AW isn’t just any other kind of beat’em up as per it’s description:
AW is a new breed of beat ’em up; one that tests you to be aware of your movement, space, and enemies at all times.
It utilizes a ‘Wild Meter’ which increases the power of your attacks but also makes enemies more aggressive!
You play as Ace Wilder trying to defeat your brother Rex in a tournament where he and all the other entrants have colluded against you. Utilize a wide range of offensive and defensive skills to defeat hordes of enemies all at once and go for a high score! There are several playable characters and local co-op play!
We spoke with sole developer/artist, Tyler Doak, about the game’s influences, his inspirations, and the fine line of game difficulty.
JR: What inspired you to get into game development?
When I was about to graduate college with an Art degree, I was chatting with a friend about what we were gonna do when we graduated. I told her I’ve always wanted to work in games, but it always seemed more like a dream than a goal. She told me I was being ridiculous–and she was right.
Normally, I’m the type of person who believes in over the top self-motivation, but even I fell victim to fears. So that night, I hit up RPG Maker, which I had dabbled in through high school, and started making characters–really big, fighting game inspired sprites. I worked on that game, for about a year and a half, and eventually abandoned it, but I learned a lot at that time.
I had a lot to learn, but I made sure to pick an avenue that would teach me a lot. I wanted to really know how to program so that I could do everything without (much) issue. I decided on the XNA framework which basically filled all those needs–plus it was free and Microsoft had tons of free tutorials to go with it.
Generally, as an artist, I think of things–ideas I want to express– in terms of games. I had always done this, but it was only after being deep in developing Aces Wild, did I really come to understand it fully. I just have to make games!
JR: What were your artistic influences?
Nowadays, I’ve noticed I draw a lot like Tetsuya Nomura. I suppose his style captures a lot of what I like–very stylized and cartoonish and yet all the characters look unique–like real people. My other idols are Akihiko Yoshida and Kinu Nishimura.
Game Design Influence: I didn’t play many Treasure games growing up, but as I was working on Aces Wild, I realized I approach games a lot like they do. Very arcadey, but deep as well. But having played fighting games so much that plays into it too. Late in college, I got into Manic Shooters as well–ESPRade, Dodonpachi, etc. Now they’re one of my favorite genres along side character action and fighting games. Godhand + Kirby Superstar + Bangai-O is basically what Aces Wild is.
JR: Aces Wild captures a strong sense of “you can’t stop me” as enemies continue to fight you. What inspired this?
My basic premise was wanting a Dynasty Warriors type game that wasn’t so mindless and mashy (sorry if you like Dynasty Warriors). I wanted a game where you fought tons of enemies but had a bit more depth like Devil May Cry or Godhand.
I also wanted a game that really took advantage of the 2D space. Here’s why the attack controls are based on directions. In the beginning, you couldn’t really fly–as each build came out the more and more mobility you got and eventually became the manic aerial combat that Aces Wild is today. I had also wanted a lot more environment destruction, but it was too difficult for me at the time. Look forward to that in a sequel!
JR: So what’s the deal with the random stage enemies that pop out of thin air? Did you add them to keep players on their toes at all times? Note: There are enemies that aren’t visibly waiting to attack like most enemies.
JR: Aces Wild is quite a demanding game, did you intend for it to be this challenging from the start?
JR: What was the most difficult part in developing Aces Wild?
In one sense, all the animation work was difficult in that it was time consuming, but really the actual “game design” is the most difficult. Designing mechanics, coming up with novel or arcadey concepts then implementing and balancing them, it’s super rough. It’s weeks of just staring at a blank notebook, trying out and scrapping tons of ideas. This gets easier as you get better at development, but it’s such a new discipline in the realm of art as a whole.
There’s no tried and true method for ‘sketching’ ideas, but as the culture grows and the technology improves, it’s getting easier fortunately.
JR: Now more than ever, difficulty in games seem to be getting a bad rap. Especially if they’re considered too hard. Some developers feel it may be necessary to patch their games to appease the market. What are your thoughts?
There was a time when a playtester said there should be blocking in Aces Wild, so I implemented it and it was totally stupid. I knew this before I even did it, but sometimes the feedback–even from a single person–can feel really powerful. Michael O’Reilly, the creator of I Wanna Be The Guy and Brave Earth, gave me some great advice about this–only give it serious thought if you hear something from multiple sources. I suppose this is difficult if you’re a AAA developer though, lol.
Difficulty is a ‘flavor’ like anything else. Certain levels are only gonna be tolerated by a few and other times, even high difficulty complements other themes in the game.
I’ve seen a lot of people say Undertale was too difficult and I’ve personally only beat it on a pacifist run and I think those people are totally silly.
Difficulty is a tool to be used and I think most difficult games know this. I hope other types of games, that have been made less difficult, look at other ways their systems could have been made better.
JR: Indie games are home to the most diverse games a player can find. In the future, do you see this changing in any degree? Will this stay the same?
JR: For game development as a whole, what do you wish more people understood or were aware of for the process?
So much of game development is looking at all the stuff you hated in old games and making that part better. Any aspect of art or technology you’re into can be made into a game or interactive experience, if that’s what you’re looking to do! The tools and community are out there and they’re totally free!
JR: Finally, what can fans look forward to from you?
You can pummel a horde of ninjas across action packed stages in Aces Wild: Brawling Manic Action, now available.
I think a lot about manic shooters. I feel like I would live with regret if I never made a competitive fighting game or a story heavy adventure game like Earthbound or Undertale – but I’m a terrible writer, so expect Action Games until I get better.
But really, I just love combat, so I hope to come up with cool new ideas and characters in that realm.
Stay Wild!
