Highly difficult alien FPS Space Beast Terror Fright -The intensity and visibility of flashes due to gunshots imitated James Cameron's shooting method [Developer Interview]

This project is an interview with the developer of the new indie game that you are interested in. This time, we will provide a mini-interlocated show to developers Space Beast Terror Fright , a highly difficult alien FPS that was officially released on June 4 for NORNWARE development and PCs.

This work is a full-fledged difficult FPS that fights against aliens in a dark spaceship. It features a random generation map and a sense of tension that dies with an enemy attack, making it a fairly hardcore content. At the time of writing, it is not compatible with Japanese.

Space Beast Terror Fright is being distributed for 1,480 yen.

— First, please introduce yourself. What is your favorite game?

Johannes Norneby (hereinafter referred to as Johannes) Johannes Norneby. It is called Johno in this industry. I have been working in Sweden as a professional game developer since 1997. So far, I have been working in Massive Entertainment and Dice.

In 2010, I started my company, NORNWARE, and I have been working as an indie since then. After a few games were released, the situation moved a lot at the beginning of 2015. The first trial version of this work passed Steam Greenlight in just two weeks.

Since then, I have been developing this work while balancing with other jobs. In the middle of 2018, we started developing this work in full time. In June of 2022, I decided that the development of this work was finally completed and decided to end early access.

Currently, we are looking for ideas and skills for the sequel to this work.

It is difficult to choose the most favorite game, but with the first DOOM in 1993, I became seriously interested in the development of games. All Doom, Quake, Half-Life and HALO work had a very important impact on this work.

――Why did this work developed?

After many years of developing AAA games as a programmer mainly as a programmer, I realized that I had a very dogmatic and creative idea. Thus, I left a major game company and was immersed in indie development that I could become a creative director.

The development of this work was found to see the movie Alien 2 in 1986. I was 11 years old, but I was tremendously shocked. Since then, I have been wondering what it would be if I could make the intensity and atmosphere of that movie a game. This work can be said to be a love letter from me to Alien 2.

―― Please tell me the characteristics of this work.

JOHANNES This work is a different characteristic point from other works, and it is that the person who plays immediately notices it. Monsters kill the players in an instant, but the player's firepower is very high to deal with such dangerous enemies, and they are balanced. These two combine and a chaotic experience. This tension is the most memorable thing about the movie Alien 2, and this is what I wanted to reproduce in my game.

The intensity and poor visibility of the flash emitted from the muzzle of this work are often talked about. This is what imitates James Cameron's shooting method. In fact, if you are in a situation like Alien 2 or this work (trapped in a dark aisle and fires a gun), you probably won't see the surroundings well, and you will not know what is happening. Isn't it?

However, this work has a firm hint so that familiar players can understand the situation. The core is Adrenaline, which is affected by motion trackers, monsters that are visible to players, and weapons. This changes the camera's view and dynamic music.

Also, if the adrenaline is high, the player can run faster. Everything is combined and creates a feeling like an action movie. Players will gradually understand how to use them, and they will be able to use it as a danger sensation system, and will help you survive.

The stage layout relys on random generation, so the types of maps of this work are effectively endless. There are random maps, repeat maps, changing maps every day, and maps that change once a week. In addition, the rankings of single players are prepared every week, so it is possible to compete with players around the world.

In addition, this work also has a simple stage editor. There are hundreds of maps made by players already, and anyone can enjoy it.

This is a game that can be enjoyed by single players and multiplayer (local screen split and network mode). However, during early access, players seemed to like many network modes.

Since this work has only PVE mode (an enemy operated by one to four players vs. computers), it is very fun to play with friends, and you can avoid uncomfortable scenes that occasionally occur in interpersonal games. The voice of the multi-player community was quite enthusiastic and listened, so I think it was quite improved and good.

Above all, I think it was very good to conduct early access to Steam. Of course, it was difficult to develop a game while making it public, but as a result, I took in the player's feedback, and this work has improved considerably than I made alone.

――What kind of person do you want this work to play?

JOHANNES This work is very difficult, so I don't expect a big market. However, if you like the genre of rogue, you will enjoy it. This work is literally a simulation (no script). Therefore, the rules of this work can be easily understood, and it is possible to improve to a considerable skill. Anyone who likes retro shooters (DOOM or Quake in the 1990s) will definitely enjoy this work.

Personally, I grew up playing at the Canadian game center in the 1980s, so I wanted to adopt a fast-developed game design like an arcade game in this work. If you like arcade-style games, you may like this work as well.

Finally, fans of Alien 2 and Warhammer 40,000 will of course enjoy it.

— Is there any work influenced by this work?

As mentioned on Johannes, this work has been greatly influenced by the 1986 movie Alien 2. Another influence on the other way is Space Hulk of the board game Warhammer 40,000.

It can be said that all the Doom, Quake and Halo works, which were the games that triggered me to this industry, had influenced. I think the design of the helmet, visor, and icons is influenced by the first Metroid Prime for Game Cube.

――Do you plan to support this work? Is volunteer translation possible?

There is no specific localization plan at this time. There is a problem of developer capacity (I am the only developer in our company) and that my code does not support Unicode at the moment (ASCII only).

However, this work has finally been officially released, so I would like to reconsider according to the request. Volunteer translation is welcome. Please contact me by email.

――What had an impact on the development of the new Coronavirus?

I think Johannes was definitely there. In the middle of 2018, I started working on the development of this work in full time (from home), but from that year, I started working alone and began to feel uncomfortable to spend a lot of time al1. I was. At that time, I couldn't get much sympathy, but as the pandemic became huge, everyone would have begun to feel the same.

Because I am a solo developer, I feel that there is a correlation that is strong in mental health and productivity. From the middle of 2020, we have been working on improvements with personal trainers, making it a great help to balance. Rather than just keeping my head working, I was able to be aware of my whole body.

――Is it okay to distribute or monetize this work?

Johannes, of course. The popularity of this work has been so popular by the players, so I'm very grateful to be able to spread this work more.

-Finally, please give a message to Japanese readers.

Johannes When I was a kid, I grew up playing games at a game center. At that time, I remember that all the best games were from Japanese companies. What I loved at that time was Argos Warrior (Techmo developed in 1986). Before NES in North America became popular, I was playing Super Mario Bros. at the game center.

When he became a game developer, he was greatly influenced by Super Mario 64. After that, I bought a game cube and enjoyed Zelda's Legendary Tact and Metroid Prime.

Compared to Western games that I have been involved in, Japanese games are more focused on gameplay and focusing on excitement like childhood. I like it.

If this work, which is a small title I made, has the potential to be interested in the Japanese market, it will be lucky and very humble. thank you very much!

--thank you very much.