Hello everyone! This is a simple interview by our publish partner Digital Crafter, we have shared our story and why we made Gerritory, for those who don't know us yet, welcome to check it out :) [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38368282/362a17183822a5b398b58336f38496a59d659f65.png[/img] [b]Please briefly introduce the team members and what is the reason for set up a team.[/b] There are four members in the team. We first met each other in the game design club of our college. All of us were studying in Computer Science and we’ve developed several other game projects in our leisure time together. Gerritory was based on one of many prototypes we’ve made. [b]What is the inspiration for “Gerritory”and why you guys choose this game mechanics?[/b] The core game mechanics wasn’t the first thing that emerged in our mind. Instead, we first wanted to achieve minimalistic and cohesive visuals even if all of us were pure programmers. We settled on having abstract art representations, using simple shaped tiles and colors to convey affordances. We enjoyed playing video games with friends. Since we are a group of four, we thought why not create a party game of four and play it together. Based on the visuals we have, we came up with the idea of each player controlling a cube and coloring tiles in a level. However, we didn’t have a mechanic that makes the players interact with each other. The most convenient way is to add a kill mechanic, but not in a common manner. Instead, only the players that are behind the scoreboard can kill the prevailing players (Small > Big). It serves as a counter method for the inferior players. [b]What does the name of “Gerritory” mean?[/b] Gerritory is a compound word of our core mechanic “Get your territory”. It’s kinda stupid but simple lol. [b]How long has the game been developed?[/b] The first prototype was made in the early 2017. The development was paused for more than half a year until the idea to release Gerritory came to our mind at the end of 2017. Since then, we’ve been working on this game for about 2.5 years on and off. [b]What challenges have been encountered since the game was made?[/b] One of the major problems we had is that we were all students in the past 2 years. We could only work on the game on weekends, which made the progress slower than full-time development. [b]What hard work has been put in behind the beautiful and smooth user interface?[/b] We’ve actually refactored our user interface for more than once (or twice?). Even till now, we aren’t satisfied with what we have right now, but I guess that's just how game development works. you will always feel　unsatisfied with the work you’ve made.As all of us are programmers not artists, most of the animations were coded using easing functions. It’s quite easy to achieve juicy and soothing motion using them. [b]Please share suggestions or tips for new players.[/b] We met some players who couldn't get used to isometric view control. For these players, we suggest using an analog stick instead of d-pad. But if you are familiar with isometric view control, d-pad will be a better option, to achieve more accurate movement. Don’t feel frustrated when you are behind other players. The rule “Small > Big” was designed to help you to catch up with the winning players. Besides that, each level has their own core idea, so make sure you observe the layout of the level first and utilize the power-ups and the unique tiles to defeat your opponents! Also, remember to try the small but useful items on the grids. [b]Lastly, what do you want to say to the players?[/b] The game is planned to be released in 2020 Q4 with online multiplayer. We will keep sharing some of the ideas we had when making the game with you. If you are interested in this game, be sure to wishlist and follow the game to have more information about Gerritory. We hope you and your friends can enjoy this tiny little party game we’ve made when it’s out!