Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of talking to the team over at iFun4all, developers of Red Game without a Great Name. I got some insight to the team, where they’re from, and some hints about their hopes and dreams. Michał Mielcarek of iFun4all took the time to share his story.
So, tell me about your team! Where are you guys located?
iFun4all is a ten-people strong indie studio located in Cracow, Poland. You should totally visit this beautiful country, and one of the most famous cities in Europe! If you’re not yet ready to come and understand what is so special in Poland that so many great games are created here, just follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
That’s amazing, I love hearing stories like this — and hey, now I have two solid reasons to come to Poland! So I have to ask, what inspired Red Game Without a Great Name? What’s the in-game story all about?
Early in 2015, we had an internal game jam. The main idea was to create something highly addictive, yet very simple to play. The teleportation mechanics were our answer.
You can clearly see that we were inspired by Limbo, Badland, and Flappy Bird, but that’s not all. I think it won’t surprise you that we love games like Ori and the Blind Forest, but also Dark Souls. We play both indie and triple-A titles (btw, how cool is it that a game like Dark Souls is called triple-A these days?).
Red Game Without a Great Name is about a mechanical messenger that has to deliver a message in a hostile, steampunk environment. It’s a request letter to people of this red world to share their knowledge about it, in order to save it.
What was your role on Red Game Without a Great Name? What would you say was your most challenging obstacle to overcome?
Since the beginning of January I’m the new CEO of iFun4all, but last year I worked as an executive producer as well as PR & marketing manager.
Balancing the game was probably most challenging for us. We keep hearing it’s difficult, but I can beat it almost flawlessly in two or three hours, because I know it so well. It’s tough to look at your game from a distance and see its flaws.
On the other hand, PR and marketing is always hard, but we were lucky to be nominated for the Indie Prize at Casual Connect USA, and to be hand-picked by the IndieCade Festival jury. It was a direct signal to gamers that Red Game is worth buying.
Given the great reception for Red Game Without a Great Name, does the team plan to make more games in its style? What direction will the team take with its upcoming games?
Our next game is going to be a direct sequel to Red Game Without a Great Name. We’re almost ready to talk about it, but you have to wait a little longer.
As for the future, we shall stick to what we do best, and that means 2D platformer/isometric games. That’s not everything we plan to do, though. We want to tell stories, and create magical worlds. I love simple games created just to provide fun, but I believe that gaming is much more than that. Just look at Journey, Prune, Superbrothers or This War of Mine. We would love to create something that unique and touching.
Steve Noel is a Senior Editor for AYBOnline.com, Team lead for Streaming & Video Content & Producer of the Level One Scrubs TalkShow.
When he’s not working behind the desk you’ll find him spending time with his cat “Jeff Bridges”
