Interview: The Depths of A DEMONS GAME
Many players enjoy playing games not only for their game play and graphics, but with a focus on the story in which the game takes place. The story's of many games are often made vague or with just enough explanation that the rest is left to player interpretation, especially in the indie field. This developer, Ruben Pereira, with RP Studios is working on making a game called A Demon's Game, which will have intriguing, multi-path game play and a story with depth and player choice.
The story takes place behind the protagonist Daniel. He will have to face many challenges and dangers in order to save his wife. Daniel used to live a normal life, with a decent job and a beautiful wife, until the day that everything changed. Now he is determined to get her back and finds that he must also save himself in the process. Willing to go to the deepest corners of hell, he will stop at nothing to find his wife!
"The plot may seem to be simple and somewhat cliché, however we ensure you that there will be a level of depth beyond the generic indie horror game story. For fans of games with deep, well thought out stories, you will not be disappointed." - Pereira
It is too often that games are great the first play through and then get old due to repetitiveness in the story or game play. While this game's game play will evolve in accordance to players findings and choices, the story is also as dynamic and offers a multitude of endings. With such a range of differentiating aspects, this game looks to have replay ability potential.
While this game will start as a defenseless horror, under the simple notion that you simply don't know HOW to fight off your foes, it will progress into an optional survival horror, as the player, again, will have the choice of fight or flight. While combat is great and survival horror is a popular choice among players, this optional combat concept is one that caught my attention; being a fan of defenseless horror more myself.
Q&A with Pereira
What inspired you to make this game?
"I've been playing horror games since my early days of gaming. Games like Sanitarium and Penumbra: Overture were incredible titles that I still have fond memories of. That coupled with the fact that I've always been pretty bitter about horror games being "afraid" of taking risks and breaking their formula."
Why did you decide to break it up into chapters?
"For two reasons: For one it allows me to structure the game better, making every "chapter" or episode feel as unique as possible. And the other is to have a research/feedback period between chapters so I know where I need to improve in the future."
Whats the main aspect your game scares with?
"It focuses on atmosphere, in depth sound design and messing with your mind. It will go as far as making you weary of things that aren't even there."
How long has it been in development?
"For about 1 and a half years. It should have been shorter, but time wasn't on my side during the first year, so I could only work on the game every now and then, but now I'm dedicating my full attention to this project and I'm in it until the end."
How many chapters do you intend to include?
"4 chapters are planned."
How long will chapters take to release after each other?
"3 to 4 months."
Is this a defenseless or a survival horror?
"It's a unique mixture. For the first half, you can't fight back because you don't know how to, but as you progress further and further through the areas, you'll find more and more clues as to how you can fight back and eventually you'll have to make the choice of "if" you really want to kill whatever has been hunting you."
Can you give an idea of the overall objective in the game?
"The overall objective is really subjective, since the player will determine what they actually want to do and that will change how much the game changes. But as a default, it's an overarching story that will have you fight several demons in order to obtain your freedom. This can be achieved in a variety of ways as the game not only features multiple endings, but it has a branching path system, allowing you to play the game through 6-7 times and have it always be different."
Roughly how many different enemies can we expect to encounter?
"5 different enemies. 1 main enemy in every episode and 1 enemy that will be there with you throughout your journey."