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Although the system, graphics and BGM of Vampire Survivor are all extremely concise, these elements are fused together to give birth to the unique "flavor" of this game. The editorial board of "Fami Tong" interviewed the developer of this game, Luca Galante (referred to as Luca in the text), and explored the secret of the popularity of this game.
Luca Galante, founder of Poncle Development Company
| Q: Please tell us about the development concept of this game.
Luca: Vampire Survivor doesn't have any lofty ideas, it's simply the product of stacking interesting game mechanics, and it's just one of the platforms where I can enjoy creating new content when I'm idle.
| Q: How have the players reacted?
Luca: Everyone has shown enthusiastic support, creating many fan-made works, guides, videos, etc., and even running a website with a community leaderboard. In addition, the community in Discord has about 30,000 active users, and many players who are keen to make MODs. Seeing that you are so positive, I would like to continue to provide better service and support to you in the future.
| Q: How do you feel about the good results achieved by this game in the global market?
Luca: I was really shocked that this game can get such a high rating, and I took the opportunity to quit my nine-to-five job, hoping to use this good fortune to let me successfully open a development studio and officially embark on the road of game development.
| Q: Please tell us about the whole process of development of this game.
Luca: Although this game was originally developed for my own amusement, I originally wanted to develop a prototype like the Android mobile game Magic Survival. So I was satisfied with being able to develop a prototype of the game, and I wanted to stop there, but I suddenly remembered the resource pack I bought five or six years ago, so I had the idea of adding sprites to the game. As a result, I was fascinated by the retro art picture and immersed myself in development as soon as I had time. When this game was launched on Steam, I actually didn't think about sales at all. Maybe a little old, my initial vision was that the game would be like Ultima Online, launched on an unofficial private server, sharing ideas and entertaining players in a small community.
| Q: What are the key points of development?
Luca: The most important thing is to avoid the pits that I can easily step on. During this time of developing the game, I have spent a lot of time striving for perfection, hoping to make everything in the game have a perfect setting (supplementing the background of the story and worldview, etc.) or profound meaning, so I have not encountered a wall. For this reason, I discarded more than a dozen games. Since I really wanted to make a real game, I tried my best to suppress my desire for perfection when developing this game. I used the children's harmonic jokes as a background setting, and made some content around this setting, and finally made and polished the main part. That's why this game is full of games that I personally love, as well as strange harmonic memes and comical parodies that perhaps only Italians can understand.
| Q: What is the most important part?
Luca: I wanted people to enjoy the game with ease, so the development was almost focused on gameplay and mechanics, and half the time was spent testing and fine-tuning. This game does not require complicated operations, nor will it be interrupted by the performance, players can feel the kind of "energy" obtained when playing "Angel Hunting Witch" and "True Three Kingdoms Matchless".
| Q: When do you plan to launch version 1.0 (official)?
Luca: I'm currently busy with development and studio stuff, so I can't say exactly what the 1.0 version will go live on, but it's bound to be available by 2022 at the latest. 65% of the progress has been completed (as of this interview point), which does not include new game mechanics.
| Q: What elements do you want to implement in version 1.0?
Luca: When launching the Early Access version, I promised you two major elements to implement, one is "Arcanas" and the other is "Story Mode". The latter will implement more gameplay-related elements, Arcanas will appear in the near future, please look forward to it.
| Q: Please tell us what you are expecting to update now within the scope of disclosure.
Luca: Basic gameplay is expected to be updated every two weeks, such as characters, weapons, and levels, and in April will be an important element that unlocks new abilities. In addition, we will develop on industry-standard engines for problems that cannot be solved in current engines, such as game stuttering and inability to run on some platforms. Although we are now working hard to complete the development of the game for the PC platform, this game is originally a mobile game game, and may be released in the near future.
| Q: Finally, please say a few words to the fans.
Luca: Due to the shortcomings of the Japanese localization of this game, I sincerely apologize to the Japanese players, and I will try to add a perfect Japanese translation to the 1.0 version. Thank you very much for supporting the unique style and smaller game, I will definitely bring more game content beyond imagination in the future, I hope you can always have fun!
Compilation: Shiina pear