September 2019 Developer Interview

Hey everyone, it’s been quite some time! A lot has changed since the last update; so much so, that a wall of text simply wouldn’t do. Instead, we brought the main man behind Soul Reaper, Danny Forest, in for a video interview. You’ll hear about all sorts about Soul Reaper’s development progress, and will gain some insight as to where the team is currently concentrating their efforts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA7KCEDQC4s

Not everyone has 25 minutes to spare, however, so I’d be glad to give you the quick rundown!

The current priority for the team is to focus on the Single-Player aspects of Soul Reaper. For those who may recall, Unreap Commander was effectively an online variation of the project’s original vision, and originally spawned from the need to play-test certain monster builds in Soul Reaper. Power Level Studios received plenty of feedback with Unreap Commander, and is now focusing toward building a fleshed-out, dungeon-crawling experience using the recommendations provided. While we won’t rule out ever returning to Unreap Commander (playing with others was a lot of fun!), the current priority for the team is to focus on the Single-Player experience Soul Reaper will ultimately provide.

What’s Next on the Checklist?

While most of the combat mechanics, music, and monsters have been completed for quite some time, the main area that needs work on is the level design. Forest mentions in the interview that, while randomly generated environments were an option, he didn’t find the gameplay surrounding these levels to be very engaging. There’s a lot we could do to enhance the player experience by handcrafting each level’s design manually, so we brought aboard several new recruits to assist with these matters! This is where the main priority for the team currently rests, as it’s one of the final hurdles preventing us from releasing Single-Player builds.

An Absence Unwanted

One of the topics Mr. Forest touches upon in the interview is the “Ontario Creates” grant for game developers. This has been the driving force behind the team’s funding, but there’s an interesting caveat: you can’t actually allocate any budget to yourself! All funds must go toward other persons within Ontario, meaning the project lead was forced to work on a majority of both Soul Reaper and Unreap Commander out of pocket. Forest had to halt his own progress on the game to build funds through other means, which explains the sudden silence around the project that began late last year. (He’s actually seen amazing success here on Medium since then!) Now that he’s equipped to once again work on the project, he’s back and better than ever!

Who’s Got The Keys?

Me! Well, sort of. My name is Brandon, but you can call me by my online handle, “Benign.” I’m Power Level Studios’ newest Community Manager, and I’m the one who’s asking Mr. Forest the questions within the interview! I’ll be the one in charge of the social media, and I’m currently brainstorming ways to bring you lovely readers some cool content! (I actually came up with the interview thing myself, let me know if you liked it!) While I don’t have a set schedule for my posts just yet, I definitely plan on keeping you folks updated with some cool development tidbits! That being said, make sure to follow us on your favourite social media platform of choice to stay tuned!

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