We cannot add a ton of hand-authored content to our games - we just don’t have the resources. This achieves a number of things: it forces us to be clever and innovative (since we cannot do some of the things that larger teams could do), it reduces risk since our budgets are correspondingly lower, and it forces us to focus on just the aspects of our games that are innovative and unique. Our core teams (the people who work full time on a single game) are always 7 people or fewer. Second, we try to keep our team sizes very small. ![]() I discuss that method frequently on my Clark Tank livestreams and videos. First of all, we’ve developed a method that we believe helps to increase the likelihood that our games will be successful. Yes, we do things a bit differently at BYG. Is there a certain quality or way BYG approaches game development that helps the studio set itself apart from other studios? I think that people outside of the game industry tend to assume that most game design ideas come from game designers, but some of our most valuable ideas have come from outside of the design team! This great variety of life experience results in a great variety of ideas. We have people from all walks of life, and from all over the world. We have staff that are brand new to the industry, as well as some with 15+ years of experience. We certainly do believe that diversity is strength. Do you find that developing a team with different backgrounds and experiences helps bring a distinctive voice to the games the studio develops? ![]() To win four awards, including Game of the Year, we were dumbfounded and elated!īrace Yourself Games has a fairly diverse team. We have won the occasional award in the past, but we’ve never had success on this scale! Given the outstanding games we were up against, we were hoping for a single win, maybe two if we were lucky. What was the overall reception the studio had to not only be nominated but win four awards, including Game of the Year, during the Canadian Game Awards? Making well-received games with a fun group of talented game developers – it really doesn’t get much better than this! We are extremely lucky, and we know it. We are very fortunate that all of our games have been financially and critically successful thus far, and that financial success means that we have the luxury to take our time and develop our games in a low-stress environment. Since starting in 2013 we have shipped Crypt of the NecroDancer (and its “AMPLIFIED” DLC), Cadence of Hyrule (plus three DLCs), Industries of Titan (Early Access), and Phantom Brigade (Early Access). Ryan: Thanks for asking that question! It is nice to stop every now and then and think about what you’ve accomplished, but with the hustle of shipping games and prototyping new ones, we generally don’t take as much time to reflect as we should. Sitting in the tail end of 2020, how do you feel about the studio’s successes so far? Steve: BYG has been developing games for seven years at this point. We spoke to Ryan Clark to hear him reflect on the studio’s successes and how he felt winning four awards during the Canadian Game Awards. On top of that, Phantom Bridges and Industry of Titans have both launched in Early Access on PC. The studio has developed three pieces of DLC for Cadence of Hyrule. Cadence of Hyrule became a standout title, especially in the Canadian games industry.īrace Yourself Games has been working hard throughout these seven years. It featured locations, characters, and tracks from the franchise. Fast-forward a few years, and that initial project has turned into a fully realized standalone crossover title.Ĭadence of Hyrule maintains the base gameplay structure Brace Yourself Games created for Crypt of the NecroDancer, but places it in The Legend of Zelda universe. Brace Yourself lead Ryan Clark approached Nintendo for permission to use The Legend of Zelda IP as DLC content for their game. ![]() In 2015, Crypt of the NecroDancer saw overwhelming positivity surrounding the game’s mechanics and soundtrack upon its release. The studio was formed in 2013 and put itself on the map with the roguelike rhythm game Crypt of the NecroDancer. The studio walked away with four awards for its 2019 title Cadence of Hyrule. ![]() Brace Yourself Games, an indie developer in Vancouver, saw quite the response during the first annual Canadian Game Awards.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |