FUSE Interview with Michael K., Dystopia – After Civilization Developer

There’s a lot of Indie games out there that get concepts out there and go no further than that stage of development. Some indie studios get the interest of bigger companies like EA or Microsoft that take and fund their ideas, but most of the time their studios get absorbed by those companies and get stuck with those companies. A small amount actually break that struggle to find someone to help them and make a name for themselves as a studio. One of those studios being Red Blade studios and their first game, Dystopia – After Civilization.

 I got the chance to interview them on what their new title is with Project Manager, Michael K. (Vironicer) and what we get seems to be a thrilling ride into a creative wasteland. The game is early development, but so far the project has a lot to showcase at such an early stage. And without further ado let’s get into the interview. Hello and welcome to this Fuse Interview.

1. Alright, since the game is in very early development, is the name “Dystopia: After Civilization” a working title?

• The name Dystopia – After Civilization will most likely be sticking to the game. We do have one problem, there is a game called Dystopia developed by Valve, so if we have to change the name because of that, we may do that. 

2. From what you have shown, the game seems to be a more open world kind of game, but the story seems to follow a linear path akin to something like Bioshock, giving the illusion of free roam.. What exactly are you planning to do with the game exactly? 

• We are planning to have a linear path/story that brings the character to certain locations. Those locations will have a main objective but you will be able to roam around as you like while also trying to complete the objective so you can move on with the story. We are thinking about other locations that are more free roam but we don’t want to release that information yet. 

3. And how long will the adventure in the bunker take? Is it just a small introduction to what the player will face outside it?

• The bunker level is just an introduction to the game. The bunker won’t be a long level/location and will introduce most of the different types of mutants and controls. The bunker will also introduce a certain atmosphere Dystopia – AC will have.

4. Since the enemies are going to be mutants prowling the corridors of the bunker as well as the world, will there be any human enemies like clans or groups of raiders? And with that, will there be normal NPCs that you can talk to?

• We do have plans to have different types of NPCs. We are thinking about having humans enemies like groups of raiders or thugs and there will be ai other than mutants that you can interact with or will be in the game. We are talking about adding small decisions you can make like deciding to save or not save a family. This will add smaller missions outside of the main objectives. Although not everything is fully decided on. 

5. We know you’ll be using real-life weapons for the game, as seen on your site, but will you be using anything other than what you find in an abandoned gun shop, i.e. a crossbow or hand ax. And if you are able to make your own weapons, how will this affect gameplay?

• There will be 3 different slots in your HUD that you can put weapons. One for main weapons like snipers, shotguns, machine guns, etc. The others will be for melee weapons and smaller firearms like pistols, uzi’s, etc. Weapons will be found in buildings, vehicles, and laying around, pretty much everywhere. Although they will be rare. 

6. And with your weapons, you showcased some attachments. As a gun nut, this something very intriguing and raises a lot of questions. One being: do you plan to make total conversions of weapons such as a stock and extended barrel length to a pistol, or other things involving that kind of conversion? 

•  You will be able to add things like scopes, flashlights, or lasers to your weapon. We aren’t planning on having mag extensions though that will be a thing to discuss with the team.

7. Last question about the weapons, will you try to keep it as close to reality as possible or is it going to be more aligned to your own reality?

• We will try and keep it as close as we can to reality. 

8. Along with that, will there be some realistic mechanics applied to the game like bleeding or slowed movement due to injured state/backpack weight?

• There will be realistic mechanics like bleeding, hunger, thirst. We don’t want these mechanics to be as deadly as say the mutants, but we wanted them to affect your gameplay. One reason we will solve that problem is if the player is hungry or thirsty it may not kill you, but it will make you slower, not being able to run, or making you’re aiming harder. There will also be pick-up-able items that will help to deter hunger and thirst like food and drinks. Medpacks and first aid kits will also be important to keep the player alive if you are injured by mutants. There will be different types of food and drinks like canned food, bread, sodas, water, etc.

9. The world you’re showcasing seems very bright for its bleak setting in the near future. Is this to create an unease of an otherwise normal area completely barren?

• The game will take place in an apocalyptic world where mutants have taken over. We have not worked on post-processing or adding particle systems in the maps, the maps are a wip. That being said, the world will eventually look dark, scary, and smoky. The grass will be more overgrown, and concrete will be cracking. The story will not take place eight or nine years after the mutants started taking over, instead, it will take place a year or two after. These pictures show the second level/location. The second location is based off of a real town in the U.S. state of Georgia. 

10. The mutants you showcased seemed to be infected humans, is this going to result in more types or stages of infection? 

• Mutants are basically humans with crazy mutations and their brains being taken over by the virus. There will be different stages of mutation but it won’t affect how crazy or dangerous a mutant is. The only thing the different stages may change is how the mutants look. 

11. And speaking of the infection, you listed types of infected like screamers, climbers and crawlers. What kind of mechanics will they have to them and will there be more types wandering out there in the world?

• There will be different types of mutants like screamers, climbers, and crawlers. There will also be more than just those wandering out in the world. Each type of mutant will have different mechanics than others, although they will all have one main objective, killing humans. Different mechanics they will have will be crawlers crawling around on the ground and moving slower, climbers climbing on walls and jumping around, and screamers screaming to call more mutants in the area to help. 

12. Will the mutants force the player to back off rather than defending himself or will there be types to look out for that pose bigger trouble than others? And do you plan to create other solutions to dealing with these enemies than running?

• The mutants in the game will be crazy. Players will have to watch out for some specific types of mutants more than others like climbers since they will be jumping around and climbing on walls. Some mutants may be more dangerous because they might have extra mutated arms that they can use to attack the player. 

13. On your site page, there is a description of a character named Frank Kelly. Is this the main character?

•  Frank Kelly is the main, playable protagonist. 

14. And from what the site describes, it seems to be like iconic games such as Deus Ex or System Shock. Are you going to follow elements from those games like making educated guesses of the future or a speaking world of lost recordings and log? 

• Dystopia – AC will be first-person and will follow a linear story. There will be small clues that tell the player important information about the story like how it all started. Those clues might be recordings, papers lying around, graffiti, etc. 

15. What is your main inspiration for this game anyways? I see a lot of influences from so many games just from early concepts that it puzzles me to know what inspired you guys to make this.

• We are a team of 13 devs, the main/starters being me (Vironicer), BarbarianCataphract, Dhan, Billion, and Redgy. Personally I took inspiration from games like The Division, World War Z, and others. We are mostly inspired by the love of game development, we all love making art and developing games. We also dream of creating a game people will love and enjoy.

This concludes our interview. From what we could get seems to be an interesting idea that gives us a promising experience. Though it may not seem much, but that’s what all projects seem to be in the beginning. I really hope to see more and I hope I’ve garnered more out there interested in helping this small team. I hope for the best of their team and the best of luck on this project. Be sure to check their Twitter Page, Facebook, their Instagram, Youtube channel and their site. And if you’re willing to go the extra mile, you can support them at their Patreon. Thanks for reading and ’til next time…

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