On January 7th, we presented Xploquest 3, and as it is a French developer behind this project, Jean-Sébastien Nouveau, it seemed interesting to us to ask him about his experience as a creator and to have a little more information about this RPG which should be released on January 20th. And as he is very nice, he played the game and answered all our questions. In addition, he offers you his interview in English. (French Version)
Can you introduce yourself ? (surname, first name, age, professional training, etc.). What is your role vis-à-vis Xploquest 3?
Jean-Sebastien New. I am 51 years old. I studied science and then I turned to instructional Design. I am the creator and developer of the Xploquest series.
How did the idea for the game come about?
The idea for the game originated over 20 years ago and is inspired by one particular game which is « Dragon’s eye ». We find the same principle in Xploquest. We move from zone to zone on a large map, each zone being represented by a number. It’s a pretty simple game and I played it a lot back then. I wanted to use this principle of zones on a map and that’s how Xploquest was born. I developed several versions before releasing the first episode in 2017.
What were your influences for the development of this game?
My biggest influences are the Might & Magic and Ultima series which I’m a fan of. For example, the automatic combat principle is directly inspired by M & M’s « quickfight » system.
What are the particularities of Xploquest 3? Its lifespan? Its replayability? In the end, in which category can we classify it?
The particularities:
– Each square is a region and moving from one square to another requires a day and a food ration.
– To completely explore a square, you have to pass over it 3 times, which involves 3 combats. After that, there is no more mandatory combat.
– There is no loot in Xploquest. We only find gold (and objects necessary to finish the game). For equipment, you have to buy everything in shops in the cities.
– Skills are important. Each skill level unlocks an in-game possibility (such as exploration) or a defining advantage (such as trade or magic).
– Saving is automatic and the game only saves when entering or leaving a city.
What has changed since 1 and 2?
What is different compared to previous XploQuest :
– There is a lot of work on graphics and sound.
– The game is no longer played with the mouse but with the keyboard/gamepad.
– The map is bigger. – The quest system has changed (with mini area exploration).
– The exploration system has evolved.
– The caves are different from 2 with a top view
– There is an end. As you explore, you will find objects (crystals, purple key) that allow you to reach the end of the game.
The first two games were free. How can it be ?
The first came out free but not the second. For the first, I did not feel ready to charge for 2 reasons:
– I did not want to manage the administrative aspect of setting myself up as a freelancer, and the game did not seem to me to be successful enough.
– For the second, I had a business at the time so I was able to sell it. It costed 3 dollars. But as you can imagine, I didn’t make many sales. I had to shut down the business so I upgraded the game to free.
So, why is this third opus paying (are you not afraid of the return of players who can be more critical and have more demands if they pay)?
The third is paying because it is more successful. With this episode, I managed to make the game I wanted to make and I need to know if people are willing to pay for my game. I don’t expect big sales though. The fact of being paid is also the paradox of reassuring potential buyers. A free game can be disturbing. There is a review on Xploquest 1 where the player says he does not understand why the game is free, he concludes by saying that I really have no business sense. I found it amusing and it made me think. I think the fact that it is paid shows that I feel that my game has value.
How was/is its development going and how long has it been going on?
For Xploquest 3, the development took about 4 years. It took me a long time to decide on the evolution of the game compared to the second. I had periods of doubt. There was also a lot of work, because I made a lot of changes (keyboard/gamepad interface, resolution, graphics, sound).
What is the game’s roadmap? Where are you sort of and where are you going?
With Xploquest 3, I wanted to offer the concept of Xploquest with nice graphics and a bigger map. I have a lot of ideas to improve the game but they need a lot of work.
How many people worked on it? If so, how was your work with the other people involved in the project?
I am alone on this project. For graphics and sound I bought assets on the internet. Finally, I have friends who test the game and it is a great help.
What tools are used for development?
I developed the game with Gamemaker 2. I was already on Gamemaker for 1 and 2.
What were your difficulties? What did you like? What did you learn ?
The first difficulty is devoting time to development, which is not always easy. I work evenings and weekends and it can be burdensome. The other difficulty is to work alone and in particular on the design phase. Some ideas sound good in mind but aren’t in practice. My technique is to quickly develop a prototype of my idea to test it and sometimes I don’t like it and I abandon the idea. All of this takes time.
Is there a story? A background you wrote? What inspired you?
A funny detail about Xploquest 3 is that I wrote a complete scenario with all the characters and finally I decided not to implement it in the game because for me it was far from the starting concept of Xploquest. I keep the idea of a scenario in Xploquest but I still need to think about how to implement it.
Was the reception good? People coming back? testers?
The reception of the testers is good but I am not sure of their objectivity. I can’t wait to have more players and especially their feedback on the game.
Competition is fierce on mobile and PC, do you live from your productions?
No clearly not. I have a job and I do Xploquest on my free time.
I saw Xploquest more like a roguelike, but you classify it as an RPG. Can you explain to us?
As for the qualifier RPG, it is true that defining the game is not easy. He is indeed closer to a rogue but I have doubts calling him a rogue because the levels are not randomly generated. The map as well as the dungeons and caves are fixed. So I call it an RPG to avoid disappointment on the non-random side. But I am not fixed on this qualifier.
A last word for the readers? Maybe you have something to tell us in particular (about DLC, projects, long term for the game….or other).
No mobile version planned for the moment, I am rather moving towards a console version. In fact the first Xploquest was released on mobile (it is still available on Appstore and Google store. But I realized that I was attracting very little interest. It is true that competition on mobile is fierce. It’s a shame because the game plays well on mobile, but my audience (admittedly small but still) is more on Steam.
I really hope that the game is going to please and I am always open to feedback on my game, whether positive or negative.
Thank you Jean-Sébastien Nouveau and we hope that this third opus will be successful.
