Artificium Games is a studio founded by indie developer Kit following her time spent attending Girls Make Games. With eight years of game design experience, Kit has now announced her first commercial title, an adventure game titled Oops! You're the Hero!
Hello my name is Ben and I'm one of the co-founders of Netto's Game Room! First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Before we begin, I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about yourself!
Hi Ben! It’s a pleasure to meet you and do this. I’m Kit, founder of Artificium Games and the lead designer on the studio’s first game: ‘Oops! You’re the Hero!’. I started in games when I was a teenager, and have been a part of a couple studios over the past couple years as I’ve been through and graduated college. I’m a big D&D nerd and reader, so you can find me either DM’ing/playing with my friends, or head down in a book when I’m not focused on making games!
Before discussing your upcoming title 'Oops! You're the Hero!' I wanted to ask about your past game development experience. You began your journey following your attendance at Girls Make Games roughly eight years ago, but what inspired you to take part to begin with?
I had actually decided I wanted to start learning how to make games before GMG! I’m obsessed with Metal Gear 5: The Phantom Pain, and I think that was the first time I really understood how video games could move someone with that type of storytelling. Since I was a junior and just starting to choose what I wanted as a possible career, my father actually saw an ad for them and encouraged me to apply to their Felicia Day scholarship, where you could submit a game idea and if they liked it, your camp was paid for! I was very lucky they let me go, and off to San Francisco I went to learn the basics of making a game. After experiencing it, GMG was the confirmation I needed that I loved making games and wanted to keep doing it.
How would you describe your experience at Girls Make Games, and would you recommend others to check it out?
It was like nothing I had ever done before. I had been to a couple camps before, but GMG felt so cool to be at. I met really great people, including my team I worked with and am still friends with today! I would recommend it for any girl that is curious about making games or wants a fun experience of meeting other girls that love video games! It makes you feel welcome, and they work hard to give you the best experience, whether that’s in person or in their virtual camps.
Following your time there, what was the first game you began working on, and what was that experience like?
I went from GMG to college, since I was one of the older girls there. I actually started making ‘Oops’ as soon as I came back from GMG and was graduating high school and starting college! It wasn’t really cemented then, since college has you making a lot of simple games that take up your time; I did happen to publish a few of those. I was also in the middle of finishing up the game I started at Girls Make Games which was ‘Find Me’. That was an experience of handing off the game to a studio after planning it out and then watching it release on both PC and Playstation.
I also was a part of a couple studios as both an intern and designer, so I got to see what a ‘professional’ pipeline looked like during production, but nothing was released from them so I never experienced that full publishing pipeline. Overall, I got a lot of little experience in an array of different types of genres and game templates, just based on the variety of stuff I jumped around on.
Moving on from there, Oops! You're the Hero! is your first commercial release, and is being developed with the help of a small support team of specialists. How has working with a team allowed you to take the game to the next level compared to working on it as a solo developer?
I will always be the first to admit that there are parts of game-making I’m not well-versed in! Art and animation I can do the bare bones, and I have composed music as I am a musician, but being able to hand those aspects over to people who have worked and shown amazing ability in those areas has helped immensely. I’ve said it before, but their creativity and abilities is something I think has changed the game for the better. Solo is nice, but seeing their work and trusting them with it has been worth it.
As for the game itself, it has a unique premise! It follows the story of a thief who accidentally steals a powerful artifact, gets mistaken for the world's hero, and now has set out on a quest to return it before things get worse for them. Can you tell us a little more about how this story will play out?
It ends with the Thief getting what he wants! He completes his journey and gives back the artifact that he stole and in turn caused him so much trouble. The game allows you to choose how you want to traverse the world in order to accomplish that goal, but the ending [ever since I first created this idea] was always going to end this way.
The people he meets, the monsters he may or may not fight, the little companion that tags along with the Thief the whole way: they’re all just pieces of this story that really only had one ending.
Since the player character is a thief the game allows players to either embrace their roots and avoid combat or take the challenges head-on. Will this "pacifist" route be available for the entire game, or will there be some forced encounters where fighting is the only option? Additionally, are there any rewards or bonuses for choosing one path over the other, or is it entirely up to player preference?
As it stands, there is one fight you do have to participate in, and it’s the last one. I think it’s a way to tie up the story’s main theme and who the Thief is. The paths offered in the game are play-preference, so it may sound a bit backwards on the surface why there’s a fight you have to do, but it all makes sense I promise!
Could you tell our readers a little more about the combat and stealth system?
The combat is pretty simple overall, and depends on if the player wants to fight what they see. I was inspired by Dragon Quest IX and the physical button press it requires in order to start a combat encounter. That’s one of the parts that allows a ‘point-of-no-return’ structure where the player can see what they’re about to go up against, and make their choice. Once a fight is started, there’s no going back to the rest of the level. Same principle for avoiding fights; there’s a point where it’s obvious to the player that if they go further, they’ll have to stand on business and know those consequences.
The bosses all come with their own biomes and quirks on how to deal with them. I wanted to have fun when designing them, and that proved to be both a blessing and a curse arranging levels around their sizes and abilities.
The player on the other hand is equipped with a couple of tools of their own. A sword is the main weapon, but the artifact that’s stolen offers a magical boost to the Thief that grants him teleportation. Coupled with a rope he can use to swing around and tie up creatures for a select time, the goal was to give the player a toolset that would be ‘thief-like’ in a way they could use them both in and out of combat.
As for stealth, you’re the most noticeable thing there once you’re in the area! Everyone knows you’re the Hero, so there’s not stealth as much as there is avoidance.
How is the game structured? Will we have a world to explore, or is this more of a linear experience?
The game is linear, in that the levels go from one to another without letting the player go back and explore them. They are big enough to explore around in though! You’ll definitely need to in order to unlock both secrets, and some ways forward. I originally wanted the levels to be simple paths forward, but once the avoidance route was added, I designed them to lead in both directions and leave the rest up to the player.
Will the game have an equipment or level up system, or a general way to improve
our protagonist?
Nope! And that’s by design. The game’s narrative is bound by the Thief not changing, and I felt like that fit early on with the idea that because he’s not necessarily ‘growing’ as a person, that his skills and abilities remain at the same level with him. It’s even poked at during the game where the two main characters talk about it.
The title is described as a 'story-centered, top-down fantasy adventure game,' but what would you say was your main inspiration? Is there anything that might surprise our readers?
For the most part I think that covers most of what’s happening in the game! It may not be considered a ‘surprise’, but the player will come to find that they’re not the only ones going on their own journey. There are other characters that are out and about, and you get to run into them.
The main inspiration of the game really came from the subversion of the ‘Chosen One’ trope, and I got to play around a lot with what that meant, and more importantly who the Thief actually is in relation to what’s going on around him. That being said, expect a lot of attitude from our little Thief.
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| (Original "Thief" Concept) |
At the moment you're looking to release the game on PC, but could a console version be in its future?
I would love to! I think this would be a game that fits nicely on something like the Switch or other handheld devices. I’m a little green around the process of porting to console, but it’s definitely a challenge I would rise to.
Is there anything else you'd like our readers to know about the game that they can look forward to?
The sequel! Or not, who knows. I think it’s a pretty good setup. But for this game, I hope they look forward to meeting all the characters and finding out about their stories and how it intertwines. I also think the art and music are worth paying attention to, it’s what brings it all to life!
And finally, we like to close things out with a "for fun question!" What is your personal favorite adventure game?
I have so many, but if we’re using the term ‘adventure game’ loosely, then it’s Pokemon HeartGold. It will always be special to me. The absolute best Pokemon game in the series.
I'd like to thank Kit once again for taking the time to speak with me, and for those who are interested in the game, you can head over to the Steam Page to wishlist the game today.
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