Independent & emotional: the development of RESET

Do you love Portal? Me, too! I love it because of its dark humor, challenging puzzles, originality, deep story, … And about a year ago I saw the first trailer of Reset. I was in love again! Wow. Even if the trailer did not reveal too much of the game, I felt like this could deliver similar challenging fun & melancholic awesomeness.

Reset is currently in the making by a Finnish indie game studio Theory Interactive. They are trying to make their dream come true a bit sooner by relying on crowdfunding. Reset Indiegogo campaign has about a week to go. If they reach the target of $65k, we will all be enjoying Reset at the end of 2014.

I had a chat with Alpo Oksaharju, the other half of Theory Interactive. We chatted about emotions in games and the bliss of indie game development. Enjoy.

Theory interactive is developing a game titled Reset for PC. Finland is known for gigantic mobile game success stories like Clash of Clans and Angry Birds. I wonder why Alpo and Mikko, the guys behind Theory Interactive wanted to develop on PC? Is this a statement towards over commercialized, click-and-pay mobile gaming?

Alpo: PC is something we know as a development platform and as a gaming platform, and the kind of game we wanted to create is something that was right at home on the PC. Marketwise the PC platform is very healthy especially doing a niche game. We don't need to sell millions of copies to just break even.

Deep story instantly sounds like a lot more work than mobile match three-of-a-kind puzzles. Theory Interactive is just two guys, you and Mikko who have so far being spending their savings to the development. Why did you choose to do it that way (small team, no external funding)?

Alpo: We value our independence greatly. Doing things our way would probably not go well with VCs or even publishers. And today when it's not necessary we didn't want to have to water it down just to gain more mass market appeal. We're not intentionally just a two-man team, at the time of founding the company there were no free souls nearby available to join our quest.

Bloggers note: Before going indie, Alpo and Mikko worked at Futuremark projects like Shattered Horizon and other in-house projects. Mikko has also worked on 3DMark projects for a long time.

Nowadays game development requires more and more skills in marketing, analytics, communications, BI, entrepreneurship: how are you planning to tackle everything by yourself?

Alpo: It all boils down to honesty, transparency, and being up close and personal with the people that we're creating this game for. Doing stuff requires above else common sense and the will to find out about things, the rest follows after that. All the information needed is out there. In our case time is the defining factor, creating the game and being meaningfully vocal about at the same time is something we're still struggling with. So it's not that big a question about skills necessarily but time allocation. But then again indie game development is largely a lifestyle choice where normal work routines don't exist.

What drives you as a game developer?

Alpo: To let other people see, feel and interact with the world that is burning in our minds and hearts. It's a form of communication, a way to learn something about the world we live in and about one's self.

Tell me about Reset, What Reset will all about, what's the story and when is it coming out?

Alpo: The story is something we've kept very hush-hush about. The trailers are the main attractions to the story, and there will be a third one near the release. The full impact of the game's story requires that you know very little about the story beforehand. Once you've played the game through you will understand why.

Some games try to tell deep stories, but the methods are still very much borrowed from the cinema world. I'm very fascinated about the possibilities of storytelling in games, and instead trying to tell a deep story (which we are) we're trying to tell the story deeply. The game is scheduled to be released at the end of 2014 if our currently live Indiegogo campaign is successful.

What’s Reset’s target audience?

Alpo: Doing niche stuff always means that there will be a certain group that will get it. Reset will appeal to those who like slower pace games, where it's not about the quantity, but quality. Portal fans should feel right at home with Reset. Although the tone of reset is different, the form of the essence is similar.

At least for me Reset trailer was very melancholic. Do you see emotions playing a growing part in games?

Alpo: The very first defining feelings I got when coming up with Reset was the feeling of a rainy autumn Sunday afternoon. You know, the kind when it rains and shines at the same time, and everything is kind of sad but beautiful. I definitely see emotions playing a growing part.

There is a growing group of players that are not in their 20's anymore, but still enjoy playing games. And the need for more thoughtful content is apparent I feel.

Even though the mobile space is growing enormously there are still people that want something else than just your five-minute quick fix on a bus going to work. The PC indie scene is buzzing with games that aim more for your heart than your wallet.

What have been the most difficult decisions so far when making Reset?

Alpo: Good question. I think we haven't had too difficult issues since we had a pretty clear vision from the get go. I think this is more in the line that we have had to make a huge amount of decisions, but none comes to mind that was really a water breaker.

What’s your big dream or the ultimate goal with Reset?

Alpo: Our goal is to leave an enjoyable and memorable experience in your head for a long time and to let us continue independently to our next project that has also been brewing for a long time.

Reset indiegogo campaing runs until 24th December. Happy Holidays!