Image & Form talks with NintendObserver.
☆ NintendObs Asks – A NintendObserver Exclusive – January 2020.
Cliquez ici pour l’interview en français.
NintendObserver:
For your first JRPG at Image & Form, and an amazing one at that, what made you decide on a card-based battle system?
Image & Form Games:
It’s an interesting story, actually. We had very, VERY different gameplay in place at first but unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way the team hoped it would. The card mechanic came into play when the designers looked for alternative styles of play. One big upside was that they could easily create paper prototypes and test all core elements within minutes of thinking of them. It was very much like playing a normal card game but with handmade printer paper cards instead of professional prints on sturdier materials.
NintendObserver:
What is your overarching game design philosophy across all SteamWorld games? Or, in other words, what, according to you, is the defining feature of a SteamWorld game?
Image & Form Games:
First of all: There is no SteamWorld game that isn’t fun to play. The team simply doesn’t allow for that to happen. Many players also appreciate the fact that the series experiments with combining elements from different games and genres into a unique mix of gameplay. Kind of like how SteamWorld Heist has elements from both Worms and X-COM. That philosophy helps to keep things fresh for the players and forces the development team to think outside the box. As a result Image & Form has been able to expand its audience and grow tremendously as game creators.
NintendObserver:
To my knowledge, this is Agnieszka’s debut as an art director for a SteamWorld game. Can you detail the benefits of having such a seasoned artist as an art director?
Image & Form Games:
Agnieszka’s a wonderful artist and having her unique style enrich SteamWorld Quest was absolutely the right decision. She’s very proud of her work and happy to have been entrusted with the task. What’s even more interesting about SteamWorld Quest is that the game was developed by new talents at every leading position. They were far from newbies, but the team decided to switch things around a little this time. It’s always great to bring in new perspectives.
NintendObserver:
If I’m not mistaken, this is your first title published under Thunderful Publishing on the Nintendo eShop. Can you explain — as much as you can — why that is the case and can you detail a little bit on how that works?
Image & Form Games:
It’s not that complicated, actually! Thunderful Publishing is Image & Form’s sister company (they share the same owners) and it really makes sense to collaborate on things like marketing and publishing where it’s possible. They also handle the games from Image & Form’s other sibling Zoink Games. Instead of each studio having their own marketing departments we can focus our efforts through our Thunderful Publishing team. All three companies share the same office space, too!
NintendObserver:
Bonus question, actually two bonus questions. How hot is Julius with a beard? And also… do you think you could get Motoi Sakuraba to make a guest track on a SteamWorld Quest 2 so that Monolith Soft (and Nintendo) notice and FINALLY make Baten Kaitos III?
Image & Form Games:
Julius is very hot with a beard… If the stars align, I’m sure the team would love to have Motoi Sakuraba onboard for a potential SteamWorld Quest sequel. And it’d be a dream for the team to develop ANYTHING for Nintendo! Even the “boring” stuff like a system menu or something would be an absolute joy (laughs).
Thanks for having us!
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech available now on Nintendo Switch.
At NintendObserver, the comments are on Discord.
Click on Community to learn more. 🙂
…
…Wanna play? Buy a Switch.
And if you’ve already got yours, click on SteamWorld Quest for everything you need to know about the game. 😀
