If you’re a Steam/PC player, you may have noticed a resurgence of old-school style shooters as of late, especially with 3D Realms’ recent announcement of Ion Maiden, a game that utilizes classic Duke Nukem tech for an all-new game.
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But New Blood Interactive’s been kicking it in retroville before that, with the release of last year’s Doom-style shooter Dusk, as well as the recent debut of Amid Evil, a game that channels the classic Hexen crowd, as well as those that love a good ol’ fashioned run through hell.
Amid Evil is currently available on Steam for $18, and to get more insight into its development, we talked with founder/CEO of New Blood, Dave Oshry, about its creation, and what could be next.
Building Evil
First off, congrats on the launch of Amid Evil. How’s the team over at New Blood feeling right now?
Great – the guys are happy and our players are happy which always makes us happy!
You guys really seem to nail down the vibe of social media when it comes to talking about your games. What’s your secret?
Just being legit and interacting with people as we would in real life. We don’t really have a secret, or a plan, or a clue.
Tell us about Amid Evil. We understand this is the sort of game that old-school players of Hexen may like?
It’s like a strange mix of Quake + Unreal + Heretic/Hexen so if you like any of those games? You’ll like Amid Evil.
What’s the back story behind Amid Evil? Who are we playing as?
The Chosen Warrior. The Champion of the Ancients. Wielder of the Axe of the Black Labyrinth a/k/a The AEguy! While he was off claiming the Axe – bad stuff happened as an evil force enveloped all the lands of the ancients. Now it’s up to you to save them!
Are there any bad-ass weapons in particular that stand out in this game? We know your previous game, Dusk, had quite a handful of them.
Everyone really seems to love the Celestial Claw which shoots PLANETS instead of rockets and the Star of Torment which pins enemies to walls.
Aaaaand Expanding Evil?
Is there multiplayer involved with this game, or is it more of a solo affair?
Just solo for now. But if the game does well nothing is out of the question!
It seems we’re seeing a small resurgence of old-school shooters on Steam, between this, Dusk and 3D Realms’ Ion Maiden. Do you think it’s time for them to make a comeback?
I mean – technically they never left! But those of us who grew up playing those games are now old enough to make our own games. So, we make the kind of games we like to play and know the best – for us that just happens to be ’90s shooters. But these things always go in cycles. In 10 years we’ll probably miss games that only let you carry two weapons and regenerate health. I mean I won’t but someone might.
What’s probably the most exciting thing about releasing Amid Evil? If that’s too easy, how about the most challenging?
Releasing any game is equal parts exciting and nerve wracking. I wouldn’t recommend it. But seeing people get to finally play and enjoy something you’ve been working on is the best feeling. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
What’s next for New Blood Interactive? We know you guys are headed to PAX East…could a surprise be coming our way?
What’s next? Finishing Dusk and Amid Evil, getting Unfortunate Spacemen to v1.0 and starting to look into bringing our games to consoles! No surprises at PAX East but we will have *NEW* Dusk and Amid Evil content on the show floor so… COME GET SOME.
Check out Amid Evil and Dusk on Steam now.
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