Humble Bundle is getting into the publishing game, and we mean all in. “Presented by Humble Bundle” is a tag you’re about to see on many of the year’s most unique and highly-anticipated launches. To most, the brand is synonymous with quality, charity, and variety, but I wanted to hear from Humble Bundle.
What does this publishing initiative mean to Humble Bundle, and why now? What’s the story behind A Hat in Time, Aegis Defenders and No Truce With the Furies: three games spearheading the publishing charge that couldn’t be more different in their themes or presentations, and all of which have their own respective, wildly passionate fan bases?
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Humble Bundle is bringing together the most talented independent developers in the industry and putting them front-and-center to end the year with fireworks, and we’ve got front row seats. We connected with Humble Bundle’s Publishing Lead John Polson, A Hat in Time‘s Director Jonas Kaerlev, Aegis Defenders‘ Director Bryce Kho, and No Truce With the Furies‘ genius writing team to get the scoop on the games you’ll be obsessing over in a matter of weeks — and the company making it all possible.
Presented by Humble Bundle
First thing’s first, John. When will we be able to actually get our hands on the first game published by Humble Bundle? We’ve been looking forward to this since February!
JP: Our first multiplatform title, A Hat in Time is set to launch on Steam, Humble Store, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in October!
“Presented by Humble Bundle.” A year from now, what do you think those words will mean when gamers see them sprawled across the bottom of a banner ad, or at the end of the trailer? What is Humble Bundle going to bring to its publishing initiative to set it apart from some of the other indie publishers that we’ve come to know?
JP: Humble isn’t just an indie publisher, it’s a destination for discovering amazing games. Just as people associate quality, breadth, and depth with other parts of Humble, I aim for our label to be similarly highly regarded.
We won’t be known for making a certain type of game; rather, we will be known for helping great games exist and helping them get discovered.
A big part of Humble Bundle’s positive reputation is derived from its thoughtful curation of games and products. I can always count on being surprised by a game or book that I’ve always wanted to play, or being delighted by an unexpected, unfamiliar new favorite when a new bundle comes around. How has Humble Bundle’s approach to content curation changed for this publishing initiative? How much of that process has remained the same?
JP: The approach is the same: curate for quality. Our considerations may be slightly different, though, as we are bringing games to new platforms, including the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
For those of us who regularly invest in the brand, what can we expect as patrons? Will Humble Monthly subscribers see any of these games included in the monthly bundles? Will the Humble Store see exclusive discounts on new releases? Can we still expect warm and fuzzies knowing that supporting these games also means supporting neat charities?
JP: Warm fuzzies, I hope! You will still be able to support these developers and charities by purchasing them day one on Humble Store. Getting to bring games to Steam, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox means their customers become our customers, too. All decisions about releases and promotions we make need to be considerate of our growing fans across all platforms.
So developers retain total creative control. They retain ownership of their IP. They can sell their game on multiple storefronts. They even get funding up front. Can we just level here for a second? Other than a little bit of shared revenue, what is Humble getting out of this?!
JP: Through this opportunity, we are forging stronger partnerships with our developers and other storefronts. We are getting more cool games to share with our customers. All those things are super awesome and valuable to us!
I noticed a new addition to your lineup recently with Mineko’s Night Market. It looks adorable. I also noticed Scorn. It’s terrifying and not adorable at all. You guys have a pretty diverse lineup right now; do you have a personal favorite? Are there any brand new additions that you can tell us about here?
JP: You guys were quick to catch the announcement of Aegis Defenders, too! I am glad you see that the games we are funding and publishing are as diverse as the taste of our worldwide gaming audience. Mission accomplished!
Brand new additions? Well one game is going to look gorgeous on 4K TVs with PS4 Pro. Another is a perfect fit for the Switch’s key features. Oh, you wanted names… Soon!
Thanks so much for your time. Where can we learn more about everything going on with Humble Bundle’s publishing initiative?
JP: humblebundle.com/publishing and @humble for the ultra latest!
A Hat in Time
So, just to address the elephant in the room here: You’re aware that there’s another colorful platformer launching soon which prominently features hats, right? With Super Mario Odyssey around the corner, I’d like to ask how much 3D Mario games have informed your development approach for A Hat in Time.
JK: We’re pro-hats and everything that promotes the hat agenda! A Hat in Time is definitely inspired by the best 3D Mario games: Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. We love the charm in those games, and that’s what we’ve focused on for A Hat in Time – making it charming and cute-as-heck. Hat Kid is cute, everything she does it cute – and yet we put her in messed up situations anyway. There’s gonna be a murder. People will die. That’s part of the fun of A Hat in Time – you never know what to expect!
As you reflect on those Mario games that influenced you and you remember playing them, what’s one element of the Mario game experience that you hope you’ve successfully recreated for players who play through A Hat in Time? Alternatively, what’s something unique that you think Gears for Breakfast has brought to the table with this game?
JK: We REALLY like how Mario 64 & Sunshine managed to take a single level, and give it so many interesting twists. For A Hat in Time, we’ve pumped this to the max. In just one “chapter” (our equivalent of levels) there’s a movie studio, a murder on a train, followed by that train then self-destructing, as well as a big parade and a group of hungry paparazzi trying to take your picture! In just ONE chapter! One after the other, of course, not simultaneously!
Our chapters are evolving, and what you do in them can even affect the outcome! That’s never been done in any of the games we’re inspired by, but we thought it’d be really cool if we made sure the player leaves a permanent mark on the areas they visit!
While we’re talking about Mario, I should also mention that you have a lot of fans who would love to see this game on the Nintendo Switch. I’m sure you’ve probably seen a comment or two expressing something to that effect, yeah? Do you, uh… Do you have anything fun to say about that? You can’t see me but I’m fluttering my eyelashes. We all are.
JK: No, sorry! No current plans to bring A Hat in Time to Nintendo Switch. Right now we’re exclusively focused on launching the game, as it’s coming out VERY soon (October 5th)! We’re making sure all versions of the game (Windows, Mac, PS4 and Xbox One) are up to snuff, and that takes a lot of manpower for such a small studio as ours.
Does A Hat in Time cater more to the people who enjoy a tough-as-nails, precise platformer, or is this a more leisurely experience? A month after this game launches is everyone going to be talking about that one platforming sequence that made them squeeze their controller in rage, or will they be talking about how long it took to drift through the story?
JK: Can I say both?? Here’s the thing: we have such a big variety of missions that can be completed in any order, all totally different! At one point you’re the detective in a murder, next you’re the band marshal in a parade. One is really tough and requires a high level of skill, while the other is more about the experience, being charming and cracking jokes at the absurd situation. I won’t tell which is which! But you don’t have to complete a mission if it’s not for you, it’s not required. Just like Mario Sunshine and 64, you can pick the very best, what you think you’ll enjoy the most, and still make it to the end! Clearing 100% is entirely optional (although encouraged)!
There are so many hats, and the different areas in A Hat in Time look so beautiful and unique. How have you managed to strike a balance between novelty and consistency? Is this a mixed salad or a blended yogurt?!
JK: Every hat in A Hat in Time provides a unique ability, it’s not just for show! Usually we start out with “how could this level be improved, what solution-solver could we apply to Hat Kid that she can’t already solve?”. The result is a large variety of hats that never overlap! Every hat is unique and never becomes a novelty. For instance, the Ice Hat allows Hat Kid to turn into a solid statue of ice… seems pointless, right? Not until you realize you can slam into the ground to throw everyone near you up into the air, go undetected (you’re just a statue after all!) as well as fling yourself really far on dive boards! A lot of our hats are like that; seemingly just a casual headwear, but packs a lot of utility!
The community also wanted to know whether Kickstarter backers would have the option to opt for a console version of the game. Will this be possible, or is it understood that backers were investing in the PC / Mac version of the game, and so that’s what they’re getting?
JK: It’s true that our Kickstarter just focused on Windows and Mac. However, we are VERY soon providing an option for Kickstarter backers to upgrade their tier to get access to the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game in addition to their Windows and Mac access!
We’re so close! When can we finally get our hands on this game?
JK: A Hat in Time releases October 5th! You can wishlist the game on our Steam and Humble Store pages here and here.
Thanks for chatting with us!
JK: No problem! Stay cute!!
Aegis Defenders
Guys, Aegis Defenders pretty much looks like the best Super Nintendo or Sega Saturn game I never got to play. What made you decide to go with this gnarly 16-bit aesthetic?
BK: I grew playing a lot of JRPGs on the Super Nintendo and those games are still a big inspiration for me. Back then it felt like there was an entire world waiting for you inside those cartridges and that’s something we’ve been trying to recapture with Aegis Defenders. That and the fact that I’m the only artist on the team haha.
There’s also some serious anime influence in these character designs as well, right? What got your imaginations so fired up that you just had to bring these characters to life in this way? What inspired the team?
BK: What most people think of when they see the game is Hayao Miyazaki’s work, especially Nausicaa. Oddly enough, I was actually drawing more from Princess Mononoke and classic Final Fantasy. Our original prototype just featured our engineer Bart, the older dwarven-looking character, and he took a lot of queues from FF6’s Cid. After some design experimentation, we decided to try adding a second character and for the sake of time, I simply color swapped Bart to be blue. What I didn’t know is that Final Fantasy was already heavily inspired by Nausicaa and it seems like I did some reverse engineering to get to Clu. I toyed with the idea of adjusting the design after this came up during the Kickstarter but ran into Linkle and Link’s new design in Breath of the Wild, who effectively also look quite similar to our character as well haha – I decided it was better to stick to our guns.
Aegis Defenders began its life as a graphic novel, is that right? Is there anywhere else we can learn more about our characters right now? Is Aegis Defenders part of a greater narrative whole, or do Bart and Clu’s stories begin and end with this game?
BK: The world of Aegis Defenders is something I started developing a few years before working on the game – the basic premise being that humanity bombed itself back into the stone age and upon meeting the humanoid robots, began to worship them as gods and formed civilizations around them. I was just really interested in the idea that robots, to a less discerning eye, would appear all knowing, all powerful, and immortal. The game came much later and the story it tells is almost a prelude to the main story we want to tell someday.
Is this game really a Metroidvania? That term gets thrown around a lot these days. When you describe Aegis Defenders as a Metroidvania, what does that mean to you, and what do you want that to communicate to your fans?
BK: It’s true – the game has evolved to the point where we’ve been labeling it less and less as a straight up Metroidvania. I will say that the game did start out as a more traditional Metroidvania with the backtracking, rooms, and other genre tropes but over time, we found that those ideas weren’t very compatible to the core of what made our game special – which is controlling multiple characters in puzzle and tower defense scenarios. I’d say the core mechanics are still are there but the focus on iterative exploration has been pulled back a bit to cut the chase.
I love RPG progression hooks in my games. I love getting new gear, seeing stats rise, seeing damage output crank up, and reaping fat loot from big bosses. What about Aegis Defenders’ progression system is going to hook me? What do you think players will be lying awake at night thinking about or craving?
BK: Well, our game features four characters each with their own buildings that can all fuse together to create new items – so there’s plenty to do and gear to level up haha. I really hope players are able to see the different strategic possibilities that we worked on making possible, based on what characters or equipment they prefer.
How long is this game? How long do you expect it will take the average gamer to get through the campaign?
BK: One of our designers has been playing through the game and averages about 10 hours per run but that’s without dying. Plus, he has an in depth knowledge of all our secrets and puzzles. My guess is that players will average around 12-15 hours.
I hear this game is great for co-op, yeah? I don’t know if you heard, but there’s a really neat new console from Nintendo that comes with two controllers right out of the freaking box, and retro-styled games tend to do very well there. Do you think Aegis Defenders could succeed on a console like that? I sure do…
BK: Our producer Max Palazzo loves it when people ask him about this on Facebook – he always just likes their comments and says nothing else. 🙂
What’s the one part of this game, the one feature or the one mechanic, that you toiled to bring to fruition? In other words, what’s the one thing that caused serious hiccups or issues during development that you just could not leave behind or abandon because it was so vital to your vision for the game?
BK: We really struggled with getting four playable characters in the game at the same time. For the majority of development we only had Bart and Clu and relegated Kaiim and Zula to just being NPCs – needless to say, it didn’t feel right for both story or gameplay. We thought it’d be easier to just have two characters but actually, it caused a lot of design concessions because these two characters just had too many gameplay possibilities. They didn’t feel like they had a clear focus and they were a bit unwieldy because of their large arsenals. Adding Kaiim and Zula fixed this and allowed us to streamline the gameplay from being about selecting abilities inside menus to switching between multiple characters and moving them around.
Name three games that I would find in the Steam library of a person who loves everything about Aegis Defenders.
BK: If you could magically find them on steam, I’d say Final Fantasy 6, Plants Vs Zombies, and Super Metroid hehe.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this one, guys. When can we finally play this?!
BK: We’ll be announcing exact dates soon but definitely Winter 2017!
Thank you for your time.
BK: My pleasure – thanks guys!
No Truce With the Furies
I’m excited about this game because I researched it, but my readers are still wondering what the hell a “police procedural role-playing game” even is. Let’s try something fun. Let’s just assume we’re working with about a 30-second attention span, here. Can you give us your best elevator pitch for No Truce With the Furies? Tell us real short-like what makes this game unique.
NTWTF: By calling the game a “police procedural”, we’re paying homage to the buddy cop show genre that inspired much of the game’s narrative structure. Think “The Shield”, “The Wire”, “NYPD Blue”, and throw in some “Miami Vice” for good measure. But with disco. And problem drinking. And some of the most devious dialogue choices ever attempted in RPGs. As for what makes it unique… press “lobby” on the elevator panel and lets go!
No Truce With the Furies takes place in a fictional universe first featured in a novel written by our lead designer, Sacred and Terrible Air. Estonian literary critics have described the genre of the novel as “fantastic realism”, a fresh take on crafting a world that is *not* just fantasy, science fiction, or even some sort of alternate history. It is as though whatever set of dice was rolled for the rules according to which our own world was developed had been rolled again, resulting in a sort of strange, shifted realism. While it reflects many aspects of our world — disco music, modern art, recreational drug use, international treaties, communism, nihilism, gangbangers — the game-world is unique and full of painstaking detail that makes even the familiar disorienting.
As far as gameplay goes, we emphasize reactivity above all. We aim to tell a compelling story that’s different from the ones you typically see in video games, but also just very human. You are not the chosen one. You are not going to save the world. But, after starting out pounded into a pulp by the vagaries of life and your own poor decisions, you might be able to stop drinking and get back on the proverbial horse. Get your colleagues to respect you again. Maybe even become a better person. Definitely find loads of secrets in this pretty ambitious little open world we’ve crafted. Isometric RPG’s haven’t tried open worlds yet, I believe? Well, we have an open world, albeit a compact one.
Alright now let’s get our hands dirty. The world in NTWTF is a dark one. In the real world, we have a perennial fascination with an ever-impending apocalypse. For every generation it seems the end of the world is far-out, yet potentially imminent. In No Truce, it’s kind of taken for granted that you could get obliterated at any moment, right? There’s something called “the pale” which has shaped our characters in a grim way. Do you want to tell us more about that?
NTWTF: We get this question a lot, but there’s little we can say about the impending apocalypse at the moment. In the game, we try to present the player with more-or-less realistic choices in a more-or-less realistic setting, and, thus, the player will come upon several mysteries to solve (as a detective should!). However, you can discover grander mysteries along the way, overarching mysteries relating to the nature of the world you find yourself in. These are unknown not only to the player, but also to most of the world’s denizens.
So as not to spoil the fun of exploring and trying to understand the essence of the world we are constructing, we can’t really disclose more details about “the pale” or other such phenomena. (We call them extraphysical — the pale is by far the grandest and most foreboding, but not the only one)
Dialogue in this game is active and engaging. Usually we just tap a button to read through what our protag and NPCs are saying, making the occasional choice between some pre-packaged statements that may or may not have a meaningful impact on our character. It’s almost dealt with as a necessary evil in order to get to the “cool” or more active parts of a game. You guys wanted to change that. How have you evolved dialogue in No Truce With the Furies? How have you made it more engaging?
NTWTF: One of the most important features of the game is the ever-present interjections from your skills, which talk to you about whatever is going on, and with which you can sometimes have extended discussions. You are not just role-playing walking around in a strange world and trying to solve a murder, you are also sort of taking responsibility for the internal experience of another human being — this character of yours that you are shaping with your choices. Even as you are forced to respond to certain givens, from mystical hunches to intense cravings for cigarettes. At the same time, all the important “active” events of the game also happen within the dialogue system, including combat, so all your character’s reveries and self-doubts have palpable outcomes in the same scrolling text. We want to destroy the difference between combat and story, merge it into a kind of… story combat. (No more cut scene deaths and cut scene superpowers.)
Last but not least, we believe there is a place in video games some truly wild writing. In No Truce, the text is never there just to direct you from point A to point B, nor is it ever merely window dressing: it is the primary medium through which you construct your character’s relationship to himself, other characters, and the world that has been so beautifully rendered by our artists. The quality of the writing must be equal to that ambition.
You guys really, really want players to stick with the choices the make and live with the consequences. Can you speak a little more about that? Is it possible to completely screw yourself out of a gratifying ending, because I’ll be honest: I loved Reservoir Dogs all the way through, and then the ending just totally numbed a part of my soul.
NTWTF: What is a gratifying end? Is it always slaying the dragon and bedding the princess in the golden rays of the setting sun while the end credits roll past? If you mean an uncontroversially positive ending, then, yeah, it’s totally possible to screw yourself out of one. Actually, it’s much harder to screw yourself *into* one… Then again, it has become quite common for games, especially contemporary RPGs, to have a wide variety of different endings, and the best ones are usually much harder to achieve (one recent example would be Nier: Automata). No Truce has elaborate and fleshed out endings, as well as a few that are not as elaborate and fleshed out, and they don’t necessarily pan out well for the main character. And yet they are all equally conclusive and equally “right”. It doesn’t seem honest to call something “role-playing” if all the roles and choices lead to the same exact conclusion.
I have a community question for you. “More_Badass” set up a pretty gnarly thread for your game over on NeoGAF last year, and he wants to know: “In your frequently asked question blog post last year, you mentioned that, rather than traditional combat, Furies has violent confrontations handled through the dialogue system. Given the game’s focus on player freedom and choice, how do your character’s skills, items, earlier actions, and mentality influence these confrontations? Furthermore, how branching and flexible are the encounters, in terms of options during these situations and their consequences on the characters and story afterwards?
NTWTF: We aim to plant you in these encounters not just tactically, but also emotionally. Skills interfere to give you advice, much like our inner voices do, but ultimately it’s the player who decides whether to pull the trigger or not. We aim to construct sequences that are branching and flexible, and to give encounters a genuinely dynamic feel, so that the player might fully realise the potentialities of our stats/skill system (called Metric). Depending on the flow of events, important characters may die or sustain permanent injuries, which affects future events. You yourself may end up dead as a result of bad choices you’ve made. Even the items you chose to bring to confrontations can make the difference between life and death, for you and for the other characters in this world. That takes a hell of a lot of flags but we’re managing the complexity thus far.
Any release date or platform updates? We’re hungry!
NTWTF: We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks so much for your time.
NTWTF: Cheers!
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