadline we're going to focus on expanding the breadth of the game with new game types, social elements and a whole bunch of secrets for players to get stuck into. We're looking to get as much player feedback from the beta as possible so that when we release the full game its the best it could be. Square Tetromino: ugh, don't tell me facebook integration :( Tom: Ahah, that was the plan! I'm not a fan either, I never care enough to tell my friends how great I am at games (mostly because I suck at them), but some people really love it, and its literally the best way to keep players motivated because bragging to friends is fun! Square Tetromino: evil facebook integration D: Square Tetromino: don't do it, m'kay? Tom: Ahah, I'll see what the audience says before I waste my time learning how the Facebook Graph works! How come you're not a fan? Square Tetromino: i do use facebook but i hate those stuff, i will advise you to ignore that part of the audience then :P Square Tetromino: i would feel annoyed if i saw a "share on facebook" button in the menus. Tom: How else would you have players compete with friends if not facebook? I figured that if users dont like it they can ignore it Tom: Ah yeah, I never want a share button! Just leaderboards - log in and it can find out which other friends have played and access their scores for you to beat Tom: God, I really have unnessesary share buttons, and games which interrupt you to tell you to give them a good score on google play. Tom: Urghhh Square Tetromino: an online scoreboard would be nice Tom: Exactly so! Its on the list of features, but its something that needs careful thinking through first Tom: I'm hardly a psychology expert! Square Tetromino: me neither, you said you couldn't play games that well but what do usually play? Square Tetromino: and also nearly everyone is quite bad, we just keep silent about it Tom: ahah yeah, very true Tom: Lately I've been very into playing random free indie games (how I found your site!), but otherwise I've been spending a lot of time on Faster Than Light, which is just fantastic Square Tetromino: which one you found first? tetromino? Tom: It was, although I couldnt tell you how I stumbled on it! Tom: which led me right round all your sites! Square Tetromino: why? is it a secret? Tom: Na, I just forget :P Tom: I think you were fairly high on Google and I was looking for something new! Square Tetromino: oh i was expecting some epic journey through the forgotten lands ;_; Square Tetromino: anyway, there have been some drama going on around the OUYA console, what's your opinion about a budget console -claimed to be- aimed for independent game development? Tom: Sorry to disappoint :P Its interesting! I want it to succeed and I'd love one for development, but I cant see many gamers shelling out for one at all. I think the OUYA arrived wayyy too early. If they built Android into TV sets then I can see it working, but I dont see regular folk going out of their way to get something so techy and indie. From a business standpoint its awful at the moment too, which means big hitters aren't as likely to target it Square Tetromino: it had an amazing kickstarter and the current trend is actually against to that kind of concept. Square Tetromino: phones getting bigger and stuff, as a semi-serious question do you think the screen size will top off at some point? :P Tom: Not before we start getting those amazing Samsung flexible screens! Square Tetromino: i have to say i wasn't expecting 5 inch like two years ago :) Tom: I've got an awful old phone but I'd really like one with a huge screen now, its just easier to use! Square Tetromino: i hope it doesn't become something like a A4 size screen rolled up to people's pockets Tom: That sounds amazing to me! Imagine being able to take your phone out of your pocket and read it like a newspaper! Square Tetromino: or roll it up again to smack the fly on the table :O Square Tetromino: ah interesting Square Tetromino: would you prefer buttons to a touchscreen? Square Tetromino: i am between the two personally Tom: I'm definitely a fan of buttons, but its totally context dependant for me! I have a Sony Xperia Play phone, which actually has a slide out playstation pad. Its great playing Vectagon on it with buttons, although some have said they prefer touch! Square Tetromino: definitely will be better for mobile Square Tetromino: and i have to say three lanes is better for simplicity Square Tetromino: and for endless runner noobs like me, never thought i would genuinely feel entertained while playing one Square Tetromino: apart from one button games like canabalt Tom: Yeah? So you find the triangle the best shape? Square Tetromino: actually yes, the game becomes more mind bending with those rolling/twisting whatever they are :O Tom: I think I'd actually agree there. You're never more than one turn away from somewhere safe, whereas in a pentagon shape you might be 2 away. The game used to progress through the shapes much faster but past hexagon you've really got to hammer the the keys to turn fast enough! Thats said, some people I've talked to really enjoy that challenge Tom: Also, biiig Canabalt fan Tom: I honestly dont believe that it can be improved on Square Tetromino: well there are examples to turn the gameplay more similar to a regular platformer but I guess it takes away the minimalist tone Tom: Yeah exactly Tom: Its a game fundamentally about minimalism and simplicity, so anything you might add to the game only detracts from the core of the game Tom: In my opinion, anyway! I'm sure you could build a very addictive version with upgrades and a currency, but I wouldn't appreciate it as much even if it was more compelling. Square Tetromino: are you thinking of going back to all your previous unfinished projects? Square Tetromino: at least dreaming of finishing them all? Square Tetromino: maybe re-making them from scratch? Tom: Some of them! Its always down to time. I've got a little art project that I'm dying to get stuck into, but I doubt I'll be able to. I've started more projects than I could finish in a lifetime! Tom: Its much too easy to spend a month on a project and then realise that its going to take you another few years to finish. I think that happened with the Dwarf Fortress guys, except they've actually taken the plunge. The lead dev claimed that it would take his lifetime to finish, which I bet it pretty scary! Square Tetromino: hmm autumn has indeed come, it's a cloudy and quite rainy night here, how's it there? Tom: Its the same here! Its horrible because I still remember how great the sun feels! Tom: Blimey, its getting late here, I'm going to pack up for the night! Tom: Thanks so much for taking an interest, it'd be great to see an article about the game in the near future! We're redoing the website hopefully it'll all look a bit more welcoming by tomorrow! Square Tetromino: not untill i finish with some choose between the two questions Square Tetromino: they are quick don't worry Square Tetromino: Mario or Sonic? Tom: Ahaha, yes Sir! Tom: Mario please! :D Tom: Its a nostalgia thing for me, Mario 64 was my first game ever! Square Tetromino: Tea or coffee? Tom: Coffee! Couldnt live without it! Square Tetromino: Chelsea or Arsenal? Tom: Not into football! Lets go Arsenal because they have more fans (that'll piss off Chelsea) Square Tetromino: lastly, firefox or chrome? Tom: Chrome every time! Square Tetromino: Alright I will first post about the game and after that this whole chat will be publicly available. Tom: Sounds fantastic! Cant wait to see what sort of scores you manage to get :P Cheers! I'll stay in contact! x Square Tetromino: Thanks, nive to talk to you, have a good night! Square Tetromino: nice* gah

Charlie Saunders: Hi! Square Tetromino: Hi Charlie, how's things? Charlie Saunders: Great thanks, how's it going? Square Tetromino: quite fine here too Square Tetromino: I usually ask people to briefly introduce themselves and you are no exception :P Charlie Saunders: Sure! My name is Charlie (officially charles..), I'm from London but I live in Southampthon, mostly. I study engineering, and I've been programming games for about 8 years now Square Tetromino: Let me ask you this, what's the worst thing about programming? or maybe about game programming... Charlie Saunders: Oh, definitely when you're absolutely convinced something should work, but still doesn't.. and It takes hours and hours to then realise you've made a really stupid mistake :P Square Tetromino: ah, yes a classic Square Tetromino: I did check the SkyMercs, but as you said you have been programming, what have you done besides SkyMercs? Charlie Saunders: Well recently it's all been skyMercs SkyMercs Skymercs, the latest build is a lot further on. I've not got a huge repetoire of finished games, unfortunately, as a lot of the oldest ones have been lost to the void Charlie Saunders: I have a portfolio of html5 games which I license out to portals Charlie Saunders: I also have a side project which is a kind of side-view re-imagining of x-com. You can see a video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB5gN0EP7EI Square Tetromino: looks really nice Square Tetromino: how's the progress on that one? Charlie Saunders: Thanks! Charlie Saunders: I've not been working on it very much lately as I'm focussed on SkyMercs, but I do a little bit here and there Charlie Saunders: It's a very big project so I'm in no rush to finish it, it's been a year or two in the making so far Square Tetromino: kk, let's put that aside and come to the main thing Square Tetromino: although if you happen to have an alpha build, let us know Square Tetromino: well anyway Charlie Saunders: I may well do, I'll have a look at getting something together soon Charlie Saunders: but yup Square Tetromino: So the sky mercs have potential but my guess is that gfx will put many young players off. what's the reaction you got? did many commented on the gfx negatively? Charlie Saunders: Absolutely! I've seen that the greenlight demographic tends to be younger users, and most of the criticism is surrounding the graphics, which is fantastic feedback to me Charlie Saunders: As such it's what I'm working on most! You can see some basic progress in this blog post, but it's come even further now  http://skymercs.com/wp/graphics-day-pt-2/ Square Tetromino: I have to say that may be because of the colours, you know flashy colours and big explosions attract people Square Tetromino: it does have a classic look Square Tetromino: do you plan on adding more colour to the terrain? Charlie Saunders: Definitely. I'm hoping to evolve into a mix of the current style with more "flashiness" as it were. Lots more particle effects, better lighting as you've seen, etc Charlie Saunders: Yup, there actually is much improved terrain in the latest build, I can grab you a screenshot if you'd like. (I can't remember if it's the same as in the press build, though..) Square Tetromino: its progressing then Charlie Saunders: Yeah, I'm trying to address all of the main problems one by one Charlie Saunders: I'm working my way towards a new press build, at which point I can release a load of new (and much better) media Charlie Saunders: It's got a lot of new features, too, like the promised scenarios mode Square Tetromino: Did you get any help in any aspect or is it strictly one-man project? Charlie Saunders: It's well and truly one-man. I'm considering hiring a composer for the music, but I may be producing that myself also Square Tetromino: I have to ask you about Greenlight, what did you like about the system and what did you find negative? Charlie Saunders: Hm, greenlight is a bit of a flawed system, in my opinion Charlie Saunders: Actually getting the game on to it is fairly simple, but it's hard to format it nicely Charlie Saunders: There's then a big issue where anyone who isn't hugely interested in the game will vote "no" instead of "ask again later", which always skews the results well towards the no Square Tetromino: yeah many suffer from that Square Tetromino: are you thinking of porting it to mobile platforms, is the gameplay compatible with a possible touch screen setup? Charlie Saunders: Not really - I doubt anything but the latest tablets would really run it that well. It doesn't look it just yet, but it's fairly resource-intensive (although it'll still run ok on older machines), because it's all based on quite a complex physics system and it will utilise a lot of post-processing effects Charlie Saunders: I guess if I really wanted to I could target tablets, but that's not the market I'm going for. Square Tetromino: well i do hope it would work on older machines. Charlie Saunders: Yup, I'm a stickler for optimisation Charlie Saunders: There'll also be a fairly comprehensive options menu so you can turn down CPU/GPU expensive things Charlie Saunders: (You can get even more control by editing the options file itself) Square Tetromino: do you put deadlines or you are more like "will finish it when the time comes"? Square Tetromino: is deadline a big no no to you? Charlie Saunders: I don't have strict deadlines for myself because it just causes stress Charlie Saunders: i do however keep a to-do list of medium-small things, and work through them as quickly as possible Charlie Saunders: For example, "Add cluster bombs" "Fix enemy troops" "Change plane builder GUI" Square Tetromino: oh speking of which, plane builder was quite interesting Square Tetromino: with a good amount of content, it might turn out to be exciting especially for multiplayer Charlie Saunders: I hope so Charlie Saunders: I think I want the multiplayer to work on a budget set by the server Charlie Saunders: So when you enter a game, you each get alloted an amount of money to create a plane from all the possible parts Square Tetromino: I know the game is mission based, but are you thinking of some kind of boss battles? Square Tetromino: maybe some missions will have bigger stuff to blow up? Charlie Saunders: Yup! Charlie Saunders: Maybe not very traditional ones, but there'll certainly be some unique enemies to fight along the way, and possibly a nemesis red-baron style character Charlie Saunders: The storyline/campaign progression has not been planned out yet Square Tetromino: well you have time i guess Square Tetromino: although it is actually clear what your inspirations are -and you use cpsii as an alias- i just want to also hear from you, do you especially like capcom play system 2? Charlie Saunders: I had never realised I shared the anagram! CPSII is actually just my initials, I don't think I've ever had the oppourtunity to play the origina CPS2 Charlie Saunders: I've played the games though, of course :) Square Tetromino: ahahaha Square Tetromino: well you always can try emulation? :P Square Tetromino: it's quite legendary arcade hardware Charlie Saunders: Maybe time for an alias change ;P Charlie Saunders: Yeah, now that you mention it I've heard of it, but I never made the connection before. Whoops! Charlie Saunders: At least it wasn't Xbox 360.. Square Tetromino: oh boy Square Tetromino: well CPS2 has brilliant horizontal scrolling shooters and you are making one so i thought that was the reason Charlie Saunders: I might pretend it is from here on out ;P Charlie Saunders: I am a fan of Wings of Fury, not sure what console/machine that was on originally though Square Tetromino: i demand a public apology! Square Tetromino: well no Charlie Saunders: ahahah coming right up! Square Tetromino: i should have realized you use a different nick for steam :I Square Tetromino: what do you do when you are not working on SkyMercs? many Indie developers have a job to attend so what's your story? Charlie Saunders: I'm pretty much working on skymercs full time, at the moment. I'm an engineering student as I think I mentioned, so in term-time I have to work around lectures and so on but for the summer it's skymercs all the way Charlie Saunders: I've been doing a couple of programming jobs here and there to pay the rent and feed myself, though :) Square Tetromino: you specialize in? Square Tetromino: electronics or transportation related? Charlie Saunders: Acoustical engineering, but I'm starting to lean towards electronics. And fluid dynamics. I love it all, really! Charlie Saunders: (that's sound and vibration analysis, by the way!) Square Tetromino: ow i used to have a flatmate who was into fluid dynamics but he was studying aerospace stuff Charlie Saunders: Ah yeah, I considered it for a while but I ended up doing acoustics Charlie Saunders: I've been doing particularly well in my electronics modules, though, so I'll probably wind up specializing in that :) Square Tetromino: can we add audio engineering into that? Square Tetromino: i mean into acoustical one Charlie Saunders: Nah, I get that a lot but they're very different things Charlie Saunders: Which is also unfortuante because I'm very into music and audio engineering, too Square Tetromino: how will the game programming go? do you think in the near future you might have to quit? Charlie Saunders: I'll have more than enough time to get skymercs finished, thankfully Square Tetromino: good to hear Square Tetromino: pretty ambitious project to be honest, not a generic 2D shoot'em up Square Tetromino: although who am i kidding if it looks good i play pretty much everything:P Charlie Saunders: ahah well, if it looks good why not!? Charlie Saunders: At this moment in time I'm actually working on a game for a 72 hour jam Square Tetromino: maybe a personal site would help to keep track of what you are doing, do you have one? Square Tetromino: apart from game specific ones Square Tetromino: i don't remember, hmmm Charlie Saunders: Unfortunately not, I'm looking into using my current host and directing a different URL to it but I haven't had the time yet Charlie Saunders: I'd like a little devblog Charlie Saunders: It'd let me go into complex details about skymercs' development too Square Tetromino: yep also other minor jam entries and stuff Charlie Saunders: Yup that's certainly something I'm planning on Charlie Saunders: it's just hard to find the time! Square Tetromino: well yes instead of chatting you could have finished your game :P Square Tetromino: seriously how much is done? will you be able to finish? Charlie Saunders: Ahaha nah it's been a pleasure! Charlie Saunders: the engine's all done, it's just a matter of level design now Charlie Saunders: not a strong point of mine, though Charlie Saunders: http://i41.tinypic.com/2rf3n9u.png Square Tetromino: looks fine for a jam game Charlie Saunders: Yeah, should be interesting to see what people think of it. It's been a nice break from skymercs Charlie Saunders: The theme was monsters, and the handicap "must contain no violence of any kind" Square Tetromino: well -obviously- looks dark but seems like you have something going on with a camera visor like hud Charlie Saunders: Yeah, you're basically a monster that has to avoid the light for whatever reason Charlie Saunders: and you're viewing the game through cctv Charlie Saunders: It's just an excuse to mess about with shaders really ;P Square Tetromino: time left? 24hrs? less? Charlie Saunders: roughly 24 hours Charlie Saunders: 23 1/2 Charlie Saunders: I haven't been going crazy and sleepless really, so it's only had maybe 10 hours spent on it so far anyway Charlie Saunders: It didn't help I thought it started a day after it did :P Square Tetromino: ha! well you turned out to be more than just one game maker Square Tetromino: interesting platformer you also got there Square Tetromino: or more like metroidvania as people like to call those types of games Charlie Saunders: Yeah, that game's really exciting. The levels are all randomly generated, and there's a big meta-game with all soprts of politics and stuff Square Tetromino: but before we finish, i will ask some "choose between the two" types of games Charlie Saunders: ok, sure Square Tetromino: grrr no *questions Square Tetromino: playstation or xbox? Charlie Saunders: xbox 360, playstation 4 Square Tetromino: hahaha you prefer tboth? Charlie Saunders: nah I prefer the xbox 360, but for the next generation I'll get a Ps4 I think :) Square Tetromino: oh so its PS for this round Charlie Saunders: Yeah I guess so! Square Tetromino: Street fighter or Mortal Kombat? Charlie Saunders: Street fighter Square Tetromino: Manchester United or Chelsea? Charlie Saunders: Neither :D Square Tetromino: I knew you would say that Square Tetromino: ok which one? Charlie Saunders: If i had to pick I'd go for chelsea Square Tetromino: but indeed? Charlie Saunders: It's slightly closer to home.. and I prefer blue :P Square Tetromino: Regular black coffee or milk added? Charlie Saunders: A little milk. I feel like it stays at a nice temperature for a bit longer Charlie Saunders: (although thermodynamics would disagree with me!) Square Tetromino: hahaha, engineering... Square Tetromino: aaaaannndddd Square Tetromino: Autobots or decepticons? Charlie Saunders: Oh definitely autobots Charlie Saunders: nothing is cooler than optimus prime Square Tetromino: ohkay Square Tetromino: It was nice talking to you and a bit of a surprise to hear you had another great project Charlie Saunders: It's been a pleasure! Square Tetromino: will be available for public shaming on rawket lawncher soon :P Charlie Saunders: ah good! I look forward to it :D Square Tetromino: heheh, thanks again for your time, hope to hear from you, ciao ciao for now... Square Tetromino: *waits for a bye*... Charlie Saunders: Oops sorry, was just testing the jam game! Charlie Saunders: Thanks for your time too, I'll keep you updated! Bye mate

Square Tetromino: hi there, just a second please Mike Papagathangelou: hey Square Tetromino: hmm okay Mike Papagathangelou: first of all thank you for the preview Square Tetromino: welcome, you guys sure about this don't you? I mean this conversation will be on the site unedited :P Mike Papagathangelou: yeah no problem at all Square Tetromino: okay we can use this time to clear up some stuff about the game Mike Papagathangelou: sure Square Tetromino: firstly the chance factor Square Tetromino: there will be no critical hits? Mike Papagathangelou: there will be absolutely no chances after the matchmaking Mike Papagathangelou: maybe the perspective of a chess like game is the right one Mike Papagathangelou: we want the players to focus on strategy not on math Square Tetromino: well sounds fair Square Tetromino: and let's say a player casted a magic attack, there won't be a chance for additional effects? or any kind of additional effect will be 100% be cast? Mike Papagathangelou: the game is ability based Mike Papagathangelou: when you want to do a magic attack on an enemy Mike Papagathangelou: the attack will be done 100% unless the opponent has an ability about it Mike Papagathangelou: for example there is an ability called "Dodge" Mike Papagathangelou: this allows the unit to avoid the first attack in the game towards it Mike Papagathangelou: the first attack will miss 100% and every attack after this one will hit 100% Mike Papagathangelou: but you dont know if the enemy has it Square Tetromino: hmm there is still some curiosity or let's say "unknown" when playing then. Mike Papagathangelou: well yeah. it is like this. you see an assassin. you know assassins are fast so he may be able to dodge me. but then again not all assassins can do this Mike Papagathangelou: and this is transfered in the stats of the units as well Mike Papagathangelou: say a character in our game has 50 atk Mike Papagathangelou: and in any other game this character would have 100 atk with 50% hit chance Mike Papagathangelou: it is the same thing, but we want to have the players focusing on "reading" the opponent, not hoping that he won't miss Square Tetromino: i have to admit misses drive people mad, including me Square Tetromino: and about kickstarter any details about a goal? 5K? 10K? Mike Papagathangelou: well we are probably going to focus on a small goal in order to complete the single player first ( 5kish). but the real juice is the multiplayer Mike Papagathangelou: so getting that strech goal will be more costly and important Square Tetromino: I also want to know how Indie Devs are affected by crowdfunding. Mike Papagathangelou: regarding? Square Tetromino: Do you think now that the crowd funding is popular people are just forcing their luck or it has become mandatory for nearly every Indie Dev to have a campaign of some sort? Mike Papagathangelou: well since the last year, crowdfundng in games exploded Mike Papagathangelou: i wouldnt say its mandatory Mike Papagathangelou: but it is probably the best way Mike Papagathangelou: not only for funds Mike Papagathangelou: but for spreading the word as well Mike Papagathangelou: because it is not like you get 10k and thats it Mike Papagathangelou: you already have a playerbase of hundreds Mike Papagathangelou: and thats the best start one can make Mike Papagathangelou: publishing your game in steam or desura is such a long shot Mike Papagathangelou: you might get a few people in the first weeks and then nothing Square Tetromino: speaking of which, we have many people complaining about how greenlight works but they submit their game anyway. Do you see it as a money thrown out for nothing? Mike Papagathangelou: well steam is for the few lucky people that can qualify for it Mike Papagathangelou: but if someone is popular enough for entering steam, he has already made a name Mike Papagathangelou: steam is not for indies probably Mike Papagathangelou: it does support them but not made for it Mike Papagathangelou: just my opinion Mike Papagathangelou: and we havent made a move there yet just because of it Square Tetromino: oh and also you guys mention possible other platforms for the game, have you got any plans for any major console? now that Indie support is a big thing for many people when buying a console. Mike Papagathangelou: well the game is on unity so we have access to many platforms Mike Papagathangelou: althought now that ps4 and xbox one will be out it will be kinda dificult from us Mike Papagathangelou: but tablet and psvita are our first options Mike Papagathangelou: we are planning on making a phone app for customazing your army too Mike Papagathangelou: maybe the whole game too Mike Papagathangelou: the playstyle of the game makes it innapropriate for phone Square Tetromino: cursor is needed, right? Mike Papagathangelou: this isnt the major problem Mike Papagathangelou: the resolution and size of the phone is the problem Mike Papagathangelou: imagine a battlefield in a just a few inches Mike Papagathangelou: it won't be practical Mike Papagathangelou: but we will see Square Tetromino: i see Mike Papagathangelou: if i may add something about the game Mike Papagathangelou: the whole gameplay was designed around the player Mike Papagathangelou: and it's logic behind it Mike Papagathangelou: is that there are no excuses Mike Papagathangelou: no chances,no unbalanced battles, no premium content Mike Papagathangelou: every player will be able to win every player Mike Papagathangelou: your only weapon will be your smarts and experience Square Tetromino: hmm let's move to another aspect, there are debates about being a full time Indie Dev and not so what's your take on this? do you guys have jobs and life apart from your "virtual presence"? Mike Papagathangelou: most of us are in universities, so we don't work. Being full time indie, sounds impossible, at least if you need to make a living Mike Papagathangelou: the game until now was with practically 0 budget Mike Papagathangelou: but we are 5 people Mike Papagathangelou: reaching the point where you make a profit of 5-10k every month seems truly impossible Square Tetromino: well you are less known, there are exceptions :P Mike Papagathangelou: sure in everything Mike Papagathangelou: but most times indie Mike Papagathangelou: not always, but most times indie means low-no budget Mike Papagathangelou: surely everyone would like to live from this but it takes a lot of hard work Mike Papagathangelou: we have been working on this on roughly 8 months Mike Papagathangelou: summing a normal cost for each of us, the amount is huge Mike Papagathangelou: for the regular standards i mean of course Square Tetromino: yeah, unless we start to live in huts :) Mike Papagathangelou: exactly Square Tetromino: may i be right if i said the team mostly comes from strategy gamers? Mike Papagathangelou: actually not really Mike Papagathangelou: i myself i am more of an RPG fan Mike Papagathangelou: but the last years i developed a sympathy for more strategic games Mike Papagathangelou: we got casual gamers too Mike Papagathangelou: we are quite a mix Mike Papagathangelou: no fps fans though Square Tetromino: ahahaha Mike Papagathangelou: the game was designed before the team got formed Mike Papagathangelou: and it had been through lots of phases Mike Papagathangelou: initially it was designed as a pen n paper concept (very early) Mike Papagathangelou: then developed into a card game Mike Papagathangelou: but it met its finally destiny Mike Papagathangelou: a video game needs a team thats why it was the last option Mike Papagathangelou: (most times at least) Square Tetromino: well it might seem easy to grasp for you as you people are working on it for a relatively long time but is it too complicated for a beginner? What can you say about the total options/strategies/number of abilities that are possible in the game? Mike Papagathangelou: we gave it to a few people to try out Mike Papagathangelou: truth is we expected them to find it harder Mike Papagathangelou: and they werent tactician masters Mike Papagathangelou: i would say that it is simpler than most tactical games Mike Papagathangelou: cause all you have to learn is the abilities Mike Papagathangelou: the stats are super simple Mike Papagathangelou: and there are no chances and such Mike Papagathangelou: but in order to help the first timers Mike Papagathangelou: we are plannig on releasing a number of videos Mike Papagathangelou: showing some handfull tips for every nuit Mike Papagathangelou: we will provide builds of units and leagues, serving different purposes Mike Papagathangelou: for example we will show what abilities to select in order to make a swordman aggresive or defensive Square Tetromino: have you played other grid based games for referance? Mike Papagathangelou: not many Mike Papagathangelou: disgaea and fire emblem are clasics Mike Papagathangelou: final fantasy tactics of course Mike Papagathangelou: x com Mike Papagathangelou: nothing too special Mike Papagathangelou: so its not like the game was designed by someone playing games none has ever played Square Tetromino: and about pricing although I would suggest selling the complete package, selling each campaign seperately is also a fine option but you know it shouln't feel like a half-game. It pisses people off. :P Mike Papagathangelou: well packages for lower prices will be available Mike Papagathangelou: but we wont update content Mike Papagathangelou: adding more characters as often as possible Mike Papagathangelou: so this model fits us although its not final Mike Papagathangelou: think of it as browser game where you play for free but if you want some extra campaigns you will have to purchuase them Mike Papagathangelou: these campaigns will not affect the multiplayer Square Tetromino: that's good to hear Mike Papagathangelou: it will be only for those who are lone wolves or  want to learn the story Square Tetromino: hmm i guess we missed desura, considering its more indie-friendly will it be the main platform for distribution or an alternative? Mike Papagathangelou: we plan on focusing our action there after the campaign is over Mike Papagathangelou: we will continue providing alpha versions and preorders through there Square Tetromino: and lastly let me ask some off topic questions. Square Tetromino: nintendo or sony? Mike Papagathangelou: SONY Square Tetromino: Final Fantasy or Fallout? Mike Papagathangelou: Final Fantay of course Mike Papagathangelou: you got yourself a fanatic Square Tetromino: ahaha:D Square Tetromino: black mage or fighter? Mike Papagathangelou: black mage Mike Papagathangelou: no w8 Mike Papagathangelou: is it Vivi-black mage? Square Tetromino: FF1 :P Mike Papagathangelou: nah ill take the fighter Square Tetromino: 8bit or 16Bit? Mike Papagathangelou: 16 Square Tetromino: and last of the last, latte or regular coffee? Mike Papagathangelou: can i just take the milk? Square Tetromino: ahahah okay. well it was nice to talk to you and hope you guys get this game released. Good luck! Mike Papagathangelou: Thank you so much and thank you again for your time Square Tetromino: ciao ciao!

Square Tetromino: beep beep, get ready :P Jared Johnson: (ninja)Lets doit Square Tetromino: you can take a tea or something, i can wait for a minute Jared Johnson: ok just a sec Jared Johnson: alright, good to go Jared Johnson: Is you photo from DBZ? Square Tetromino: you may start with introducing yourself, well for potential readers Square Tetromino: and my picture is from a show called "slam dunk" i really like that one :) Jared Johnson: cool, i'll check it out. So introduction: Jared Johnson: My name is Jared Johnson, my art pseudonym is Data-Fidelity Jared Johnson: I have been using GameMaker since I was 11 years old Jared Johnson: I started drawing videogames before I used the computer. Square Tetromino: ha! thats nice. Jared Johnson: I was drawn to making games as a kid because I always wanted something else out of the games I would play. Jared Johnson: I would always say.. "I love super smash bros! but what if..." Jared Johnson: Of course making a game like SSB better is not an easy task Square Tetromino: to be honest i was never a SSB guy :P but i get what you're saying Jared Johnson: yeah, I would also fantisize about RTS games, actually I think that was the first game I attempted at 11 Jared Johnson: on gamemaker Jared Johnson: Anyway when I was exposed to indie games years later, Jared Johnson: It opened my horizons, it was like: "I never knew THIS could be a game" Square Tetromino: yeah some just don't make any sense :D Square Tetromino: but good for brainstorming i guess Jared Johnson: What games do you like? Square Tetromino: I guess I am more a traditional dude Square Tetromino: but I appreciate innovation -well up to some point- :P Jared Johnson: I like making "weird" games because it's liberating as an artist Jared Johnson: but I really want to make a solid adventure game someday, Jared Johnson: nothing too strange or abstract, just good story and gameplay Square Tetromino: yep playable is the word Square Tetromino: can we say binary boy is your first major game? Jared Johnson: Yes, it is the first game that I publicized Square Tetromino: and it was really a good idea :) Jared Johnson: Thanks! originally it was going to be made in one day. Jared Johnson: I got most of the first two levels done that day Jared Johnson: I had an epiphany that the first day of production yeilds the most progress, so I wanted to cut all my projects short and just finish minigames Square Tetromino: hmm interesting, but I have to add, the polish on gameplay really makes binary boy enjoyable, it would be too frustrating otherwise Jared Johnson: Yeah, I am very happy to have spent so much time on it. It's really cool to be able to share something complete. Jared Johnson: Get's me excited to make the next game even better! Square Tetromino: yeah, but as you know, building an audience is a tedious task. Square Tetromino: so let me ask you, did you have a "why am i doing this?" moment when you were mailing people? Jared Johnson: hmmm... Jared Johnson: After I sent out emails there was this moment where I was pretty depressed, I hadn't gotten many responses Jared Johnson: It felt anti-climactic Jared Johnson: I didn't have huge expectations, but it was very silent. Jared Johnson: I gave myself a haircut and a shave, that made me feel better Square Tetromino: ahahahah :D Jared Johnson: and when I came back to the computer, i think I got an email from you. Square Tetromino: yeah i only send mails to shaved people :P Jared Johnson: Yeah you wouldn't want some crazy, hard to understand, beird on your blog. Jared Johnson: it represents bad gameplay Square Tetromino: beard is manly :P well actually your situation is pretty much the same with other indie developers Square Tetromino: personally, I would call it an unfair situation. Square Tetromino: but even though it's free, it must be a "feeling happier!" kind of thing when others appreciate your work Jared Johnson: absolutely Jared Johnson: I am not interested in becoming rich, Jared Johnson: and I am challenging my interest in fame Jared Johnson: It is comming down to what my work actually deserves Jared Johnson: I used to have a band, and for a while we played a lot of concerts. Jared Johnson: I became OBSESSED with getting on a record label, I spent all my time promoting Jared Johnson: the band, and didn't write a song for a while Jared Johnson: I am looking for a balance, so I can keep making good games, without spending all my time designing my website and sending emails. Square Tetromino: yeah PR is a biatch Jared Johnson: PixelProspector really helped simplify the process for me, many thanks to Simon. Square Tetromino: oh yeah, they even put my blog on one of their indie games sites list :P Jared Johnson: hehe what a coincidence Square Tetromino: although i am not that "indie friendly" Square Tetromino: well i sometimes curse them, that is :P Jared Johnson: I am pretty impressed with Indie games in general Jared Johnson: but it is our differences that make us individuals eh? Square Tetromino: yep, its just that i don't feel comfortable about it, like i could make a blog about commercial games and upload my disk images, but you know doing it for games sold for 5 or less bucks is not my thing Square Tetromino: so i made a freeware blog :P Jared Johnson: yeah! I freeware is great! Jared Johnson: It means you and I are here because we actually care about the games, not for loads of money Jared Johnson: I plan to stay freeware for ever (hopefully) Jared Johnson: (it sounds funny to say hopefully after that statement) Square Tetromino: hmmm well it depends on the amount of money :P Jared Johnson: I guess if people are trying to give me a lot of money it's a good thing, but I want to keep integrety in my work. Jared Johnson: I also think selling a game limits the audience size, or is somewhat exclusive. Square Tetromino: yeah, thats one of the reasons why indies don't whine about pirated copies, it simply helps with the audience Jared Johnson: Yeah, Mass media is awesome! Jared Johnson: or rather, the internet. Square Tetromino: so you can earn your living while making games Jared Johnson: yeah, my vision for the future of Data-Fidelity is donation based. Jared Johnson: I want to create a transparent donation system, so people can see how much money I get, and what i'm doing with it. Jared Johnson: although it's still VERY early to be thinking about that stuff. Square Tetromino: have you thought about a Kickstarter project? what do you think about crowdfunding? Jared Johnson: Kickstarter projects seem very succesful. Jared Johnson: I am planning a crowdfunding project soon to raise money to buy GameMaker studio. Jared Johnson: unfortunatly kickstart doesn't support anything that's not a project Square Tetromino: hmm you can actually make a page about a game and state that a portion of the income would be used for buying a license. Jared Johnson: This is true! I really want to put Binary Boy on mobile devices Jared Johnson: The controls are so simple! Jared Johnson: I have an html5 test of it at data-fi.org/mobilebb Jared Johnson: it just runs in safari on my itouch. Jared Johnson: extremely laggy though Square Tetromino: might be a thing about hardware Jared Johnson: yeah, GMstudio exports ios apps, that's why I really want it Jared Johnson: and i thought, if i'm spending all this time programming, might as well use the most powerful version of the program Jared Johnson: maybe YoYo will just give it to me if I ask nicely (probably not) Square Tetromino: hahah yeah :P Square Tetromino: if the whole world would be so nice :) Jared Johnson: It's challenging when I need a resource that costs money and I don't even need money in return for what I do. Jared Johnson: I think a fundraising project will go over well Square Tetromino: yep that's an issue Square Tetromino: but first, get known more :P Square Tetromino: do you have twitter? Jared Johnson: Not yet, but after promoting binary boy I realized that I need one. Jared Johnson: I just have too many accounts in too many places Square Tetromino: yeah Indie=twitter that's all I learned Jared Johnson: That's what I'm finding too Jared Johnson: I am going to get my game dev blog back up and running soon Square Tetromino: while this will be open to readers, i have to say, although facebook is popular, twitter is the place for indie PR Jared Johnson: I believe you, I'll be getting one soon Jared Johnson: If i may turn the conversation back to Binary Boy again Square Tetromino: no! Jared Johnson: haha Square Tetromino: Binary boy? what is it? Jared Johnson: haha Jared Johnson: As I was going to sleep last night, I started invisioning binary boy 2 Jared Johnson: I though a good title would by Binary Kingdom Square Tetromino: the binary boy returns! Jared Johnson: Most people who played it before it was released would ask me, can i jump? Square Tetromino: the revenge of the binary boy Jared Johnson: and I would always have to explain Jared Johnson: ... well.. no Jared Johnson: and I think in binary kingdom, you will be able to jump, and flip Jared Johnson: making the game nonliniear, you could jump other platforms above you, like classic mario, and flip upside down on that platform Jared Johnson: I think jumping upside down would be a strange feeling Square Tetromino: is it already in works? hm? Jared Johnson: No this all came last night, but I guess in my head yeah it's in the works Square Tetromino: braaaiinnssss!!1 Jared Johnson: yeah, jimmy neutron style. Square Tetromino: well so at least you got some people to play it Jared Johnson: yeah, long before I released it I had people play the windows game, I even built a cardboard arcade machine for it and put it on a sidewalk infront of an art gallery in Oakland california Square Tetromino: oh, an interesting idea! Square Tetromino: are all gfx and audio belong to you? Jared Johnson: yeah Jared Johnson: I maid all the sound effects also Square Tetromino: one man army Jared Johnson: haha thanks Jared Johnson: I think Binary Boy was the perfect size project for me at that time Jared Johnson: Before binary boy I spent a year developing an adventure game that I am going to start over from scratch soon. Jared Johnson: Is it 1:30 AM where you live? Square Tetromino: yes right mr. wizard Jared Johnson: skype did the math Square Tetromino: its caturday here! Jared Johnson: are you drinking yet? Square Tetromino: i just squeezed a half lemon to a cup and added sugar and hot water :P Square Tetromino: thats my favourite currently Jared Johnson: awesome! Jared Johnson: My friend and I go on juicing adventures Jared Johnson: We put carrots, ginger, really anything into her juicer Square Tetromino: that just sounded like an adult move D: Jared Johnson: haha Square Tetromino: movie Jared Johnson: yeah I thought that to after I hit send Square Tetromino: people gonna so see this :P Jared Johnson: I'll never be a game designer now :( Square Tetromino: you said "we put carrots, anything into her juicer." ahahahah Jared Johnson: yeah, my career is ruined. Jared Johnson: jk :) Square Tetromino: no wonder why you get no replies :P Square Tetromino: *ahem* serious now Square Tetromino: pppffftftft! Jared Johnson: ahem... Square Tetromino: sorry, i just have a dirty mind Jared Johnson: That's ok Jared Johnson: At least you are open Jared Johnson: about it Square Tetromino: yeah as i said, i don't like the professionalism in so called gaming journalism Jared Johnson: I think thats great Jared Johnson: I have to go soon. Jared Johnson: It's been great talking with you Square Tetromino: lastly, and as a developer you have to deal with them, requesting to get featured, might cause some kind of "degrading" to ask every person, like a beggar Jared Johnson: yeah Jared Johnson: I agree Square Tetromino: well hope you can deal with it Jared Johnson: I think I will manage Square Tetromino: let's close this conversation with wishes to get more exposure and all those good stuff, i just couldn't remember anything good to say :P Jared Johnson: Yeah, Let's wish for people to enjoy our work Square Tetromino: ciao ciao,we will meet again stranger!(dramatic ending) Jared Johnson: Yes, we will be in touch. I'll let you know when I get my blog back online! Jared Johnson: goodbye Square Tetromino: bye!

douglaseuank K: Ok, no problem! We’re all here. I guess have you got a few questions? We’ve never had a skype interview before! Square Tetromino: haha i have none! how about that :P Square Tetromino: this will be a semi-random chat but based on your game and you the developers Square Tetromino: so let’s start with talking a little about yourself -or how awesome person you are maybe- douglaseuank K: Ok, I’ll go first! douglaseuank K: It’s Iain by the way (writing) douglaseuank K: I’m the artist and have some how ended up helping to start up our company even though I’ve never really played, or know much about (for now) games! douglaseuank K: Ok and now me the developer! ouglaseuank K: I am the developer and i am into games! I have just come from a course on game design adn production douglaseuank K: (his name is douglas btw) Square Tetromino: ahaha yeah i was gonna ask about that douglaseuank K: Aaaand, we’re in hadi’s work just now, he’s setting up stuff on the other side of the room so i’ll just type for all of us! douglaseuank K: I think the most interesting / defining thing about us is our interst in logic / reasoning and philosophy and trying to convey these things through games! douglaseuank K: That’s kind of where the first game, Synergy, came from douglaseuank K: Although that was a pretty big project for our first production douglaseuank K: The next one will be smaller, that’s guarenteed! Square Tetromino: oww why? :P Square Tetromino: the development took too much time maybe douglaseuank K: Well, before we start getting.. yeah, it took longer than we though! .. but before we get into another big(ish) production we want to get a few tiny games produced quickly to build up our portfolio and hopefully land a few contracts! Square Tetromino: nice idea douglaseuank K: the idea is to get established and be able to support ourselfs through working with Sophie’s Games full time and then we can make the games we really want to make, the ones that convey the ideas I mentioned earlier douglaseuank K: We were thinking of producing the next couple of games under a kind of evil twin company, these would be games that don’t have the underlying messages or thought – more games that are purley for entertainment and mainstream, games that don’t particularly line up with the ideals behind Sophie’s Games Square Tetromino: before we move to the game itself, i am curious if there’s something special about the name “Sophie’s Games” Square Tetromino: is there a story behind the name? douglaseuank K: Ah yeah! There is! douglaseuank K: I’ll let Douglas explain, the name was in place before I became involved with the partnership so this is his and Hadi’s brain child! douglaseuank K: As Sophie’s Games was set up to make games that would try and make players challenge their outlook on life, we wanted a name that would reflect that. Sophia is a greek word meaning wisdom of the gods douglaseuank K: or wisdom depending on the sourrce! ;) so we thought it would be nice to reflect the kind of games we aim to develope. douglaseuank K: For the next couple of mainstream games we make we might go under a title like Sophie’s Evil twin to reflect these games dont represent the companies overall ideals and aims. douglaseuank K: It’s Iain again now! douglaseuank K: I wrote a little break down of the name on our site, 2 secs I’ll go and grab the link for you douglaseuank K: http://www.sophiesgames.com/about/ douglaseuank K: There’s a section there on the name.  Was there something about the name that made you ask? We’re kind of curious if anyone actually reolises that there is a meaning behind it! Square Tetromino: hahha i thought it was named after a person dear to you:P douglaseuank K: Well, if philosophy was a person then I guess that could be true! Square Tetromino: oww yeah! Square Tetromino: well, so synergy is kind of released now, dragging a Kickstarter with it. douglaseuank K: Yeah, it’s on it’s way… slowly! Square Tetromino: Do you guys plan on concepts together or one decides on a concept, other one draws and another one programs douglaseuank K: I think, because our team is so small, the job roles blur a lot.  The concept started off as a simple idea which we have all helped build, sculpt and whittle into the fine piece of art it is today! (in our opinion!) Square Tetromino: don’t worry it really is douglaseuank K: Currently I don’t actually know any code but i’m putting a lot of time into learning, Hadi is kind of moving into art as well, douglas sketches… douglaseuank K: but his main area is the game design and working in code too douglaseuank K: In this first project, well the first project as a partnership, there was a huge amount of back and fourth between us. We had a comple of projects before as part of bigger teams but that was through university Square Tetromino: do you guys feel more “relaxed” now that it is a smaller team? douglaseuank K: Kind of, the three of us definetly work better together now that it’s just us but that is being countered by growing pressures to make the company work financially.  It’s a tough world!  Over the past few weeks Douglas and myself have been working full time on the game but we’ll be getting into part time, maybe full time work with other companies to support ourselves. douglaseuank K: Douglas has actually just started a short term contract with a company here in Edinburgh!  I’m going over to the states to see my other half for a while, but will be going for employment when I get back, unless the next game kicks off douglaseuank K: Hadi is working with the college of art here and is organising a PhD, basically there’s loads going on! Square Tetromino: i will go off topic and ask about Hadi’s origin, we have Hadi as a Turkish name, is he from the east? douglaseuank K: yes douglaseuank K: , what would you like to know? douglaseuank K: He’s from Iran Square Tetromino: i would like to know what the colour of his shirt is douglaseuank K: what do you mean? Square Tetromino: told you i go random at times douglaseuank K: He goes random too, so It keeps changing douglaseuank K: I can’t really tell because of the backlight Square Tetromino: ahaha yes. well i especially liked the integration of the concept into the game. puzzle games are interesting even without an idea behind them, but do you guys fear that a time might come when you will find it really hard to integrate an idea into the game? douglaseuank K: good question, I guess that’s one of the main challenges for most of game designers. There’s a lot of research into how to deal with that difficulty douglaseuank K: also there are times that you have an idea and you think it’s decent douglaseuank K: but you may be wrong douglaseuank K: and the first way of testing that would be to try and make a illustration/prototype using any technology that you are familiar with douglaseuank K: like flash/illustrator or even sketches and showing them to people Square Tetromino: or maybe we might say, an idea may suit a puzzle game and another idea to another genre douglaseuank K: yeah, I guess that’s how you do it? if you can’t solve it make it a feature! Square Tetromino: are you planning on dancing with different genres or stick with puzzles? douglaseuank K: we’re not locked into one genres, we go with whatever that could help us making a concept douglaseuank K: I’m really sorry but we’re running out of time douglaseuank K: shall we try and conclude? Square Tetromino: yea that might be best, then a general question. Square Tetromino: how do you see the indie game scene’s future? it is already big enough to have its audience, and if it gets too big, do you think it would just become another alternative industry to mainstream gaming industry or are you optimistic that, no matter how big it grows it would still keep the inner “codes” or “ideals” douglaseuank K: I think it will be indie indie and then indie indie indie and goes on and on.  Although because of their nature they are defined as being small sized businesses in a way so if they grow bigger they will then probably belong to another category, so i guess you can say the indie industry should stay the same. douglaseuank K: It was interesting to speak with you Square douglaseuank K: thanks for your time and hope it was useful for you too~ maybe?! Square Tetromino: well same about you, whenever you guys need semi-serious person i am here Square Tetromino: oh and don’t forget to spam mail other known/lesser known sites, you guys have potential so one day or another ppl will write about you. douglaseuank K: Awesome! We shall do, have a great evening! Square Tetromino: thanks, have a good day you guys Square Tetromino: ciao ciao douglaseuank K: gula gula

jonathan: hey! Square Tetromino: hi there, oh god what kind of pic is that :D jonathan: :D Naked mile ;) jonathan: with underware Square Tetromino: okay let’s get down to biz jonathan: Ha! yeah! Square Tetromino: Could you please introduce yourself, your role and stuff jonathan: yeah! sry for the delay ;) jonathan: my name is jontahan Gustafsson, and i am the lead developer/ 3D artist! Square Tetromino: So may I call you Jon in short? do they call you something else? jonathan: yeah! ;) Square Tetromino: Okay, I guess I will you fancy pants? hahahaha Square Tetromino: *call grrr jonathan: hah! Square Tetromino: Well, let’s move on to the real deal. Firstly, good luck with the Kickstarter. Square Tetromino: It started today i am guessing. jonathan: Thanks man! yeah or last nigt ;) Square Tetromino: Time zones :S The first thing that caught my eye was this “co-operative” game development idea which seemed brilliant. jonathan: yeah we wanted to use the kickstarters full potential Square Tetromino: Considering the vision of people about the game may clash at some point, how are you planning to balance everyone’s opinion? jonathan: yeah we thougt about that! :P we are going to open a private forum, jonathan: and there we will have collums about the different aerias of development jonathan: people will vote up each other’s idéas and it will be a cind of democracy Square Tetromino: Seems like the best option. Do you think it might evolve into something very different than what you previously conceptualized? Will the team act like a supervisor in all areas or leave some areas to the players? jonathan: yeah! i migt evolve to something different, wich is why al the info about the game is cind of vague, but we will aso be a part of the development and guide the forum to what we think would work best with all the rest that are alredy decided jonathan: from the forum* jonathan: there are different inportant areas, and the less inportant the more free jonathan: like how is the main caracters hair gonna look or the caracter can jump super high jonathan: some thing affect gameplay and some dont, and that’s where we will be a little bit more Guiding Square Tetromino: Yeah, I see. How “open” would the world be? Are you planing on some quests or tutorials to help new people familiarize with the aim of the game without geting them feeling lost? jonathan: yeah ofc were hoping for something like skyrim in that area, and a mix of zelda’ wind waker, maby you will get famiiar with the game first and then wi will give you “all” the fredom jonathan: and some aerias you wont be able to go to cus of maby your boat i’snt good enougth jonathan: and you have to upgade it Square Tetromino: Speaking of which, the gfx has a N64 Zelda game feel to it and it will attract players. However, this also means “Zomg! Zelda cloners! you suxxorrzz!” kind of replies. Do you think fanboys/girls are threat for the game? jonathan: we were talking about that but i think our game is going to be so different from any zelda game because of it’s physics, so i dont think they will have a problem with it, but id the forum wants it that way we will have to create it :P jonathan: if* Square Tetromino: I guess more of a physical gameplay rather than magical elements. jonathan: yeah Square Tetromino: no flute :P? jonathan: haha that would give them something to talk about ;) jonathan: nah nothing like that, i mean the comunity will decide Square Tetromino: ah and no bad guys? jonathan: ha you will have to fight someone, but who, how, when and where…? Square Tetromino: hmmm someone, humans… jonathan: something jonathan: :D Square Tetromino: human with a pants on his head then, thats something jonathan: yeah riding on a raccoon Square Tetromino: oww yeah adventure pants! Square Tetromino: well it seems that the main type of transport will be the ship, wil there also be air transportation? jonathan: yeah i would like that! something cooler more od than a regular boat! jonathan: we went with the bot just for the moment jonathan: boat* jonathan: we wanted to make a cool cloud that you ride on.. jonathan: but that part is also up to the forum to decide; jonathan: people are amazing at idéas Square Tetromino: yeah they wil want “fus-roh-dah!” first :P jonathan: haha! jonathan: and im like: i wanna make a new game dammit! :P jonathan: ether that or i may be some weired unicorn with seal paws Square Tetromino: Elderly Scrolls: Tyrim! jonathan: yeah! jonathan: anyway! do you have all you need? jonathan: :D jonathan: i coínd of have to go jonathan: cind* Square Tetromino: last question? jonathan: yeah! Square Tetromino: What is your view of steam? Do you think it is restrictive and against the “indipendent game” ideal? jonathan: no i dont think so! i mean they do have some indie games but they have to keep standard i guess, but now with greenligt i think they doing good Square Tetromino: and quick! choose from: Sega or Nintendo/Mario or Sonic/Apple or Banana/Cod or MoH! hah take that! jonathan: only one? Square Tetromino: like one from each pair jonathan: nintendo, mario, apple, and Cod jonathan: :D Square Tetromino: hahah okay, It was nice knowing you and talking to you, good luck with the game and bye for now. jonathan: yeah same to you! you’re a nice guy! bye!