Old School Gamer chats with Javier Cepa, CEO at Pixelatto, who breaks the fun down on his soon to be released game, Reventure.
About the Game:
Reventure, with an innovative approach on nonlinear mechanics and loads of humor is set to leave Early Access on June 4th after one year of polishing and periodic updates. The game will be available on Steam for $5.99.
ld School Gamer Magazine: How was this game born?
Javier Cepa: The original concept was born from a Ludum Dare game compo back in December 2017, where it ranked third over thousands of entries.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What was your role in the game?
Cepa: I’m the designer, lead developer and artist. We’re a pretty small studio, so I have to wear many hats. I’m also a character inside the game – you can kill me there if you don’t like it.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How did you get involved in the industry?
Cepa: I founded Pixelatto, my own studio 5 years ago. We’ve been developing projects for third parties and some products on our own.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What was development like?
Cepa: It took nearly 6 months to get the first version ready for early access. That version had 50 endings in place and lots of rough edges, but the core was there. The feedback gathered from players during early access gave the game a quality boost that surpassed our wildest dreams.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What makes this game special?
Cepa: The story develops differently for every player. There are not 2 players that will have the same experience (unless they play on the same screen at the same time).
Old School Gamer Magazine: What games influenced this one the most?
Cepa: Too many to list, no one in particular. In fact, it has more similarities with point & click adventures or “choose your own adventure” books than with any platformer.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?
Cepa: Well, sometimes I came up with some idea like “Oh! We should totally have multiple playable characters! But… that’s crazy and it’ll take weeks, so I’ll just write it down in the ideas column.”
Then, 2 days later I ignore everything else to make that feature because it’s so cool I can’t get anything else in my head.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What were the major lessons learned?
Cepa: 100 is a very big number.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?
Cepa: It’s an option. Every option, old or new, is valid as long as it works for the game.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How do you want this game to be remembered?
Cepa: ”That adventure where you could do anything.”
Old School Gamer Magazine: What’s next?
Cepa: Launch! In two weeks or so (June 4th)
Old School Gamer Magazine: Anything else you’d like to add?
Cepa: We loved making this game and we are loving watching people play it on stream. Show us your adventure!
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Patrick Hickey Jr. is the author of the book, “The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Video Game Developers,” from McFarland And Company. Featuring interviews with the creators of 36 popular video games–including Deus Ex, NHLPA 93, Night Trap, Mortal Kombat, Wasteland and NBA Jam–the book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of some of the most influential and iconic (and sometimes forgotten) games of all time. Recounting endless hours of painstaking development, the challenges of working with mega-publishers and the uncertainties of public reception, the interviewees reveal the creative processes that produced some of gaming’s classic titles.
