Review Fix chats with Binji Games’ Björn Clasen (Game Design /Art ) about his upcoming game “Botlike: A Robots Rampage.†Breaking down the creative process and goals behind the title, Clasen lets us know exactly why it’s special.
About the Game:
Botlike: A Robots Rampage, currently in early access on steam is a “loot-and-shoot†your way through hordes of robots or die trying. Play as S.I.R. – a grumpy old warbot on his path to revenge. In this platformer, it is action-packed and in “Roguelike” (like) manner of certain death. Through randomly generated and graphically impressive worlds, the player struggles to the heart of the totalitarian robot league, to deny there the grand finale. On the way, he finds many weapons and components for his bot, which is freely designable at any time. So every new beginning becomes a unique gaming experience. Botlikes is slated for a full steam PC release 2H of 2018.
Review Fix: How was this game born?
Björn Clasen: Truth to be told – myself and the rest of the team are kinds of post-apocalyptic junkies. The question of what would be, if scenario XY would happen, is a very common lunch break topic @ binji headquarters.
So the setting: A robot society in a distant future long after mankind, ruled by a totalitarian regime; kinda came naturally to us. The design decision to make an action, roguelike platformer was born out of pragmatism (we already had built a little platformer framework for another prototype) and an extended design session where we played with different options for the gameplay.
Review Fix: What was development like?
Clasen: As with probably any (indie) game project there were different times – the good, the bad, the ugly… but also the “WTF that worked?!“ and the “wouldn’t it be a good idea to…?“ and not to forget the “SHIT, Tomorrow is deadline/release!!!!“
Review Fix: Any fun dev stories?
Clasen: Not really development related but a little fun nonetheless:
Me on a random party, talking to somebody. I tell them I am working on a game right now. They ask with a very interested facial expression “Wow – what kind of game?” I start to explain in detail what we are working on. My conversation partner has two randomly generated answers.
A: “Awww cool so you are making something like Mario! I played that as a child!“ – yeah right
B: “Okay I understand – you are making something like this World of Warcraft, interesting…“ – sure…
Review Fix: What makes this game special?
Clasen: Botlike is set in a unique world, with hand-drawn art and hand-played soundtrack and hand-coded code all from scratch.
Also, we have a Diablo-inspired champion system, which I think you have not seen in a platformer before and a smooth alternative for a crafting system. Find or buy items, to create super- and even monster items. Not just combining their powers, but also adding new unique mechanics.
Review Fix: How is this different from your previous games?
Clasen: It’s our first “real“ game. Before that, we just released a free game jam-like flash game, which also was a platformer, but really simple and short (It’s still playable @ http://eddysrun.com/ by the way).
Review Fix: What games influenced this one the most?
Clasen: I think first to name, should be Risk of Rain, which inspired us a lot. But, at least for me, there is also the older classic platformers from the 90s (like Duke Nukem 1 & 2, Halloween Harry, Prince of Persia, Blackthorne, – to name a few) to mention, since they are the reason I wanted to build my own action sidescroller.
Review Fix: As an indie studio, what do you think you guys do differently than the big studios?
Clasen: As an indie, we have full control over the contents of the game. We don’t need to listen to publishers or shareholders and can make the game we want to make. On the downside, we are fully self-funded and keeping the indie game dev train rollin’ is sometimes not easy.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite memory as a gamer?
Clasen: It’s got to be the first Commander Keen.  It was not the first game I played, but the first I was able to. I think I was six years old when I played that little boy going on space adventures. There was no way not to love it.
But almost as important as the greatness of this game, was my hardware upgrade at this time. My dad got us a new display, and it had colors! The black and white pixels transformed into green Yorps and Gargs and red and yellow keycards. Just amazing!
Review Fix: How does this game disrupt the video game landscape?
Clasen: We are still in early access, but let’s see. Maybe the big disruption is about to come.
Review Fix: Who will enjoy this game the most?
Clasen: If you are a fan of roguelike/lites and action platformer, you will love it. If you like challenging and skill-based shooting action, you can consider yourself challenged now. And if you like a new and pleasing art style and atmospheric soundtrack, you should come see for yourself.
Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?
Clasen: To be remembered at all would be amazing. There are so many games pushing to steam every day, I am happy for every player who finds us.
Review Fix: What are your goals for the game?
Clasen: We are currently working on the second of three levels, each containing new enemies and a new boss. Also, we have a lot of ideas for new items, weapons and upgrades to give every run a more diverse and unique feeling.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Clasen: We plan the full release for summer this year. And depending on success and player feedback, it’s possible that we will continue to work on the game. Further updates could be sold as DLC or sequel, but we haven’t decided yet. On the other hand, we have many new ideas and would love to try new stuff. Well, let’s see what time will bring.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Clasen: We recently set up a discord server. If you like talk with us about games or other stuff, feel free to join https://discord.gg/8AEQe93
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