Skyviper 1,101 Posted February 2, 2015 CombatACE Developer Interview: Into the Stars Generally aiding and abetting is a crime; however, in this case CombatACE is willing help out a few recent escape artists. No they didn’t escape from a federal prison; however, they did escape from traditional game development. A new company Fugitive Games is comprised of a few good men that have backgrounds with DICE, CAPCOM, and SCEA. They’ve worked on games such as Battlefield, Medal of Honor, MAG, Shadows of the Damned, and Lost Planet. So what does this have to with CombatACE? Several weeks ago a video was posted featuring their new game Into the Stars. Many of you seemed interested in it and I thought you might like to hear more about the game from one of the developers. One, Mr. Ben Jones a Co-Founder to be a exact, has taken the time to chat with us about their new game. Thank you, Mr. Jones, for taking the time to do this interview. To begin could you tell us, what inspired you and your team to break free from the big gaming companies and start making your game? Getting a game greenlit at one of the bigger publishers is extremely difficult, but we all have ton of fun ideas that should be enjoyable, even if they aren’t destined to be $100mm blockbusters. By breaking away and forming our own team we are free to pursue these types of games and we simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do so. What do you enjoy most about creating games (now that you’re free from the chains and shackles of traditional gaming)? For me it’s the process and seeing your ideas move from paper to reality. When the game comes together around Alpha and you’ve got all the puzzle pieces in place, that’s when things are truly exciting. That and putting the game in a strangers hands for the first time and seeing how they react are my favorite aspects of development. What inspired the creation of Into the Stars? Several of us wanted to make an Oregon Trail type game and our Project Architect Marc really wanted to try that out in space. Once our Art Director got the 3rd person / Captain’s Chair functionality rolling we knew we were on to something. The space genre has had a lot of influence on us over the years, so it’s nice to be working in that universe. How long has Into the Stars been in development and what are some the challenges your team overcame and still face today? Development has been staggered as we rolled on at different times, but less than a year in total. How will your game stand out from other space action games? We feel the game sets itself apart by focusing on the Captain experience. Giving you that perspective and control is really powerful, and it’s going to be exciting to see how each new Captain approaches the journey. Our star system is also quite dense as we’ve taken an action-oriented approach to world building. We don’t want you flying for hours on end twiddling your thumbs… there should be something around every corner to keep you engaged! Your development team has experience with a lot of popular games. Not only that your game’s music is composed by Jack Wall. So with all these wonderful backgrounds meshing together, what can players expect from your game? What are some the features that will draw them in and keep them playing? First and foremost they can expect a polished, highly replayable experience. We’re very focused on the core game and want to deliver a game that’s fun in both short burst and long play sessions. What I think will keep people coming back is the difficulty of the journey, the number of options presented the player and the simple joy of flying through a star system packed with life and opportunity. What is the story you wish to tell through your game? We want each Captain to write their own story. The game provides a beginning and an end, but what happens in between is completely up to you. Will you reach your ultimate destination and what will remain of your ship, crew and civilians when you get there? Each step of the journey will have an impact and play a part of your unique experience. Will players be able to mod Into the Stars? If so will Fugitive Games have limits on what can and cannot be modified? We’re focused on delivering the game at the moment, but having come from the mod scene I would love to see support for that community down the road. There were some amazing mods for FTL and we imagine they could take things in a direction we never thought possible. Do you have anything you would like to tell your supporters? We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received, especially because it gives us the ability to build the game to a high degree of quality, which is ultimately what everyone deserves. Once again Mr. Jones thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of these questions For those you interested in learning more about the company and thier title you're more than welcome to visit the link below for more information. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrGoTime 20 Posted February 2, 2015 Wow, looks super cool! I wonder if it has any similarities to Bridge Commander. I mean, that's the dream, right? Being a captain of a starship and commanding your crew? I think that's awesome. Hopefully this ends up as cool as it looks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghost029 1 Posted February 2, 2015 I am supporting them through Kickstarter. Looks like it has the potential to a really good game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dsawan 624 Posted February 6, 2015 i'm in. the pics are cool! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
