Games, apps, galore sat down with Sungazer Software
to talk
about their upcoming game “The Tenth Line.” The
Tenth Line
is the first
commercial game project from Sungazer Software. Explore a colorful world
through quick 2D platforming action, hunt for treasure, gain power and train
skills, and do battle against dozens of foes at once! The interview below is
with Elliot Mahan of Sungazer Software.
1) Tell me who you are and about Sungazer Software and how
it got started?
Well, I've been
creating indie RPGs for almost ten years, purely as a hobby. Sungazer Software
is the name of my commercial venture, which I started in late 2014.
2) Sungazer is releasing your first commercial game,
"The Tenth Line." How has that process been and have you worked on
other projects before?
I began on The Tenth
Line in January 2015, with a basic design document and no experience in the
Unity engine. My planned development time was two years, and thankfully, I was
able to keep things on track for my planned spring 2017 release date. Before I
started this project, I also created three (decidedly non-professional) games
in my free time titled The Reconstruction, I Miss the Sunrise, and The Drop.
These were, admittedly, more like experiments in oddball RPG mechanics than
polished products, but they happened to garner a small but passionate following
nonetheless.
3) Where did your idea for the tenth line come from?
The narrative was based on a story I'd been kicking around
in some form or another for a couple of years, and is a simpler, more
straightforward fantasy tale than what I had been writing previously. I decided
to expand the cast and scope and turn it into a game project as something new
to work with, since my previous three games were parts of an
increasingly-complicated series that I was secretly looking forward to getting
away from. The basic ideas for gameplay changed a few times early on, but I
knew there would be a core cast of playable characters who acted like
individuals, and I wanted to come up with mechanical ways to differentiate
them. This is expressed in how each character moves and interacts in the world,
their methods of progression, and their particular skills in battle. And, as
always, it was also an excuse to try out some unique mechanics not normally
found in RPGs.
4)Tenth Line is an Eastern style RPG what made you want to
bring it back to a 32-bit style of play?
Just about everyone my age grew up playing eastern,
console-style RPGs. They were huge, engrossing, big-budget titles that
practically defined the 32-bit era. But, the real appeal for me is how
experimental games got within the confines of the "JRPG" label. Games
like Xenogears, Final Fantasy VIII, and Valkyrie Profile were not afraid to
change up gameplay/progression norms and embrace unique settings and
narratives, and it's a feeling that seems to have disappeared within the genre.
So, my aim is to create games in the same spirit of trying something new with
the genre, rather than settling for a pure "throwback" experience
that, for instance, has healing potions and random encounters because every RPG
of the time had healing potions and random encounters. It's easy to pick out a
bullet list of elements from old games and put them in your new game to call it
nostalgic; it's trickier to point out why the games built upon that gameplay
foundation were so well-received at the time. That's my goal, eventually.
5) It seems today that more gamers want a "hack and
slash" or quicker style of combat. What drove you to make a turned based
combat system?
My own old age, perhaps! I appreciate turn-based experiences
as a chance to weigh my options, plan my actions, and even shut my eyes and
take a deep breath for a moment, if needed. But at the same time, I added
snippets of action to reward a player who learns the timings, and to give a
tactile feel to combat.
6) You have a small team of contributors that seem to be
taking on a lot of work. How has that process been for you and your staff?
My artists and composer were all a delight to work with; I
made sure to absolutely cater to their needs, and to be flexible with their
schedules. In turn, we thankfully seemed to be on the same wavelength with what
sort of assets I needed, and everything came together just as I'd hoped. It's
easy to say that frequent communication is the key, but for me, it was also
important to remember that game artists are artists, and I was happy to see
their interpretations of the world and content I had designed. I'm looking
forward to working with them again, too!
7) Tenth Line is being developed in the Unity engine, why do
you choose to create in Unity over other software? (I.e RPG maker, game maker,
Indie game maker.)
My previous games were all done in one form of RPG Maker or
another due to their simplicity with hitting the ground running. This was
despite my programming background - I am a pragmatist! However, I knew I wanted
my first "big" release to come to consoles as well. Any kid in the
90s with an interest in game design had dreams of making their own console
game, and it's safe to say I never quite outgrew that dream. Plus, The Tenth
Line is console-based in spirit, so it had to be done. So, I chose Unity for
its multiplatform capabilities, and after a brief learning period (which may or
may not be still ongoing), I was able to create something that plays
respectably on both major consoles.
8) The artwork and sprites in the game look beautiful. What
process do you and your staff take to
create them?
I had some basic ideas for layout and the technical
requirements, and I more or less let my artists have at it! The sprite assets
were a huge chunk of work, for sure, and I am forever grateful that Keith found
the time to get them done. The world assets were done by Domen, and he came up
with excellent, vivid color schemes to accompany each area and help the game's
fantasy elements really stand out. Karina, my character designer, is a
published manga artist and extremely skilled and flexible, and she created a
cast of colorful, endearing characters out of my sparse notes and color palette
suggestions. Since this was my first attempt at a game where I didn't try to do
the art myself (thankfully, mind you), I had to strike a balance between my
demands and respecting the artist's interpretation, which I think lead to a
great rapport with each of them. And since I'm not yet a cold-hearted business
owner, I think that willingness to be flexible was the most important thing of
all.
9) You're releasing The Tenth Line on PC, MAC, Xbox One, PS4
and. How well do all the mechanics and programming transfer between platforms?
I designed the game with consoles (and console controls) in
mind, first and foremost, and thankfully we're at a point where console
controllers and PC gamepads are pretty interchangeable, at least in layout.
Getting into the technical side: the PC and Mac versions are pretty easy in
Unity: you hit the Build button, and go. The consoles are a bit trickier,
requiring the proper SDKs installed, OS versions on the dev kits, management
software, and specific rewrites of things like saving and loading data
depending on the platform. Once it's up and running, though, everything seems
to perform admirably on the consoles. The controls work as expected, and it
keeps a steady 60fps and behaves itself for the most part. I am still in the
testing phase for those versions, so that answer might change in the coming
weeks, but past the initial setup portion, it's been pretty smooth,
10) When will The Tenth Line become available?
It will be out March
17th on PC and Mac via Steam. There will be a bundle that includes the art book
and soundtrack for free the first week, so that is worth checking out! My
current target release date for consoles is May 9th, but that is still
tentative.
11) Thank you so much for your time Elliot. Do you have any
last words or advice for those looking to get into game development or writing
for games?
My pleasure. Since I work solo when I develop games, I can't
speak about the proper team experience, but I feel like the biggest favor you
can do yourself is to act professional, even if it's just a hobby. Be courteous
with your artists or other helpers, treat fellow developers and followers with
respect, and welcome feedback when possible. Developing a game is a learning
experience; technology and trends will always change, so you can try to stay
ahead of the curve, or find new ways to incorporate old things that you love,
but don't let yourself stagnate!
If you get googly eyes for awesome game art, check out our interview with Adam Foreman from Beyond Gravity. Read his interview here.
If you get googly eyes for awesome game art, check out our interview with Adam Foreman from Beyond Gravity. Read his interview here.
Follow the author of this post around
on the internet. Mike can be found on these sites. He can also be found teaching
young children and getting beat down mercilessly by a Chillwind Yeti.
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