FJ: Where did the idea for Hurtworld come from? Are there any specific titles you took inspiration from?
FJ: What past experience do you guys have in video game development? What led you all to Bankroll Studios to work on Hurtworld?
FJ: Due to the success of crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, did you ever consider that route to perhaps gauge interest and potentially fund Hurtworld to be a bigger game than it would be without? Or is that route still an option perhaps, after or during the upcoming closed alpha?
Around 2007 I started working on my own engine to create a multiplayer survival game. Building my own engine was a terrible idea! I would spend 6 months working on the engine, go back to full time work for a year, and repeat.
At the start of 2013, I switched to Unity and started making leaps and bounds, around July I brought on the rest of the team. The guys come from a wide range of backgrounds, from Australian game and film industry vets to a seasoned graffiti artist turned 3d artist.
We plan on releasing some sort of early purchase in exchange for alpha access, but I want the alpha to be close to worth the money when we offer it, rather than grand promises and long timelines.
“The Slug. It moves like molasses and handles like a shopping trolley, but damn if it can’t take a beating.”
FJ: What features and aspects of Hurtworld make it stand out from the crowd in terms of the open-world survival genre?
FJ: Developing an ambitious game like Hurtworld is sure to come with some trials and tribulations; are there any notable bugs or glitches you guys have experienced? Anything especially funny, any that stick in your mind as being difficult to fix, etc.?
Hurtworld tempts you out of your comfort zone with rich resources, better loot and higher tech like vehicles and electricity. It will also throw more dangerous creatures, harsher environments and new challenges at you that can’t be taken on without the proper gear. This makes the survival experience never trivial.
Combine this with true open-world multiplayer built from the ground up, we think we have not only a unique survival game, but a solid platform for custom games once we release the modding SDK.
Lastly, the thing that matters most to me in any game I play, is tight low-latency controls, smooth movement and rock solid multiplayer. I’ve done my best to ensure nothing compromises any of these throughout development.
A defining trait of the Rafaga; you know it’s angry when its head inflates!
FJ: On a similar note, what are you most proud of in the game so far?
FJ: As a new studio without any games under your belt already, what made you opt for Hurtworld rather than something in a different genre? For example a platformer or puzzle game appears, from a non-developer standpoint, to be simpler to create than what Hurtworld is shaping up to be.
As a programmer, my masterpiece is the server authoritative network code. Hopefully nobody knows it exists, that means it’s working!
“The Roach: For when you want to get somewhere fast, and don’t mind how many pieces you arrive in.”
I’d like to thank Spencer for his time and I wish him the best of luck with Hurtworld. If you’re interested in following the development of Hurtworld, here are some relevant links:
Developer Blog and Closed Alpha Sign-Up
Official Hurtworld Subreddit
Hurtworld Twitter - @PlayHurtworld
