Review Fix Exclusive: Inside Geneshift

Review Fix chats with Ben Johnson (Founder, Nik Nak Studios) who discusses his awesome Grand Theft Auto 2/Diablo hybrid, which is currently in early access on Steam.

Review Fix: How was this game born?

Ben Johnson: I started developing Geneshift in 2008 after college. I wanted to create a small project to put on my resume – expecting it to take a few months at most. Eight years later, I now realise my time estimation skills were lacking a bit. I was playing a lot of GTA2 and Diablo at the time, and I thought it’d be cool to merge the two ideas together.

Review Fix: What was development like?

Johnson: It’s been ongoing for over 8 years now and a huge part of my life. After the demo was placed online in 2009, I gathered a small community who provided feedback and ideas – leading to a perpetual state of development. In order to save money I left Australia in 2014 and started  coding from cheaper countries around the world – recently spending 2 years living in Peru.

Review Fix: What makes the story special?

Johnson: If you’re talking about the development story, it has to be the fact that Geneshift was coded from all over the world. If you’re asking about the actual in-game story, my favorite part is the subtle satire of game stories in general – since it draws attention to the various tropes seen in many game stories these days (e.g., how the main character is always super strong and saving the world).

Review Fix: How special is GTA2 to you guys?

Johnson: I used to play GTA2 a bunch when I was a kid. The vehicles were great fun and there was something about the top-down view that I really liked. (I always like to be able to see my own character when I play games.)

Review Fix: How do you think this game improves on the GTA2 formula?

Johnson: Well, they are quite different games – though GTA2 was the main inspiration. Geneshift has a much stronger multiplayer focus than GTA2 does – with modern net code and far more attention to the PvP balance. There is the entire mutant skills system, which GTA2 lacks – and this adds plenty of tactics and replayability to the combat.

Review Fix: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

Johnson: It’s a strange experience writing fragment shaders in a youth hostel while a bunch of travelers are singing “Kumbaya” on the table next to you. A year of Geneshift’s development was spent traveling in cheap countries around the world – hopping from country to country when the visa expired. And after that, I settled down in Peru for two years – where I tried to learn Spanish while coding the game. It’s been a great ride that I’ll never forget.

Review Fix: How does this game disrupt the game landscape?

Johnson: I think the most interesting thing is how it merges genres: Taking the PvP combat from shooters like CS, mixing in a skill system from MOBAS, and then adding vehicles on top. I’ve tried to give gamers as many ways to kill each other as possible.

Review Fix: What are your goals for the game?

Johnson: My main concern right now is getting enough people to enjoy it. That’s why I put a free multiplayer demo up on the Steam page – so even if someone doesn’t have enough cash, they can still enjoy the game that I and my community have spent the past eight years creating.

Review Fix: Who will enjoy this game the most?

Johnson: GTA2 fans will get a kick out of the vehicles, certainly. But even more generally, anyone who enjoys fast-paced PvP combat will really like the unique blend of guns and skill-based combat. And the campaign works with up to 4 players in online co-op, so many gamers will enjoy hopping on with a few friends to slaughter zombies, explore for unlocks, and just mess about with a bunch of crazy cars and mutant powers.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Johnson: Well, this is only Early Access – so more development! Eight years just isn’t enough. Once I get through this launch, I’ll be back to development, eagerly listening to the community for where to take the game next. I’m thinking more skills, weapon and vehicles. Maybe a helicopter would be cool.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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