WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME UP UNTIL LAUNCH, WHAT DO YOU FEEL WENT RIGHT AND WHY? In our prototype in January 2020, we had already a solid functional shooting gameplay with functional AI, wave manager and many other core mechanics, including stealth and various kind of interaction. And all of this was functional in multiplayer. This helped tremendously to shape the basic core loop and helped with the development of the levels. Having all gameplay features done before level production is a big win for developers.
…CONVERSELY, WHAT WENT WRONG?
I think we got stuck a bit on the realisation of the single player campaign. We did a lot of playable prototypes of the strategic game, and we were very happy with them. But we had troubles connecting the strategic narrative structure. The assumption was that resources and iteration needed for making this right was hugely underestimated. The vision was great, but execution and balancing is much more complicated. The whole thing started to work only shortly before the Steam release and we still have a lot of ideas how to make it better.
WAS HIRING A BUNCH OF 80/90S ACTION STARS A MISTAKE? The theme and setting of the game are important for the atmosphere and experience, so, no. Using the actors and tropes from that period were the perfect way to achieve
“The initial reception was devastating for everyone on the team. We felt it was unfair, but we had to agree with and learn from all the critical comments”
that – their presence was always tongue- in-cheek. The celebrities were also meant to help us stand out from the overcrowded games market. And this was working well but perhaps overloaded the expectations from the game caused by the star cast. In hindsight, perhaps too much attention on the actors overshadowed any communication about the game and its qualities.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THAT PHASE OF THE GAME’S DEVELOPMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
This is a tricky question, because everything is connected, and any mistakes you do make lead to learnings, wisdom and better results in the long run. But to answer this, I would personally say that we could have released some early access version of the game much sooner. And this would be some very barebone version of the game that would focus on the main gameplay mechanics – stealth and shootouts in multiplayer. Earlier feedback and iterations would help to shape the core of the heisting experience. With already proven gameplay and loyal fans, it would have been easier at the full release. I
August/September 2024 MCV/DEVELOP | 47
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