The co-founder of Handyman Studios, Jake Crane, opens up about his open-world, dynamically-generated sandbox title, Edge of Space.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your role with the development of Edge of Space.
My name is Jake Crane, I’ve been a game developer for about eight years now and I am one of the founders of Handyman Studios. I play the role of the designer, implementer, creative director, and everything in-between to help my team.
How did you get started in developing PC games?
When I graduated high school, I got an amazing opportunity to go to E3. I had always loved making board games, systems, worlds, and play video games since I was exposed to them. It was at E3 when I decided it was the industry I had to be a part of. My first job was right out of school. I landed a job with my co-founder, Paul Ash, doing educational games. From there I was able to branch myself out into the mainstream industry of video games.
Where did the idea for Edge of Space come from?
Funny story! Originally we were to working for a for-hire company, and we would do our own stuff on the side. We were going to enter Edge of Space a contest. The name was just meant as filler and we would dub it when we got closer to completing it. When everything was ready to go and we were preparing for the submission it was clear the game had become more than what we started it out to be. But the name just stuck after that.
What are some of the successes and failures you learned from in developing Edge of Space?
Let’s start with the bad. This going to be funny, but communicating how weapons and gear work in the game has been a major challenge. We do an inverse looting system. You find items and instead of looting weapons you craft them and every craft will have different stats. We did not do a good job of communicating that to players so it’s something we are working on.
Success-wise, we have been able to rise above each road block that has hit us. Recently we had some unexpected issues arise out due to dependency on some third party software. We were able to problem solve this, find solutions, and execute on the solution very quickly. Even though it cost some unexpected time, in the end the game will be better for it.
In its current form, how close is Edge of Space to your initial vision?
Wow…well part of game development is about going with the flow and learning as you go. I would say probably about 60 percent give or take. But there were things originally that in practice just were not fun and needed to make changes on. So it’s not a bad thing that it’s not exactly how it started.
Some devs admitted their games were too hard upon release because they became experts as they developed the game. Talk about setting the difficulty levels for Edge of Space and if you faced a similar challenge.
At this point I would say I probably have the vision that those developers had. I worry that it’s not challenging enough, and always worried about power scaling. I would say that my biggest balance challenge is that there are a lot of mechanics that are interlacing together and trying to ensure that there is at least some amount of good pacing for it. That being said… procedurally generated gear and weapons would be my constant battle. A wrong number in one place can throw the power scaling of tremendously, but clamp it to hard and you lose satisfying variety.
Were there any challenges you faced in ensuring Edge Oo Space would run on the various PC system configurations?
Absolutely, we are only two core developers. Which is why I think it is great to be on early access on Steam. It allows us to be battle testing the game and collect a lot of vital data to make it easier for us to make the game more compatible for more configurations.
Please talk about developing the art style, level design and music for Edge of Space.
The art style went through a couple of iterations before we really landed on the one we were happy with, but Paul and I always loved Castlevania SOTN/Metroid/MetalSlug art styles. So we kind of pushed it to be more in that direction. We wanted to be a darker kind of setting but also not take itself too seriously.
The level design is kind of hard to say because the worlds are procedurally based and we have some unannounced things we are working with more proper level design. But the world design is there to not only give a striking since of each area you are in, but to accommodate different kind of peri-styles.
Our musician is phenomenal. He has a great sense of the various moods we want to convey throughout the game. In some cases we want it to be relaxed and background, in other cases we want it drawing a sense of foreboding, and in other cases a very intense feeling of foreboding. All I can say is he took the reins and we all feel he nailed it.
How do you feel about DLC and its current implementation in the PC gaming industry?
I feel there is still no real standard to when it comes to DLC. I feel it’s still a very nebulous thing since just about anything that you have to download later is considered DLC. Overall I would say if the DLC is offering something that the game does not need and more or less only adds or stands on its own then I think its fine. But that is a fine line and many people will have varying opinions on what is vital and what is not. I think as an industry we are still new and learning to really sit on any one model.
How do you feel about the online modding community in general and specifically if mods were created for Edge of Space?
We love them! And I hope we have loads of mods for EoS!! Paul and I come from modding roots and after release the next massive patch will be mod focused. I’m sure they will do better than myself, haha.
What advice would you give up-and-coming indie PC developers who are trying to break into the business?
Good question and I have a simple answer. Stop talking about the games you want to make and start making them. NO EXCUSES!!!! Start practical and small. Work your way up and try not to fret about the graphics and focus on just getting it working like you envisioned.
Outside of creating the game itself, what is the toughest aspect of being an indie developer?
The hundreds of wheels that need to be kept track of. I am also a single dad and I get my daughter every other week. So balancing running a company, working on the game, and being a dad is very hard. On the development side you just have no safety nets. If I make a bad call it’s my fault, and you have to accept that you’re not perfect. But I think some of just the mental aspect of, holy crap, people are going to see this and it’s never going to be good enough can just eat you alive because it’s all on you. You are your boss, and the only mistakes that are made are the ones you allow.
How did you go about funding Edge of Space and did you receive financial or emotional support from friends and family?
Kickstarter and money in our reserves from contract work and magic! The amount of support from our families has been phenomenal!
Tell us about the process of submitting Edge of Space to Steam and getting into the Early Access.
We were one of the day one games on Greenlight. So we had to through that to gain access to the pearly steam gates. After that we tried to match up development with when the best time to be on early access should be.
How important is it to get instant feedback about Edge of Space from users through online message boards and other social networking sites?
Very important!! Because we are so small, getting this kind of feedback helps us tackle issues or things we were not able to catch. All the people in our community are amazing!
How much value do you place on the opinions of those who review Edge of Space professionally?
I would say that I greatly value them. I also take everyone’s thoughts very seriously even if I don’t agree with them. Their comments will still churn in my brain. The great thing about games is there are so many flavors to try, enjoy, and experience. It’s like ice-cream; I don’t like all the flavors but I’ve tried them at least once.
How do you feel about the various indie bundle promotions and the “Pay What You Want” pricing methodology? Would you be interested in contributing to a project like that in the future?
I think it’s great! I think when the time is right we will definitely contribute.
What are your thoughts on how the PC gaming industry as a whole are dealing with the problem of intrusive DRM and piracy?
Hot topic! Honestly I think that overly intrusive DRM is not the way to combat piracy. I think as a whole the industry should try to adopt creating reasons beyond (game won’t work) to get people to buy the game. Who knows maybe someday someone might figure out how to use the people who pirate the game to their advantage instead of always thinking of it as a disadvantage.
How do you feel about individuals posting videos of Edge of Space?
We have a strong stance that if you own the game you can make videos all you want. I look forward to seeing what people do! – End
We would like to thank Jake for his detailed and informative answers. You can check out more on Edge of Space via the official site and get in on the action by purchasing Early Access on Steam.
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