Interview: Creative Powerhouses from EPIC and Marvel Cinematic Universe Discuss New Strategy Game, Golem Gates

A Powerful Alliance Is Forged

WWG: How did you guys find each other? Looking at an indie studio and seeing constituent portfolios boasting creative work in the AAA game space and blockbuster Hollywood scene is pretty surreal. It sounds like you have a pretty unique opportunity here.

MO: Meeting up was kind of by accident. Rob [McLaughlin] and I were developing the skeleton of the game with placeholder content, trying to figure out how we would get the art for the game. Rob happened to meet Josh outside of work, the topic came up, and we were able to put ideas together and start something. The results are way beyond what we initially thought would be possible. The game looks so much better than we could have imagined when starting it, and the additional ideas have helped shape the gameplay in a positive direction as well.

JN: It did feel like divine intervention or something. Dalvin Kang and I focus on the art, audio, and world building side of things. We had just started looking for programmers to partner with when I met Rob. After discussing the project and their experience, it seemed like a perfect fit. Fortunately that turned out to be true and we have made a pretty great team. I'm really proud of what the four of us have been able to accomplish in a year.

EPIC Lineage

WWG: Matt, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War are part of your professional DNA, and it's significant to me that you started out as part of the modding community -- one of the players. What has your entire timeline taught you about how players have fun with their games, and how has that affected your work on Golem Gates?

MO: The most affecting thing for this game is to enable the creativity of the players. Some of the best results in games are sometimes a result of the community playing in a way that the developers didn't expect. I wanted to make sure there was enough depth and diversity in the game to enable that to happen, so new ideas and discoveries can happen over time and shift how the game is played, whether that's a competitive metagame or funny video sequences.

WWG: Josh, your art and concept work is legendary, and you've had the privilege of bringing so many iconic Marvel heroes to life recently. What was it like starting from scratch, in a brand new universe that no one has ever seen before? Working on Golem Gates, what kind of new freedoms and creative frustrations drove your design work?

JN: Haha, thanks for the kind words. I have been very fortunate to work on some awesome stuff with very talented people. I really enjoy working with the visual development crew at Marvel. They are just so good and have pushed me to get better in order to keep up.

Even though we were starting from scratch with the universe of Golem Gates, it's very much inspired by core gameplay elements. For example, fog of war is a very big part of the gameplay, being only able to summon glyphs where you have clear vision. In order to incorporate that element into the lore, we came up with the idea of "The Ash" - clouds of nanites that cover the landscape. The Ash distorts vision but is also the source of power for creating the warrior machines. We wanted The Ash to feel alive while still conveying just the right amount of information to the player about the environment. We ended up combining undulating fog with a digital underwater look as well as a topographic hologram overlay. It's definitely unique compared to how other RTS games handle fog.

There is definitely a challenge to come up with something new but still keep within the boundaries of what I think is most appropriate for the game, what I think people will like, and what I am good at. But there are also times where I've designed things just because I think it's fun or cool even though I know I'm not pushing any boundaries. The first boss in the game is an example of this. Dalvin and I were joking about all the stereotypical elements in a bad guy design and I basically just mashed all of them together. Even though design does actually makes sense for his character in the story, it is silly - but also, I love it.

New Heroes, New Villains (Or is it just new villains?)

WWG: How do you want players to feel about the Harbinger? Is the protagonist a "hero," or just a lesser evil?

JN: Initially I'd like for players to be unsure. The campaign story is all about who the Harbinger is, his history and connections to the world.

Both Dalvin and I are drawn to darker, no nonsense heroes like Batman, Wolverine or the Doom Slayer so there is that type of influence.

WWG: Do you guys have any new characters or designs that you can share with us? Anything you can tell us about them?

JN: This is Meremoth, the boss of Book I. He's the character I talked about above. He's an arrogant tyrant that has used the power of The Ash to keep himself alive, taking from others what he feels he deserves. Mix in some Skeletor, Terminator, Zombie, Sith Lord and a touch of the Joker and let that sit for 1000 years and this is what you get. I hope to see some Meremoth cosplay someday.

Is Golem Gates for You?

WWG: Here's a question for both of you. Think of someone who would really enjoy Golem Gates. Now name three other games or movies (or mix and match) that you might find on their computer.

MO: Warhammer: Dawn of War 2, Hearthstone, League of Legends

JN: Heroes of the Storm, Dark Souls III, Blade Runner 2049

WWG: When people hear "real-time strategy game with collectible card game elements," what's something they're missing that you want to make sure that they know about Golem Gates? What can't be conveyed in that classification that you think is unique to your game?

MO: As much as the card game element is a part of our identity, equally so is how you play them. Being able to play Glyphs off of most of your unit and building vision makes combat more dynamic than in most other strategy games - an enemy coming in with a larger, stronger force doesn't have to mean a loss or retreat. Some of the best moments in multiplayer are when all involved players in a fight are adding more units, buffs and effects in a one-upmanship game to ultimately win control of the area.

JN: I agree with Matt that the one-upmanship is really a unique element. Being able to spawn wherever you have vision, "fight where you have sight" as we say, makes every unit dangerous because anything can appear next to it. Also with the wide array of glyphs, players can set up their decks to use a range of strategies. I generally like to buff my units, giving them giant strength and health regen and such - but playing against Rob, who always seems to have the Dominate Tech in his hand, I end up making the ultimate death machine just to have it stolen and used against me. Freaking Rob.

WWG: Thank you both so much for your time, we can't wait to see where you take us with this story. Any other comments for our readers?

MO: We're very receptive to feedback so those interested should feel free to talk to us on social media, the Steam forums, or our Discord. We're adding an additional single player mode (Trials) based on player requests, as well as some smaller features and changes based on feedback and we'll keep doing that as we continue along. Join us!