Remode Studios Interview
We sat down with Martin Darby from Remode Studios who kindly answered a few of our questions about Mole Control and indie development.
Who are you and what you do at Remode?
My name is Martin Darby and I am Product Development Director at Remode. My principle responsibility is design and creative direction. Remode is an independent developer based in the UK started by three Digital Art & Technology graduates from The University of Plymouth (UK). Mole Control is our first game and had nine team members work on it over a development cycle of around eight months.
Can you tell us a little about Mole Control and why people should try the demo?
Mole Control is an addictive puzzle game that brings the classic logic based game play of minesweeper into the 21st century. The people of Molar Creek have lived alongside the region’s infamous exploding moles for hundreds of years but the night before the village’s annual Mole Control competition and a mystery villain has set the exploding moles loose within the town itself. It’s now down to you and local inventor Dr Kraft to find the moles and reclaim Molar Creek!
This isn’t another cheesy ‘me too’ match-3 game, it’s something a bit different: Light, addictive gameplay combined with quirky, tongue-in-cheek, visuals and setting. It should put a smile on anyone’s face!
Mole Control is obviously influenced by the classic minesweeper was it your goal to reinvent minesweeper?
Yes I guess it was really. Minesweeper is a very sterile game experience. We found that there were a number of people who had never tried it and didn’t really understand it. Mole Control tries to ‘soften’ minesweeper. We haven’t found one person yet who hasn’t been able to “get it†after playing the Mole Control tutorial: Something we are quite pleased with J However, we have also injected our own ideas and twisted the mechanic slightly. Additions such as power-ups and time attacks throw a bit more variation into the game.
Who is responsible for the visual side of Mole Control and why is it so awesome?
That would be Remode’s principle game artist, Matthew Beakes. Matt’s influences lie mainly in old-school Lucasart’s point n’ clicks as well as many of Tim Schafer’s later games. He pretty much had control over all the art in the game: every model, every texture, and every sprite (except the jetpack button –I did that!). I directed the process; which was important because ultimately I had to use the assets to build the UI and the levels, but full credit for the aesthetic feel must go to Matt.
Did you encounter extra hurdles during development being an independent developer?
Yes. Securing the distribution deals we needed was very difficult. It was made much easier by partnering with Blitz Games Studios. As well as that, which was especially difficult, I would say that almost everything else falls under the ‘difficult’ category when you’re an independent and you are making your first game. Building the tech is difficult, getting the design down is difficult, getting all the art done on time is difficult and not going over budget is difficult. Plus combine all that with trying to keep the quality bar as high as possible. Getting a published game under your belt is a bit of a ‘badge of honour’, but in all seriousness I can see why studios don’t hire staff who haven’t got any prior experience in games.
How will you be supporting the game in the future, are there any plans for downloadable content or user created content?
Not at the moment I’m afraid.
Will we see Mole Control on other platforms anytime soon?
We would love to take Mole Control to XBLA, ramp up the visuals and sort out a few little niggles with the gameplay, but nothings confirmed.
We have seen alot of independant games released on Steam recently, including Mole Control. Is Steam a good market place for independant developers?
Steam is an excellent distribution technology for games, and luckily it has a strong community element with circa one million gamers online using the service at any one point. However in terms of a ‘market’, developers need to take responsibility for identifying this themselves. There has recently been a lot of euphoria around ‘self publishing’ even though there is very little data. We will see this end soon. You need awareness: Publishers normally create this. I think a lot of people forget that they are there for a reason and that Steam is not a publisher, they are a distribution service.
How do you feel Mole Control was received?
On paper the idea of taking windows minesweeper as a starting point and turning into another fun game doesn’t seem like the easiest proposition. We are currently averaging a Metascore of 74, which I feel is very respectable, considering. Although I appreciate it will mainly appeal to a certain sort of person, we really haven’t had a bad review so far which is great.
What is next for Remode?
We have a new game design down and ready to go to prototype, but I can’t say any more than that at this stage.
What happens to the moles that are sucked up, are they given a cup of tea and a biscuit before being rehomed?
Of course 🙂 Unless they are shot out and blown up that is…
You can download the Mole Control demo here.
Mole Control is available for £3.99 on Steam.