Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Soulblight’

Review Fix chats with Kuba Lisinski, programer and designer of Soulblight, who discusses the creative vision for the game, their appearance at PAX West this year and how games the likes of Fallout, Warhammer and Warmachine played a huge role in the game.

For More Information on the Game, Click Here. 

About Soulblight:

Soulblight is built around a literal meaning of RPG. So instead of focusing on XP grinding, developers decided to design and introduce a unique Taint System. While traveling through shattered reality of an old temple gamers will receive personality traits based on their choices. These will later on become the main source of their strength. But to harness them players will have to act accordingly. Becoming an alcoholic for example will mean that the gamer will be rewarded for getting drunk, but in the same time, from that point being sober might prove itself unbearable.
Review Fix: When did the initial idea for this game come to you?

Kuba Lisinski: Well it’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment. I feel like this idea grew in me for years. You see pen and paper RPG were important part of my youth. I spent countless hours with my friends traveling through strange lands and exploring forgotten dungeons. Naturally I’m a fan of cRPG genre but I get the feeling that for some time now It has been heading in a bit strange direction. This days every game with leveling mechanics claims to be an RPG. It seems like it’s all about grinding XP, buying new special attacks, and finding an awesome loot. This is not how I remembered all the adventures I had with my friends. Yes those things were there but there was something more… our heroes. With every adventure we had, we shaped their personalities. Sometimes role playing stood in a way of solving the quest at hand, but we connected with our characters and they felt more alive that way. When I decided to create my own game it was only natural for me to address this issue.

Review Fix: What games inspired this one?

Lisinski: From day one It was all about addressing the one issue I told you about. There were games like Fallout 1 and 2 that thanks to their massive amount of content were able to somehow avoid that pitfall but we knew that it is impossible for indie devs like us to create a game like that. In Fallout 2 there was a certain mechanics though that gave me an idea. It was called “reputation titles” and it granted you a trait for certain special achievements (Grave Digger, Childkiller etc. ). It was a cool concept but I thought it would work better if instead of branding you for doing a certain thing it would actually encourage you to do it again and again and again. And that’s how the Taint System was born. And though Soulblight doesn’t remind Fallout at all this is where the inspirations came from.

Review Fix: What do you play for fun when you’re not developing?

Lisinski: To be honest I don’t have much time to play games as I spend most of my days working on Soulblight. I try out for an hour or two every game that is a bit unique which I can put my hands on but I wouldn’t call it playing. It’s more like a research. There is one game series though that I always come back to – Civilization.

Review Fix: With all the competition on the mobile market and in the indies now, how difficult was it for you guys to try and make something that stood out?

Lisinski: Again It all comes down to our prime concept. The idea was kind of unique in its core and it led us to many unusual design choices. Believe it or not but even a top down perspective and an art style were partially the result of it.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this game the most?

Lisinski: People who like challenging games with deep mechanics.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone play this game?

Lisinski: To get a taste of a bit different, literal approach to RPG in a rogue-like form.

Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?

Lisinski: I would really like to see our approach to character in bigger productions. My dream is for Soulblight to be remembered as the game that changed the way of thinking about personality and role playing in video games. Is it possible? We won’t find out without trying.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this game?

Lisinski: Right now we’re preparing ourselves to show Soulblight on PAX West. We’re a small Indie Studio from Poland and in normal circumstances it would be impossible for us to show our game on the event like that. Fortunately we have been chosen by Foundation Indie Games Poland to represent our country as a part of their stand.

Review Fix: Anything else you want to say?

Lisinski: I would like to invite everybody to see us at PAX West this year and to give Soulblight a try. You’ll be able to find us at Booth 2623. Drop by if you happen to be there! Also we have just started Steam Greenlight campaign so if you like what we’re doing – vote for us here.