The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Ash
Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with SRRN Games co-founder Aujang Abadi about his company's recently released iOS RPG, Ash.
How did you or your company get started?
I went to grad school to (theoretically) go work for a big video game company. I'd written a bit about the gaming industry -- particularly the philosophy of game design --and was talking to a few of my professors about it one day when co-founder Tyler Carbone overheard me. I sent him what I wrote, and he came back the next day and said he wanted to be a part of it. Up until that point these were just thoughts floating around in my head, but Tyler really wanted to start a company and thought this was as good a reason to try as any.
We brought in Nathaniel Givens, one of my closest childhood friends, after we realized we desperately needed some technical expertise. Soon after, we started recruiting developers. Coincidentally, basically everyone involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company was or is still a student of the University of Virginia. We didn't plan it that way, but that's how it worked out.
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Why did you want to make games?
The biggest reason is that we all love gaming. Most of us grew up with the NES and SNES, so games are quite literally a part of who we are now. RPGs in particular have always resonated with me: I still remember, vividly, the day I helped Cecil redeem himself in Mt. Ordeals. I knew from that point forward that what I really wanted to do was make video games.
As I've grown older, that love of gaming has also manifested itself in a general dissatisfaction with the direction of the industry. All of us at SRRN believe that games are the next medium of art, but that the industry as a whole isn't doing much to realize that vision. You have a few gems -- games like Shadow of the Colossus, BioShock -- but as a whole, our industry isn't tackling the questions that basically every other art form addresses in its work. That was a big impetus to start SRRN: the idea that we needed more studios whose express purpose was to push the narrative frontier of video games.
Why be independent rather than try to work for someone else?
Some of us wanted creative control, others just wanted to be a part of their own company. I wanted to build games, and I suppose the quickest way to start making games is to found your own company making games, yeah?
I think all of us were looking to do something different than the games that we saw being made. Getting that freedom is a lot more difficult when you work for an established player. After all, who wants to hire someone who even remotely believes that "you're doing it wrong"?
Also, we have it on good faith that other iOS RPGs may cause swine flu.- Aujang Abadi
What's your game called, and what's it about?
Our game is called Ash, and it's an original, turn-based RPG for the iOS. It revolves around two mercenaries, Nicholas and Damien, and their shared history. Like any RPG, there's more to them than you'd initially suspect, and what sets Ash apart is that the story really is about the two of them. At its core, the game is about loss, loyalty, and vengeance. I wanted to tackle those themes head-on.
Do you feel like you're making the game you always wanted to play?
Absolutely -- with a few caveats. The RPG genre has a lot of anachronisms that we think are outdated. At the same time, you can't make a game only you would love. That's just poor design, because ultimately none of us are indicative of RPG players at large. So we walked a fine line, between removing what we thought was frustrating on a mobile platform (no autosaving, poor menu design, unintuitive controls), and adding features that we thought more RPGs should have: the ability to navigate back into previous conversations, very strong character development, and a streamlined battle system. Our devs were really great about this: they'd constantly remind me that I couldn't make the game "Aujang's perfect RPG" because then it would probably just suck. It was really heartening being told how dumb I was, over and over. And over.
What are you proudest of about your game?
The experience. Our philosophy of design at SRRN is to start with the experience and build everything else around it. Tyler was really instrumental in that: he's incredibly good at hammering out exactly how something should feel. With Ash, the goal was to tell a great story, and recreate the experience of playing a 16-bit RPG. By and large, people seem to think that we succeeded. One fan in particular referred to the game as: "a love letter to the SNES." That really made us smile.
What one thing would you tell someone to convince them to get your game?
Our story is really, really awesome--and I'm not just saying that because I'm the guy that wrote it. (Honest!) I think people will really be surprised at the level of depth and emotion conveyed throughout Ash. Of all the feedback we've received, praise for the game's story has been the most consistent.
Also, we have it on good faith that other iOS RPGs may cause swine flu. We can't confirm or deny the veracity of the previous statement, but do you really want to risk it? I certainly wouldn't.
What's next?
We have a few different things in the pipeline right now. We'll be making an Ash 2, of course (as long as people continue to like Ash). We're also working on a strategy game for the iPad that we're all pretty excited about -- we have some ideas for making use of the touchscreen in way that no other strategy game has. If the prototyping goes well over the next few weeks we'll be diving into that in earnest. I think that game has some serious potential.
[Ed. Note: If you act fast, you can get Ash for yourself with one of these free promo codes!
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Want to check out Ash for yourself? Look for it on the App Store right here! If you'd like to have your own shot at converting our readers into fans, email justin aat joystiq dawt com, subject line "The Joystiq Indie Pitch." Still haven't had enough? Check out the Pitch archives.
