Review Fix chats with “Guilt Battle Arena†developer Timothee Verrouil to find out what inspired the game and why it was a special project for him.
Review Fix: How was this game born?
Timothee Verrouil: I started to work on a mobile game prototype back in Lyon (France) when I was trying to improve my portfolio to find a job. The gameplay was pretty simple: you had to defeat waves of enemies. After 2 months, it was already showing some potential. Then, I found a job and started working on my own game engine instead of continuing the prototype.
When I moved to Vancouver (Canada) I showed the prototype to the local indie game community which encouraged me to finish it.
The big change that made Guilt Battle what it is today was in late 2016 when I decided that it would be a PC and console game instead of a mobile game. That’s when I started to implement the multiplayer feature. After a few iterations and playtests it was obvious to me: Guilt Battle Arena, a one bullet gunfight party game for PC and consoles was born!
Review Fix: What was development like?
Verrouil: I decided to create Guilt Battle Arena alone. I took this challenge because I wanted to try to make a game from A to Z all by myself.
For the most part, I had a full-time job while I was developing Guilt Battle Arena. It helped me fund the game and I was able to keep the full ownership of the game which was very great. On the other hand, the development was slower than I expected.
Review Fix: What makes this game special?
Verrouil: The main mechanic is pretty unique: you have only one bullet. Once you shoot, you have to go pick it up before you can shoot again. This makes for fun and silly situations!
Also, the game is super accessible: only 2 buttons are needed to play! When I play-tested the game at different events, people would just pick up the controller and have instant fun!
Review Fix: What games influenced this one the most?
Verrouil: Slayin on iOS was the main influence at the beginning when the game was only a singleplayer game. I love the accessibility of Slayin and how they hide some complex gameplay layers.
The Behemoth games (Castle Crashers / Battle Block Theater) was a big influence regarding the art style. I don’t have a background as an artist, as I am a programmer. I started drawing stuff at the time as I started developing games. I love how the Behemoth art style is both simple and polished. I felt that was something I was capable of achieving.
I played quite a lot of other local multiplayer games to get inspired for what I was trying to do with Guilt Battle Arena. I mainly played TowerFall Ascension, Move Or Die, and Rocket Fist.
Review Fix: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?
Verrouil: I developed Guilt Battle Arena in many different places.
I bought a laptop on top of my desktop to be able to work from anywhere if I wanted to. Probably the wildest place was the bus. During my daily bus rides to work, I would work for more than 30 minutes on the bus. As you can imagine, it was not an easy exercise but it saved me a lot of time!
For the most part, though, I was working at my desk which was in my room. The good thing is, I was living in a 10-people community house. It distracted me a lot since there was always something fun to do, including performing a funeral for our beehive, or rehearsing the choreography of “Single Ladies” (by Beyoncé) with everybody to surprise one of our roommates for her birthday. Living like this also helped me keep a good work-life balance which is very important!
Review Fix: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?
Verrouil: It really depends on the mechanic itself.
For Guilt Battle Arena I wanted to recreate the moments from my childhood when I was playing with my friends. I think it is important to preserve those kinds of moments. More than the gameplay mechanics themselves, I wanted to bring people together on the same couch.
Today most of the games are mainly solo experiences or are played through online-only multiplayer. Although I enjoy those games, I think it would be sad to see local multiplayer / party games disappear.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite memory as a gamer?
Verrouil: It is hard to pick one but I think it was when I was in high school with some friends of mine. We would go back to someone’s place to play some video games together. It was either the Dreamcast with games like Power Stone 2 (which is awesome!) or the Game Cube with Super Smash Brothers, Super Mario Tennis or Soul Calibur.
It was just awesome to share those moments with my friends altogether in the same room! Probably my best memory from that time was when we were doing sleepovers and playing video games all night long!
Review Fix: Who will enjoy this game the most?
Verrouil: Players who like to play with their family or friends on the same couch and like to have a casual gaming night.
However, I updated the game to solo players more to do and make sure they can have the full Guilt Battle Arena experience!
Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone play this game?
Verrouil: Guilt Battle Arena brings people of all age and skills together on the same couch even if they will probably shout, cry or throw controllers at each other. Everyone will have a blast on your gaming nights and share memorable moments.
Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?
Verrouil: I would like this game to be remembered as a game that created awesome memories for friends and families.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Verrouil: I want to collaborate with other talents. Making this game by myself was fun but it was more a challenge I gave to myself.
Creating stuff (whatever it is) with other people is always way more fun!
What I want to do next is an experiment with the creative process itself while collaborating with other talents. I think that having an innovative way of creating games will result in unique and fun experiences!
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Verrouil: Guilt Battle Arena was an awesome learning experience. Even if I developed the game all by myself, I had a lot of external help that kept my motivation up! Whether it was the indie game community, my friends, my family, or the support of my girlfriend, they all contributed to Guilt Battle Arena!
I also would like to thanks Steve Nix from ForwardXP who believed in me and Guilt Battle Arena and who helped bring Guilt Battle Arena to the world!
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