Best Laid Plans
Because a throne is only a bench covered with velvet.
Does representing diversity in games really boil down to two blokes kissing in your favourite AAA title? Surely the potential for a wider range of people to participate in making games is more exciting. This is, of course, why GenXX often focuses on initiatives like Failbetter Games’ Fundbetter program, as well as finding supportive structures and communities. It’s too easy to say, “If you want to see yourself in a game, make a game,” dismissing real barriers to entry.
I briefly looked into GDC Assist this year, fantasising about sitting in a chair in San Francisco and letting a pure beam of inspiring game audio advice lock onto my forehead. Did I apply? No. Why? The kids are on school holidays. I’m busy enough just making sure everyone has sunscreen and a hat. Do I expect the world to revolve around my parenting responsibilities? No. But, this month’s column intends to provide insight into one way a studio capitalised on their process.
I’ve been playing Nuclear Throne by Vlambeer. Combining the chaos of bullet hell with the caution required for a roguelike structure, it deserves every word of the critical acclaim it received. It’s beautifully balanced and allows for a neat range of playstyles. Much of the game’s success may also be attributed Vlambeer’s streaming on Twitch.
Designer, Rami Ismail, told PCPP, “For about two-and-a-half years, we did two livestreams per week. Each episode was approximately four hours long and we’d have wildly varying viewership based on Twitch promotion, hype for upcoming characters or features, as well as how big the community was at that point. We’d have thousands
skill and mastery make a stream interesting, and it’s fun seeing people fail too
of viewers for a good show, and far more for a great one. The livestream helped us communicate with the core of the audience/community, spread information and get feedback, also forming a huge part of the game’s sales.”
I was interested in how the game was distributed alongside livestreams and Ismail’s answer was surprising and clever, “The game was available via Steam, Humble, and in a world first, by subscribing to our channel on Twitch. During development, it was slightly more expensive, to ensure people would only buy it if they were interested in a WIP game requiring feedback.” Vlambeer increases the value of their product and community, while purchasers opt into a special and exclusive experience.
Ismail also explained several insights into how designers interacted with player feedback. As one example, “Taking feedback from your core community is a risk if you’re not thinking about who they are. One of the most common criticisms was that the first level was too easy. Eventually, we increased the difficulty, but noticed that there was more fighting on our forums. New players’ complaints clashed with our core community of expert players, and we had to find a way to resolve that, in the form of a shortcut through the first two worlds.”
Vlambeer then gave 50,000 copies to people who already owned the game to gift to others, bringing more inexperienced players into the mix. Nuclear Throne relies on building proficiency and, as Ismail said, “You need to design your game to output in such a way that the player/streamer can focus on being themselves and communicating, and that it works to do some of the heavy lifting. In Nuclear Throne, the show of skill and mastery goes a long way to making a stream interesting, and there’s a fair bit of fun in seeing people fail too.”
It could be argued that, as Nuclear Throne wasn’t Vlambeer’s first game, they were able to build on community momentum brought over from previous projects. Perhaps they also arrived on Twitch at a lucky time for the platform’s popularity. So, while this approach may not yield similar results for a new developer, it’s also clear that Vlambeer streamed thoughtfully, in a way that embraced experimentation. I’m increasingly sure that all learning creates the building blocks people need to get involved in game development and that experience is never wasted.
As a last example, one bizarre moment on this family holiday, in which my time is almost exclusively spent “being a mum, not a game developer,” was when I tweeted something my 7 year old said and it went viral. I hadn’t intended the tweet for that purpose, but I can certainly discern why it happened. Could I replicate this with something to promote a game project? Likely not, but maybe. When you’re short on time, it’s “maybe” that counts. Hopefully something in this column sparked a “maybe moment” to inspire greater efficiency in your process.