Which video game enthusiast hasn’t thought at least once in their life about running their own game development studio and creating their dream game? More often than not, however, this idea remains just an impossible dream.
And this is where Let’s Build a Dungeon comes into play for management simulation fans: a title that allows you to manage a fictional game development studio with the ultimate goal of creating the best MMORPG ever. How? By hiring numerous industry professionals, from designers to programmers, unleashing creativity, and occasionally clashing with the challenges that plague the gaming industry. Once the team is formed and the foundations of this ambitious online game are laid, it must then be handed over to equally fictional users who will decide over time whether to populate it or not, depending on its popularity. And if the development studio – in other words, the real player of Let’s Build a Dungeon – fails to meet user expectations, the MMORPG’s player base could dwindle to nothing. This would leave the player at the mercy of angry investors and give them the thrill of experiencing what every real-world game studio CEO dreads: the end of investment flows.
Speaking of people who have founded gaming companies in real life, Excaliber had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing James Barnard, a veteran with 25 years of experience and the Founder & Lead Designer of Springloaded – a Singapore-based studio currently developing Let’s Build a Dungeon. James took us into his world, shedding light on both the highs and lows of his profession.
“When I started Springloaded 12 or so years ago, the landscape for gaming was very different. Indie games on consoles were not really a thing, and Steam Greenlight did not even exist yet. The idea of getting a game onto Steam seemed impossible ” James recalls, painting a very different picture of the industry from what we are accustomed to today – a thriving indie market highly appreciated by the general public. “I realise it is hard to believe now, but back then mobile was the home of the most interesting indie games.” It was within the mobile space that Springloaded was born, benefiting from James’ experience at other companies, including LucasArts. However, as everyone knows, markets evolve quickly and not always in the desired direction. The mobile industry was no exception, and its changes over those years made it a less hospitable place for Springloaded than expected. “The mobile industry continued to get smaller and worse, so in the end when we were not making any money anymore. So, we took a risk and went all in on our dream of making Let’s Build a Zoo, shifting from mobile to consoles even though we did not have the money to finish the game. But our eventual publishing partner No More Robots saved our studio by giving us a bit more money so we could survive. ” It was the success of Let’s Build a Zoo, the spiritual prequel to Let’s Build a Dungeon centered around creating and managing a zoo, that breathed new life into Springloaded.
When working in an industry for so long, as in James’ case, one learns a great deal and realizes that learning never truly stops. “What was the hardest part of my career? Teaching myself how to code? Scaling back the studio when we could not afford salaries? Living under the constant cloud of almost debilitating stress? I think the last one might the worst, as it continues to be a problem for me, but I think I am just wired that way. And I tell myself that living under constant stress is what drove me to keep the studio alive for so long. ”
One of the key lessons Springloaded has learned over the years is that developing a video game means facing a vast, if not overcrowded, market filled with products catering to every taste. It is also populated by other developers striving to stand out from the crowd. One of the most effective ways to shine is through originality, and Let’s Build a Dungeon embraces this fully, allowing players to build the MMORPG of their dreams while managing the game development studio everyone dreams of creating. “I have been making games for over 25 years and have had so many good and bad times!” James reveals to Excaliber. “I love what I do, and I hate it all at once. With Let’s Build a Dungeon, I wanted a fun way to tell the story of what it is like to work in the games industry. ”
Beyond novelty, a game must also have compelling elements that keep players engaged. That is why a satisfying and well-balanced gameplay experience is crucial for creating a successful title. “As game developers, we rewrite the same things over and over again, each time it gets a bit better.” Some might find this unappealing or consider game development boring. However, refining and perfecting one’s work is an essential step in creating something beautiful and, most importantly, fun. This was precisely the case when development on Let’s Build a Dungeon began. “I started thinking about a base framework for making the kind of games Springloaded makes. I could make an engine for ‘builder games’. ” However, given the tremendous success of Let’s Build a Zoo, Springloaded knew that players were not waiting for an engine but for a brand-new game. Thus, James’ initial idea evolved into something more in line with audience expectations. “In the end, I wanted the game to have some sort of surprise for the players. That is when I thought about the simulation being focused around creating a game, rather than just making a ‘fantasy world simulator’. We had some discussions as a team about whether the game dev angle was good or bad, and it offered up so many options for interesting design choices. I got super excited and started writing the engine while other folks worked on the console ports for Let’s Build a Zoo and the Aquarium DLC. The rest is, as they say, history. ”
Despite Let’s Build a Dungeon having a highly original concept, just one screenshot is enough to see that it shares several similarities with Let’s Build a Zoo. However, the reason for this is not as obvious as it might seem. “After having so many games that did not do well, the fact that Let’s Build a Zoo was so successful pushed us to stick with that style of game. Making something new is very, very scary. We have released games that sold only about twenty copies on Steam. So, it made sense for Springloaded to go with something that would feel familiar to those players but was totally subversive in terms of what it actually was. ” Over the past couple of years, the gaming industry has demonstrated to all of us – sometimes with brutal clarity – that a single mistake can lead a development studio to premature closure. So, it is not surprising that, in such a complex historical period, Springloaded did not want to completely abandon its comfort zone with its new project. However, it must be said that James and his colleagues did not simply settle for offering ‘more of the same’ – something that some publishers would have actually preferred. “ Some asked us to just reskin Let’s Build a Zoo and be like another well-known pixel art simulation company. I have zero interest in taking that approach. ”
Let’s Build a Dungeon is undoubtedly a project that is as interesting as it is difficult to realize. For this reason, when James is asked how complex it is to balance, he jokingly replies: “That’s a question I am not able to answer, because we have not balanced it yet!” But he does not stop there. “ We want the interaction between managing the studio and creating the MMORPG’s fantasy world to flow smoothly. For me, much of this process revolves around trying to reduce the game’s design to as few core levers as possible. While we might have thousand of different things that impact the game, I try to design in such a way that there are a few central places that kind of rebalance everything. Finding what those are and isolating them is very important when it comes to a complex project built from hundreds of interacting systems. ”
User feedback is an excellent tool for testing audience reactions. An external perspective is always useful, not only to get an impartial view of the whole but also to receive suggestions and, why not, constructive criticism. This is precisely why Springloaded released a demo of Let’s Build a Dungeon on Steam in early December, which received positive reviews from players. “I had an amazing time polishing things in preparation for the public demo release. Seeing features that sounded unbelievably ambitious when I started talking about them actually playable and on screen, blows my mind. ”
Another of the countless challenges in today’s market is keeping players’ attention focused on a product for a long time. This forces studios like Springloaded to constantly think about new content, maintain a steady update schedule, or even develop full-fledged expansions. Naturally, this aspect did not escape James and his team, who already have a fairly clear, though not entirely defined, vision for the game’s future. “I have been telling people that Let’s Build a Dungeon could be my last game – aside from another one we have not announced yet! But in reality, what I mean by that is that whatever ideas I can come up with between now and my eventual death can be added to Let’s Build a Dungeon. I already have a list of things that I would like to add that would probably take us ten years to make. ” Given the peculiar nature of the project and what James has already revealed, one might wonder whether this game has some vaguely autobiographical elements. And, in fact, it seems that it does. “The game also has this weird cross over, in that it’s sort of telling the story of Springloaded as a studio” James confirms.
And what about the future of Let’s Build a Dungeon and Springloaded in general? “We have some ‘Let’s Build a’ ideas, but whether they are standalone games or just add-ons for Let’s Build a Dungeon remains to be seen. I really want to make Let’s Build a ****** **** which would be fun, and kind of a step down from the complexity of what we’re doing now, but the concept would still really surprise people. ” This information alone is already interesting, but it is not the only thing James decides to reveal to spark the curiosity of the community. “We also have another game in development that is in collaboration with a partner we have never worked with before. I think the project will be announced next year and I cannot say anything about it until then. It is a bit weird for Springloaded to make a game for someone else and I swore I would never do it, unless it was something really special. So, I guess this must be really special! ”
The promises made by Springloaded with Let’s Build a Dungeon are numerous. However, this team has already proven that it can deliver. Now, all that remains is to wait patiently and see how this ambitious project evolves over time – and how it allows us all to fulfill our dream of becoming game developers, even if just for fun. And that, in itself, is enough.
