Review Fix chats with “Invisible Inc†technical designer and programmer James Lantz, who breaks down the upcoming game and how “Mark of the Ninja†and “Don’t Starve†played an integral role in its development process. Gearing up for a Steam release, the game is also going to be available on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the future as well.
Review Fix: What makes this game special?
James Lantz: “Invisible Inc” is a turn-based tactical stealth game, a genre that we think has tons of unexplored potential. It’s unforgiving, highly tactical and dedicated to being a true turn-based stealth game.
Review Fix: What was the development process like?
Lantz: We worked on Invisible, Inc for about two and a half years with 8 – 10 members on the core team. We iterated on the game over and over until we were happy with it and then shipped it to Early Access, where we worked with the community to help shape it into the experience it is today.
Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this game the most?
Lantz: We’re pretty sure anyone who’s enjoyed X-COM or is into strategy or stealth games will enjoy Invisible, Inc. But we’re also hoping it will appeal to anyone with a taste for new kinds of experiences.
Review Fix: The art style is beautiful, what inspired it?
Lantz: The style of the game was inspired both by classic cyberpunk along the lines of Neuromancer and Blade Runner and by ’50s and ’60s spy movies. We went for a sleek cyberpunk look while still having plenty of color, character and sharp edges.
Review Fix: Any thoughts at a comic book or animated feature?
Lantz: Mostly just interested in working on the game part for now, we haven’t thought about any other avenues for Invisible, Inc yet.
Review Fix: What have the other games you guys have produced done for this game?
Lantz: Both “Mark of the Ninja†and “Don’t Starve†were huge influences on this game. In Don’t Starve, we learned how to make a procedural permadeath game compelling and tense without seeming cheap. In Mark of the Ninja, we learned how to make stealth really interesting without a huge combat component to the game. I would say that our experience developing Mark of the Ninja helped us nearly every day during Invisible Inc’s development.
Review Fix: Any chance this could make it on a Next Generation console?
Lantz: Yep. We’re planning on releasing the game on PS4 sometime in 2015 or 2016.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Lantz: We’re still working on finishing up Invisible Inc and making sure it launches smoothly, including fixing bugs as they come up. As a studio, we’re working on multiple games right now so some of the team will also support Don’t Starve Together.
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