Start Right Now – Universum: War Front Interview

Conducted By – Adam Ames

Cyril Megem, the one man band responsible for the upcoming hybrid strategy game, Universum: War Front, talks to TPG about everything indie development.

 

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your role with the development of Universum: War Front.

Hi, my name Cyril Megem. I’m a developer, who decided to stop just to dream, but to make it real. Being a professional 3D & 2D artist, game designer, programmer, and even music composer, I spent 10 years of my life working for game companies as their Lead Artist, Art Director and project manager. Finally I decided to leave my last job, staying home like a hermit for a while, and focusing on my own game development. The game you see here is a result of my personal day to day hard work over a year without any help or support.

 

How did you get started in developing PC games?

From childhood I attended art school, then went to the University at the faculty of Informatics and programming. I start worked with 3d graphics as a hobby when I was kid. When I began to show my artworks in online galleries, I got lucky to get some letters with offers from employers. So I got my first job in the video game industry. Over 10 years I have been developing video games, mostly large 3d projects, such as the CitiesXL, and some small 2d casual games. This gave me enough experience in different areas of game development to start my own independent project.

 

Where did the idea for Universum: War Front come from?

I think first it was a mix of impressions  of different beautiful places on earth where I have been and also classic sci-fi movies like Aliens, StarWars, etc. Also I’ve always liked the design and power of military vehicles, I was engaged in aircraft and robotic modeling when I was a kid, and always visited military parades and air shows. Then I plunged into the world of computer games, where these impressions has been enhanced. And once I thought: “It will be cool to create my own game project and include to it all the features that I loved!”

 

What are some of the successes and failures you learned from in developing Universum: War Front?

Different set of circumstances can suddenly break any of your plans, but do not be upset about it. For example, three times I had postponed the launch date of Kickstarter campaign. I was very worried about it, but now I understand that it allowed me to do more artworks to present the project better.

 

In its current form, how close is Universum: War Front to your initial vision?

Now it’s absolutely close because almost all of the objects in the game are my original work. But when I will get opportunity to expand the team, the project will also receive a lot of great ideas from other talented professionals and from our community. Also project is always open for suggestions from our community members with their great ideas.

 

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 Universum: War Front and if you faced a similar challenge.

I have not encountered this problem at this stage, but maybe I will have to think seriously about it after the beta testing. I think that the beta-testing will help to establish the right balance.

Were there any challenges you faced in ensuring Universum: War Front would run on the various PC system configurations?

No, with Unity 3D engine it’s no problem to work on the various PC system configurations.

 

Please talk about developing the art style, level design and music for Universum: War Front.

Now 90% of art assets for the project are my original artworks.

When I started work on the project, I also tried to use some of the assets that I bought at asset stores. But I soon realized that generic packs cant fit to the game style. Thats why I’m continue to do everything by myself until I reach the goal on Kickstarter to expand the team. It is very difficult to work on the art, programming, game design, and even a bit of music, at the same time. But it is also very interesting to me.

 

Outside of creating the game itself, what is the toughest aspect of being an indie developer?

It’s tough to decide quit your job and live on savings to work on project full time. Also sometimes need to work 16 hours per day without weekends. The unpredictability of the situation sometimes discourages.

 

Outside of the Kickstarter campaign, how did you go about funding Universum: War Front and did you receive financial or emotional support from friends and family?

I’m worked on Universum: War Front without any funding, just with emotional support from friends and family.

Tell us about the process of submitting Universum: War Front to the various digital distribution platforms and if you encountered resistance in doing so.

I have already launched our campaign on Steam Community and if I win Greenlight, then there will be no obstacles on way to the distribution.

 

Did you research similar titles when trying to come up with the launch price?

Yes, and I’m still in the process of determining what the launch price is going to be. But it will be more dependent on the popularity of the project when the time comes to sales.

 

How important is it to get instant feedback about Universum: War Front from users through online message boards and other social networking sites?

It’s very important! I chose interactive model of game development that gives the future players a unique opportunity to adjust direction of the project creation in compliance with their wishes. By the way in our Community, we have a special system to consider your decisions and suggestions.

 

How much value do you place on the opinions of those who review Universum: War Front professionally?

It is also very important to me. There are so many people whose opinions I respect and would like to get some feedback from them.

 

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 is a very useful idea for the distribution of the indie projects at an early stage and to generate audience for them.

 

What are your thoughts on how the PC gaming industry as a whole are dealing with the problem of intrusive DRM and piracy?

I’m just afraid that some independent developers can’t get the funds to complete the project because of piracy, and I’m also know that many people don’t like DRM. But if someone wants to pirate a game then I don’t think that DRM really stop them. So I’ll be happy if once somebody will come up with a fundamentally new way of distribution.

How do you feel about individuals posting videos and receiving monetization of Universum: War Front?

I think it’s okay if they also post a link to the official Universum: War Front website.

 

How do you feel about DLC and its current implementation in the PC gaming industry?

I think that not all good ideas come during development and if you come up with something new features after the game’s release, the DLC will help you implement it to the game.

 

How do you feel about the online modding community in general and specifically if mods were created for Universum: War Front?

I’m good to modifications, but according to this project, modding tools is still far.. But I really want give to our community the ability to make modifications for game and in the future I will work on it.

 

What advice would you give up-and-coming indie PC developers who are trying to break into the business?

I realized that if you have a great idea, you don’t need to wait for an opportunity that would implement it. Life is too short, that would sit and wait for luck! Start right now!

_____________________________________________________________________________