Old School Gamer’s Patrick Hickey Jr. brings out a classic out of his archive and chats with “West of Loathing” developer Zack Johnson to get the skinny on the nifty western RPG that actually plays a bit like “Skyrim.”
Old School Gamer: What inspired this game?
Zack Johnson: I’ve always felt like the Wild West genre was underrepresented in RPGs. I think it’s very similar to medieval fantasy in a lot of ways: a comprehensible level of technology (guns instead of swords,) a dangerous environment (snakes and outlaws instead of dragons and brigands,) and a primal, hero-centric mythology (gunslingers instead of knights.)
Old School Gamer: What games did you play as a kid? How did they play a part in this?
Johnson: The game that was probably the most influential on West of Loathing was probably Hero’s Quest (later renamed to Quest for Glory.) It’s an adventure game with significant RPG elements that change the way the gameplay and the story unfold. I also played a lot of the Space Quest games, which I’m sure influenced the tone and humor of my games, and the early entries in the Might and Magic series, which were the beginning of a life-long fondness for RPGs.
Old School Gamer: What has the development process been like?
Johnson: We spent a few months working on our backend tools and data structures before we hired the engine programmer. Developing content for this game is very data-driven, and therefore very quick and easy for the content team to do. Likewise, we nailed down a really straightforward art pipeline early on. At this point, we’re just busily making new content while adding new engine features as we need them.
Old School Gamer: How would you describe this game to someone who has never played it?
Johnson: It’s a hybrid adventure / role-playing game with stick figure art and a very silly tone. It’s like Skyrim with beans and big hats.
Old School Gamer: What do you think makes this game special?
Johnson: Our writing team has been working together for 13+ years, and we’ve gotten really good at doing what we do. If you like our sensibilities, our games are the only place you’re going to find them.
Old School Gamer: Bottom Line, why should someone play this when it’s released?
Johnson: Because it’s fun and it’s funny and in spite of its silliness and low-fi graphical style, its RPG gameplay is surprisingly deep.
Old School Gamer: What are your goals for this game?
Johnson: After more than a decade of working on the same very old MMORPG, I’m hoping to prove that our team can produce a smaller, standalone game in a more modern gameplay idiom.
Old School Gamer: What’s next?
Johnson: Well, assuming West of Loathing sells well enough to justify keeping the team together, we’d love to continue making games in the engine we’ve developed for this one. A hypothetical second game would probably either be a Lovecraftian horror game set in the 1920s, or a Flash Gordon-like space opera.
The post Retro Interview: Zack Johnson Talks ‘West of Loathing’ appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.