We had a chance to sit down with the solo dev behind rarelikeaunicorn to chat more in depth about his new game, Pip! Check out the exclusive interview below!

Hi There! Please give us a quick introduction of rarelikeaunicorn. What’s your mission?

Hi! I’m Travis but I mostly go by Rare online, so feel free to stick with that. I’m a hobbyist game developer slowly working towards the long-term goal of making games and other forms of art my profession in life. My goal is to make accessible, enjoyable experiences for players while also bringing something new to every project. I have a strong fondness for slightly older game consoles/aesthetics, particularly the late 80s into the mid 90s, and meshing those with modern game design concepts is where I feel most at home.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about yourself?

There was a time where I was getting close to becoming a professional bowler. I ended up deciding to go to college instead of focusing on the sport which was totally a mistake.

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

My first babysitters as a kid were my SNES and then my PSX. Ever since then I’ve had a fascination with interactive storytelling and digital gaming. As I grew up and found myself wanting to be creative and tell my own stories it felt like a natural fit and, after several years of procrastinating or being peripherally active, I’ve started to focus a lot more on game development as of late 2017.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

Mostly I work a normal day job and explore some other artistic outlets, including writing fiction and creating typefaces.

Let’s talk about Pip! now. This high flying platformer is tons of fun and has more than enough feathers to go around! How did you come up with this amazing concept?

The original concept artwork for Pip! has been sitting around on my computer for over a year with no real plan to ever use it. When I started working in PICO-8 (a fantasy console developed with retro games in mind, and the software which I used to create Pip!) I created a bunch of mockups using the restricted color palette and resolution that the software would allow for.

Late last year I was itching to start a new project and decided to use the old concept art as placeholders until I decided what the game would become. After the first couple days of development and seeing the art in motion it just started to feel right so I kept on working with my little birb buddy. (Fun fact: Pip started life off as a duck named Darlin’.)

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in building Pip!?

Trying to make the experience of being a bird feel good while also getting a flying mechanic to work without rendering level design irrelevant. Unlimited flight is neat at first but can be way too powerful in a platformer if you’re not careful. At this point I hadn’t sorted out what the player needed to do to complete the game yet either. Tying the strength of the player’s flying into their progress through the game felt like a natural extension of the traditional Metroidvania formula, so I was able to kill two birds with one stone.

What was your budget for Pip!?

Nothing! This was a project I started for fun and practice which grew into something a little more solid over the course of development. I would love to tackle a larger version with a budget at some point though.

8. What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of Pip!?

Save your files with clear names and update your code comments immediately or you’ll probably regret it later.

Don’t be afraid to kill your darlings: early in development I added a little ‘bonk’ mechanic where you would lose control of Pip if you ran into a wall or ceiling while flying. It was really cute to me thematically as a tie-in to their being very young/inexperienced, like you hadn’t quite sorted out the whole “being a bird” thing yet. The more I designed and played though the less fun it became to constantly worry about losing control for minor mistakes. Eventually I cut it entirely, with the remnants recycled into the temporary damage state you enter if you touch the lava.

Lastly, have playtesters come in to give you feedback before designing the entire game; they may tell you something doesn’t work and you’ll have to edit so much that all those pretty levels could get thrown away.

What feature did you develop for Pip! that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

Polishing the physics of Pip’s movement forced me to work with more math than I like to. Tweaking the basic gravity itself plus the strength of Pip’s jumps and airjump was a delicate and intertwined process. One seemingly tiny change could make an area completely impossible or way too easy and I found myself having to adjust the numbers over and over and over to get close to something I was happy with.

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

Just a big thanks to everyone JI appreciate all the effort the streamers put in to their content as well as all the work that goes on behind the scenes for a site like Plexstorm. Here’s hoping people have a bit of fun with Pip!. There’s nothing like the feeling of stumbling upon a total stranger playing something you created just because they found it and liked it; it’s one of my favorite moments that comes out of making these games.

The full version of Pip! is available for download HERE for free, but if you would like to show your support further, you are more than welcome to pay what you think is fair for the game. Be sure to visit and engage with rarelikeaunicorn via the game’s Itch.io page and the developer’s official Twitter handle below as well!

Itch.io

Twitter

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

rarelikeaunicorn Exclusive Developer Interview for Pip! was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We had a chance to sit down with the team behind YukiOstudio to chat more in depth about their new game, Ikao The Lost Souls! Check out the exclusive interview below!

Hi There! Please give us a quick introduction of YukiOstudio. What’s your mission?

Jean: Hello everyone, we will first introduce ourselves. We are 2 friends, Jerome and myself, Jean, we have been working on this project for 2 years.

For information, Jerome is French, and I am Swiss.

The graphics and programming part of the game was done by one person, namely Jerome. My part is the financing of the project, the purchase of licenses, equipment, etc.

Jerome: Our goal is the creation of video games entertaining mainly in 2D, with a fairly pronounced difficulty

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about you?

Jerome: I don’t know if we can say that it is fun but neither Jean nor I even have an ounce of training in the sector of the video game, I started worked in the masonry, and Jean in commerce industry.

Jean: Ha ha actually nothing to add

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

Jerome: by passion and…

Jean: and by madness too.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

Jean and Jerome: We play video games!

Jean: No, seriously, as said before I take care of the finances of our Team, so that I have a lot worked alongside to provide various needs, and ensure that Jerome have all the tools to be able to work in a quiet environment.

Jerome: I admit that on my side I did not do much more than work on a project, that took me more than 100%.

Let’s talk about Ikao The Lost Souls now. This brilliantly beautiful puzzle platformer consolidates wonderful music and amazing aesthetic design that is as intriguing to watch as it is to play. How did you come up with this cool concept?

Jean: Jerome? And please do not just answer that it came out of your head.

Jerome : haha, ok ok promised.

It’s a mix of a lot of things, I wanted to mix the cubic decor style of a Mario with more details while integrating a design inspired by Japanese animation, which is my second passion.

The choice of music lies in the general atmosphere that we wanted to give the game.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in building Ikao The Lost Souls?

Jean: Everything has been a real challenge, for people who are not absolutely trained in the industry, any difficulty has overcome or the least design is a big challenge in itself.

Jerome: I agree, it’s totally that.

What was your budget for Ikao The Lost Souls?

Jean: Between 25 and 30 Thousand Euro. Understand well that in its budget it is also necessary to count the job of Jerome, who worked on it full-time, as well as the cost of material and various license.

What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of Ikao The Lost Souls?

Jean: We cannot really talk about lessons, but let’s say we were completely unexperienced, as this is our first project. We learned a lot about finance difficulties, dely due to unexpected reason during the development himself….

Jerome: The development, the choices, the tests .…

Jean and Jerome: We loved it!

What feature did you develop for Ikao The Lost Souls that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

Jerome: The adventure of such a development and…

Jean: Answering the question “can we do it.”

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

Jean: First of all, thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to express ourselves on our game and thank you very much to you the community to have brought to an interest in our game by reading us.

Jerome: We really hope that you will have a lot of fun playing our game.

Jean and Jerome: Thanks you all!

The full version of Ikao The Lost Souls is available for purchase and download on the game’s official STEAM page for $1.99. Be sure to visit and engage with YukiOstudio via the game’s official website, STEAM page, and social media pages below as well!

Website

STEAM

Twitter

Facebook

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

YukiOstudio Exclusive Developer Interview for Ikao The Lost Souls was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We had a chance to sit down with Orla and chat with him more about his new game, ROMPE!! Check out the exclusive interview below!

Hi There! Please give us a quick introduction of Orla. What’s your mission/goals in game development?

Hey! My name is Orlando, I am an indie game developer from the northwest coast of Colombia. I like making things that are fun and look really cute, I believe my mission as a game developer is creating experiences that defy you or take your breath on some way. To bring players a good time.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about you?

I am a great cook! Seriously, I can make some delicious roast beef!

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

When I was about 12, a friend installed the project 64 emulator on my dad’s old Pentium Three, and fired up the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As I watched Link and Epona go through Hyrule Field, I understood this was what I was meant to do. Many years later, through Art school and self studying, I learned all the skill I needed to start making my own games and adventures. Internet forums, YouTube and Twitter have been the main tools into knowing the awesome community of independent creators.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

I am the lead developer for a software company in Barranquilla. Here, I work developing the architecture and implementing the software of a payments solution for small vendors in Colombia.

Let’s talk about ROMPE! now. This super cute platformer where everything you touch breaks is super hard, yet addictively fun at the same time! How did you come up with the concept for this game?

I love platformer games in the style of super meat boy and celeste, so during a game jam with a couple of friends last year i was trying to come up with a fresh way of doing a platformer games on mobile, I had just played downwell at that time, so I ended up making a black and white prototype of what would eventually become ROMPE!:

it became clear the idea was better suited for a console or pc game so here we are.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in building ROMPE!?

Collisions! As everything you touch breaks, right now every single platforms needs its own collisions, it can get very tiresome to fix the bugs this brings with it. overlapping, getting stuck on walls and so on.

I have learn a lot about handling many objects and creating a very solid character controller so that players can have a really fun time playing rompe.

How do you keep your morale up during challenging game dev stretches?

This is certainly Hard! my main tactic is to have clear short term goals, and putting them on a physical or virtual list that i can get access every morning. small things that get you a little comfort to complete, implementing a new mechanic, revamping some animations, testing a level. get really granular with this tasks and congratulate yourself every time you get to finish one no matter how small.

To keep feeling like you truly are moving forward every day is one of the more helpful sensations you can have.

What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of ROMPE!?

Being organized is really important, the sound and music of your game are not something you want to leave for last, and selling games is freaking hard! GIF images are the best way to show off your game and strong social media presence is a must.

What feature did you develop for ROMPE! that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

I never made a checkpoint system before! (oddly) so making a multipurpose checkpoint in ROMPE! that resets the scenery and also works as a save point to return once you die, the logistics behind this, not being able to just reload the entire scene sure took me some days to get right. This is one of the things I remember most of the short development time ROMPE! has.

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

I just really hope you check out my game and more importantly that you have a lot of fun playing it!

The full version of ROMPE! is available for download HERE for free, but if you would like to show your support further, you are more than welcome to pay what you think is fair for the game. Be sure to visit and engage with Orla via the game’s official website, Itch.io page, and social media pages below as well!

Website

Itch.io

Twitter

Instagram

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

Orla Exclusive Developer Interview for ROMPE! was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Are intergalactic space puzzles your thing? Of course they are. Especially games that incorporate robots with interesting abilities that you can use to solve intricate puzzles in a plethora of ways. That’s the beauty of a game like Area 86. The solo developer at SimDevs implemented many nuanced controls and features that make for a truly unique and fun gameplay experience. Check out our exclusive interview with SimDevs below!

Hi There! Please give us a quick introduction of SimDevs. What’s your mission?

Hello! SimDevs is developing physics-based games with fun in mind.

Main mission: let users experience fun with physics simulations.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about your team?

There is no real team, but just one person — me!

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

It all started a long time ago when first time saw a real video game on my parent’s TV.

From that day — it was like a blast — I want to create my own games!

Years passed, interest grows, different game engines got explored and games played growing up.

Step by step and now I’m trying to create my own games!

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

You know, the usual stuff — play games :)

But without the games, trying to get outside and do some activities that are possible at that moment!

Let’s talk about Area 86 now. This space exploration puzzle game has all the best parts of classic Steam indie games like Clarc and Get Over It, but with its own unique twist. How did you come up with this super cool concept?

It all started at an event called Game Camp Tallinn in 2017. It’s like a game jam for 48h where people pitch their game ideas to other people at the event and try to form a team!

I came up with the concept of Area 86 ( at that event it was called “ChaCha” ) but at the pitching time I could not clearly explain my true vision and perhaps they did not believe me that I could develop such game concept in the given time amount!

Oh and it was my first time on stage — so yeah it was a mess, but I loved the action being there!

What types of challenges have you encountered building Area 86?

Physics — that’s an unpredictable beast that can bite you at any time! Trying to keep physics in an enjoyable state is the most challenging thing!

How do you keep your morale high during challenging game dev stretches?

Just do it — even if you don’t make it on planed time! Sometimes it’s even good to take a break and check your game from different views, it will pump you back up without letting you notice it! It’s magic!

What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of Area 86?

It’s not so easy as it starts in your head. Even after you put most of the features on paper you can’t always predict all scenarios and conflicts will pop up in design.

Be prepared for that and perhaps cut some features for saving your time and learn from mistakes!

What feature did you develop for Area 86 that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

I’m really bad at math, so every time a calculation in geometry is needed I need to get external help! Good that there is the internet, many fixes can be found there!

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

Keep it cool and enjoy the show!

The full version of Area 86 is not yet ready for purchase and download on Steam but should be sometime in 2019! Be sure to visit and engage the dev behind SimDevs via the game’s official website and social media pages below as well!

Website

Facebook

Twitter

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

SimDevs Exclusive Developer Interview for Area 86 was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There are many ways to defy gravity both in the figurative and literal sense. When you’re looking to literally defy gravity, Cybernetic Walrus has you covered with their new game: Antigraviator. This high-flying, deep space race has everything that makes for an intrepid battle of racing prowess. We had a chance to sit down with the team at Cybernetic Walrus to understand more about how this game came to fruition and what drives the team towards game development success on the reg. Check out our interview below!

Hey There! Please give us a quick introduction of Cybernetic Walrus. What’s your mission/goals in game development?

Cybernetic Walrus is a game and service studio, we have own IP games like Antigraviator but also do work on projects for customers in Belgium and abroad.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about your team?

We are actually a team right out of school, this means we still have a lot to learn and not always veteran people to fall back on.

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

Making games has been a life long dream and passion. However, I had a busy job and never had the time to work on them. At one point I decided to follow my dream and I went back to school to get a bachelor degree in Digital Arts and Entertainment.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

Cybernetic Walrus is a full-time business, at the moment that means there is not much room for other things at the moment. But those rare moments when I am not involved with the company I try meeting up with friends or going out with my wife.

Let’s talk about Antigraviator now. This futuristic fast racing game takes lightning fast reactions to traverse the dynamic courses while also dodging chaos and danger at every turn. How did you come up with this concept?

Antigraviator started as a school project, at first, we thought of making it an async game, where one player would race and the other would try and dodge traps, you would then swap. But that quickly turned out too boring so, we made both players race at the same time but kept the trap system.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in developing Antigraviator?

The console versions have definably been a challenge. We had hoped to release all versions at once. But that turned out to be hard. On top of that we have a 3rdparty vendor that has us waiting for a solution for almost a year now.

How do you keep your morale high during challenging game dev stretches?

We communicate daily with team to make sure no one is too stressed out. If they are, we look for solutions together. Other than that, we organize a monthly event for the entire team, with the idea to release some stress.

What was your budget for Antigraviator?

The total budget was around 400K Euro if you add marketing and console development to it.

What lessons did you learn as you went through the stages of development for Antigraviator?

The most valuable lesson is that we didn’t publicly test some parts of the game enough. Especially those we added towards the end of the production. I don’t mean bug wise but feature wise.

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

If you haven’t played Antigraviator, do try the free demo version we have on Gamejolt.

The full version of Antigraviator is currently ready for purchase and download on Steam for $24.99! Be sure to visit and engage with the team at Cybernetic Walrus via their official website and social media pages below as well!

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

Cybernetic Walrus Exclusive Developer Interview for Antigraviator was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We had a chance to sit down with the solo dev behind Undergroundies to chat more in depth about his new game, Uagi-Saba! Check out the exclusive interview below!

Hi There! Please give us a quick introduction of Undergroundies. What’s your mission?

To make unique hand drawn games that will leave a lasting impression on players.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about you?

I live stream game development daily, I also do a pretty good whale call.

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

I have always been in love with games, my whole life. But I never thought I would be in a position to make them considering I was mainly an artist. Five years ago I took the dive after finding some software that eased me into coding slowly. From then on I was hooked.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

When I’m not making games you can usually find me playing them, hanging, with my dog Luna, panting on some canvas, cooking or exploring the outdoors.

Let’s talk about Uagi-Saba now. This game features an immersive interface that gives gamers the rare ability to raise, care for, and breed their own unique magical creatures. How did you come up with this cool concept?

In my younger gaming years I played a lot of Creatures 1 and 2 . This was a virtual Tamagotchi/creature game that came out in the early 90’s on PC. I loved the idea of raising my own creatures, caring for them and watching them produce offspring with similar genetics. I would have to say this is the main inspiration for Uagi-Saba but I pulled ideas from many other games as well.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in building Uagi-Saba?

The biggest challenge would have to be physical and mental stress during development, especially during crunch time right before full release.

What was your budget for Uagi-Saba?

There was never really a set budget for Uagi-Saba, development was paid for out of pocket or by community funding/donations.

What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of Uagi-Saba?

I have learned a great deal but the biggest lesson I would say is to keep yourself well fed and well rested during the development period. Health always comes first.

What feature did you develop for Uagi-Saba that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

The genetics system in Uagi-Saba is pretty complex, this really challenged me during development and had to step out of my usual comfort zone to learn some new things.

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

Many thanks for the opportunity to be on this lovely site. Hope you enjoy my game Uagi-Saba!

The full version of Uagi-Saba is available for purchase and download on the game’s official STEAM page for $14.99. Be sure to visit and engage with Undergroundies via the game’s official website, STEAM page, and social media pages below as well!

Website

STEAM

Twitter

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

Undergroundies Exclusive Developer Interview for Uagi-Saba was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Get over hereeeeee.

Sorry, just got caught reminiscing on my childhood, drifting off to dreamland after hours of playing the original Mortal Kombat with visions of Scorpion’s finisher in my head. The Mortal Kombat franchise got its start in 1995 and hasn’t looked back on its quest to revolutionize the fighting game genre as we know it. Now, Mortal Kombat 11 is set to kick it up a notch (we didn’t even realize that was possible given its past releases), when it releases for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 23rd. Discover more about what makes Mortal Kombat 11 so devastatingly amazing nearly 25 years after its first release.

What’s Under the Hood?

No, we’re not talking about Raiden’s straw hat. We’re talking about the game engine. It’s sporting the Unreal Engine 3, which has been pretty commonplace for Mortal Kombat games after Warner Bros. decided to reboot the franchise in 2011. It’s interesting that the game’s developers, NetherRealm Studios, chose the Unreal Engine 3 over the much more responsive (and free) Unreal Engine 4. But we digress because comparing one Unreal Engine to another is like comparing a Ferrari Testa Rosa to a brand new Lamborghini…whatever floats your boat there is no wrong answer.

Music Collaborations

When Mortal Kombat 11 released their announcement trailer for the game, hip-hop artist 21 Savage also dropped his new LP for the game titled “Immortal.” This shows that the franchise is moving in a different direction away from the grudging heavy metal and into a more rap-based formula. We’re guessing that this is to help new generations of gamers become more interested in the franchise and help it transition to next-gen platforms. This is an easy transition to make because it doesn’t really take away from the actual gameplay and doesn’t leave fans of the original heavy metal background music feeling unloved.

Character Customization

Series creator Ed Boon showed off new character customization options at Mortal Kombat 11’s reveal event. Gamers will be able to create, modify, and collect multiple versions of every character and outfit them with a variety of different skins that will show up in battle. But, it’s not all cosmetics. Each piece of equipment has three “augment sockets” you’ll be able to do something in. These slots are for time crystals that gamers can either purchase or earn by playing the game. NetherRealm has made reassurances that there will be no pay-to-win advantages in Mortal Kombat 11, but if these crystals are going to give players increased strength or defense stats, it would give them an unfair advantage.

Fatalities and Finishers

(This headline is actually one of the proposed titles for my autobiography that didn’t make the cut)

The extremely grotesque fatalities in Mortal Kombat 11 might make you puke in your mouth a little bit, but you’ll probably get over it. One fatality shows Baraka ripping his opponent’s head off. Yawn. But then, he takes the head, rips out the brain, puts it on a skewer and takes a bite. This is all done in extremely realistic, animated slow-mo to accentuate the carnage, making it all that much more ridiculous and stomach turning. Check out the latest gameplay video below:

Mortal Kombat 11: Collaborations and Customizations was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We had a chance to sit down with Robson Paiva and chat with him more about his new game, REDO!! Check out the exclusive interview below!

Hi There! Please give our community a quick introduction of yourself. What’s your mission?

My name is Robson Paiva! I’m a solo developer from Brazil and I’m the creator of REDO! I’ve been working as an amateur developer for some time, and I have a good list of small incomplete projects, but they were made just as a hobby. After I dropped college some years ago because of emotional problems I decided to start working as a solo developer for real and then I started REDO! and I’ve been working on it for the past 3 years. My mission is to make engaging game, that’s all! The game is almost finish, but is already available as Early Access.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about you?

The sounds that the protagonist of the game makes when she gets hit is actually me trying to sound like a girl and I think I did a good job haha.

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

Well, back when I started REDO! I was suffering from some emotional problems, so I spend most of my time inside my house, with lots of free time I decided to start something to keep my mind busy, I didn’t plan too much in the beginning, I just did. If I started worrying about the problems I would have to face to finish this project I would probably just give up. So I just started and didn’t look back. I had some experience with pixel art, so that was the art style I choose. I started studying coding while doing the project. Game maker was a good choice because the Language (GML) is easy to learn, so I didn’t have much problem to learn the basics. The same happened with music and sound design.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

I like to see horror movies, read manga and books, go out with friends to have a beer and chat. You know, the usual stuff.

Let’s talk about REDO! now. You’re tasked with traversing the underground battling biomachines that reminds us a bit of a dystopian Metal Slug (major cool points for that). How did you come up with this amazing concept?

My main goal was to make a mysterious and melancholic world that tell a story about the people that lived in it. The Imaginary that i try to evoke is something like a dystopian future where metal and concrete are mixed up. In the World of REDO! you have people living side by side with huge tubulations and electric circuits, you can see old traditions and high tech occupy the same space. At the same time, the world is very claustrophobic and gloomy. My main font of inspiration was the works of Tsutomo Nihei, creator of Blame!.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in building REDO!?

I think that balancing Health and damage for player and enemies is a difficult thing to get right, I also find very difficult to have good pacing. You know, a game need breaking points where you do different things if it is combat all the time the game gets boring. so I need to put some quiet moments, some rooms with lore, unique enemies and etc. Having varied level design also helps, nobody wants to walk in a straight line every time, so exploring vertical and horizontal space is very important. For the balancing issues, there’s no way around it, you’ll need to see people playing your game and see how they deal with enemies. after that, you can make changes.

How did you keep your morale up during long stretches of tough game development?

Having friends to talk always help. When I’m feeling tired or overwhelmed with work, I try to have a conversation with a friend, and this makes me feel happy.

What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of REDO!?

I think the main lesson is learning how to work with your limitations. I had to cut things from the game because as a solo developer there’s so much i can do, so having a realistic scope and features that i could do without help was what made this project possible. If I tried to do something bigger it would have taken more years and I’m not sure if I would have will to keep doing the same project for five or more years.

What feature did you develop for REDO! that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

I had to work around my limitations and try to do the best I could with the tools I had. I’ve been a long fan of Metroidvania games, I love that feeling of exploring the unknown and getting new skills, but I didn’t want to just do a clone of Castlevania, I wanted to do my own spin on the genre. I wanted something slower paced and methodical, similar to the feeling that games like dark souls can evoke. I think that not doing a tradicional fast paced metroidvania was something that made me step outside of my confort zone.

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

Just do it. If you have the time and patience, you’ll get there. Don’t be afraid of critiques, it will make you a better developer. Show your work and also be kind with other developers, they are in the same situation as you!

The full version of REDO! is available for Early Access download on STEAM for $9.99. Be sure to visit and engage with Robson Paiva via the game’s official Itch.io page, STEAM page, and social media pages below as well! If you’re feeling generous, feel free to visit Robson’s Patreon page and make a donation!

Itch.io

STEAM

Facebook

Twitter

Patreon

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

Robson Paiva Exclusive Developer Interview for REDO! was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

After a mishap during the annual Bring Your Kids To Work Day you are what is left of your spaceship’s clean up crew. Now, you’re tasked with roaming the lonely, dark corridors picking up weapons and killing anything that moves. That’s basically the premise of the newest game from the creative team over at Monster Finger Games called Alien Scumbags. Not to give anything away, but the awesome title does the game justice. it’s pixeltastic 8bit style run has a good amount of action with some sci-fi horror thrown in. Check out our exclusive interview with the team at Monster Finger Games below!

Hey Guys! Please give us a quick introduction of Monster Finger Games. What’s your mission?

We are two mates from the south of England, we enjoy making awesome retro games we hope you love to play as much as we love making them.

What’s a fun fact that others may not know about your team?

James used to own a modified car club and Stu is the lead singer in a rock band

How did you get involved in developing indie games?

We started making games because of our mutual love of retro games, we began developing games for the Ouya console back in 2013.

What do you do when you’re not developing indie games?

James has a young family so balances making and playing games with family life, Stu works as a mechanic and owns tons of retro consoles.

Let’s talk about Alien Scumbags now. This radical platformer features a plethora of carnage at every corner of a dirty, deep space shuttle! How did you come up with the concept for this game?

The game started out as a gamejam project back in December 2017, we placed in the top 10 and decided to make the game in to a fully fledged experience, we both love Doom, Duke Nukem and Sci Fi films so it was only a matter of time before we decided to make a Sci Fi shooter.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered in building Alien Scumbags?

The biggest issues we faced was working with a small resolution and working on a new lighting system as the previous one was causing problem due to not being able to see enough of the level.

What was your budget for Alien Scumbags?

Nothing apart from our social lives :p

What lessons have you learned through the stages of development of Alien Scumbags?

We have learned tons about physics, lighting and how to create features such as particle effects and rolling demo’s.

What feature did you develop for Alien Scumbags that caused you to step outside your comfort zone?

The lighting system was a huge step in the development for us.

Anything you want to tell the Plexstorm community before we sign off?

We hope you enjoy Alien Scumbags and look forward to seeing people playing it.

The full version of Alien Scumbags is currently available for download via the official Monster Finger Games GameJolt page for $4.99! Make sure to check out the team’s official website for updates and engage with them on their Twitter page!

Website

GameJolt

Twitter

As always, thanks for reading and keep on streaming! ❤

Monster Finger Games Exclusive Developer Interview for Alien Scumbags was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Saying that Fortnite took the gaming industry by storm in 2018 is an understatement. That’s like saying that Fyre Festival was a minor inconvenience for festivalgoers or that Bitcoin was just ‘aight’ in 2017. The reality is that Fortnite not only obliterated expectations; it obliterated the competition and what passes for quality multiplayer battle royale games now and in the future. Then, just as Fortnite had spent nearly a year riding high on a cloud of teenage angst and massive profits, their EDM background music seemed to slow down once Apex Legends took the industry by storm. Let’s explore how much of a dent Apex Legends has had on Fortnite’s profits (if at all), if it has the potential to sustainably stand a chance against Fortnite, and its effect on the porn industry.

Has Apex Legends Put A Dent in Fortnite’s Profits?

If you’re going to match up Respawn’s Apex Legends with Epic Games’ Fortnite just on numbers alone, you’re probably going to get a headache (unless you’re one of those people who actually enjoys a good math equation…gross). Apex Legends got 50 million players to join the game in its first month, helping it have a huge impact on the battle royale scene. Even though a ton of people have checked it out, Fortnite has still managed to post record player numbers.

Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney told GamesBeat shortly after its launch that Apex Legends hasn’t really made a dent at all in their growth projections:

“We’re very close to hitting 250 million Fortnite players,” said Sweeney. “Since Apex Legends came out, we’ve gained an Apex Legends worth of Fortnite players, which is amazing.”

Ouch. Then again, it only took seven days for Apex to hit 25 million users (it took Fortnite 41 days), and one month to hit 50 million users (it took Fortnite more than four months). So, yea.

The Verdict: Apex Legends or Fortnite

Apex Legends and Fortnite are both serve very different audiences. Whether Epic Games wants to admit it or not, their marketing is geared towards teenagers and young adults. This is apparent based on the characters that perform dances taken from artists that their young audience frequently references. What gamers might not know is that, although the character dances add to the entertainment value of the game, they’re not what you would call ‘legal.’ Case in point, Backpack Kid is suing Epic for stealing his Flossin’ Dance and using it in Fortnite without his permission. Backpack Kid (who’s real name is Russell Horning) joins actor Alfonso Ribeiro and rapper 2 Milly in suing the developer for the same infractions.

If you can look past this type of unethicality and purely focus on the entertainment value of the game, Fortnite has definitely been in a class of its own. Now that Apex Legends has entered the arena, it has been able to level the playing field for gamers. If you put both games side by side, they’re basically identical in their foundational user interface (UI). It’s the slight tweaks in their gameplay features that allow each game to differentiate itself from the other. For instance, both games are free and use a battle royale formula where players compete against a ton of competitors to win the match. The differences lie in the gamer perspective (Fortnite is played in first-person while Fortnite is played in third-person) and the size of your squad (you can go it alone or squad up in Fortnite, but must be a part of a team of three in Apex Legends). Both have loot crates and both have shrinking safe zones that dwindle as the match winds down.

Hot for Apex Legends

What it comes down to for gamers is the appeal of the stylistic details and nuances of the gameplay and if porn traffic is any determination of what gamers are interested in, it’s easy to draw the parallel that they’re horny for more Apex Legends. Even though Pornhub revealed in their 2018 Year in Review report that Fortniteaveraged roughly 151,000 search queries per day for Fortnite-related porn for the entire year. By comparison, Apex Legends is averaging around 100,000 searches per day on Pornhub. Not too shabby for a platform that receives upwards of 100 million visitors a day. But just because Apex Legends has been averaging less searches than Fortnite averaged last year doesn’t mean that it’s second rate. Pornhub even found that roughly two weeks following the game’s launch, Apex Legends surpassed Fortnite, peaking at 357,701 searches on February 18. EA’s statisticians even recorded a total of 2.27 million searches for EA’s game in the 22 days since it first launched.

Overall, there’s really no litmus test for gauging public opinion on these two games, but if you look at the latest Google Interest Trends for both search terms, you’ll find that Fortnite is still flossin’ like a MOFO compared to Apex Legends. But Apex Legends is still young and has time to grow in whatever direction they want. What will set them apart from Fortnite is how they can take gamer feedback and spit out new seasons that are packed with new and interesting features. Respawn already copied the success of Fortnite’s battle royale for Apex Legends — now they have to choose whether they’ll continue to listen to their community like Epic Games is known for excelling at or shift gears into neutral and become another version of The Culling 2. Only time will tell if Respawn and EA can build something as sticky as Fortnite, but no matter what happens, the clear winner in this epic competition will definitely be the gamer.

Does Apex Legends Stand A Chance Against Fornite? was originally published in Plexstorm on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.