Today we have an interview with Lauri Paakinaho, the one man army that is Woblyware. Due to my love of Devious Dungeon I felt the need to interview him on his experiences and inspirations.
Many in the VP community seek to work their way into some avenue of the games industry so I hope this interview is as helpful and inspiring as I found it.
Q: Having created a range of indie titles what would you say has beenyour favourite project that you have worked on so far and why?
A: I'd have to say Omega Strike is my personal favorite. It's the
biggest game I ever made and put the most effort into. To me it feels
like the most complete game I've made.
Q: I loved the character and level design across all of your games. Whatinspires you to create such vibrantly cute worlds?
A: It's just a style I like a lot. From all the inspiration I've took
from other artist, this kind of style always looked great in my opinion
and eventually my own art style developed in the same direction.
Q: In your time as both a gamer and a creator is there any other Indietitles that have inspired you?
A: Yes, several games have inspired me along the way such as Spelunky,
Mercenary Kings and many many smaller games like old flash games.
Q: What were the biggest obstacles you faced being an indie developer and how did you overcome them?
A: I work mostly alone, so the biggest problem is making games that are
good enough to stand among all the other games that are coming out. It's
really hard to make a living as an indie dev and you never know if your
project will be profitable. But somehow after 10 years I'm still doing
this for a living so maybe I'm just extra lucky hehe.
Q: Do you have any advice for budding games designers out there?
A: Start small and try to finish projects. It's fairly easy to get your
game released on the App Store or Steam these days and even though the
game may not make much money, it will look good on your resume if you're
looking for a job in the games industry.
Q: And finally do we have a new game on the horizon to look forward to?
A: I've been working on a game called Royal Frontier which is a turn
based roguelite. It should be coming out later this year or maybe next
year.
Q: Having created a range of indie titles what would you say has beenyour favourite project that you have worked on so far and why?
A: I'd have to say Omega Strike is my personal favorite. It's the
biggest game I ever made and put the most effort into. To me it feels
like the most complete game I've made.
Omega Strike
A: It's just a style I like a lot. From all the inspiration I've took
from other artist, this kind of style always looked great in my opinion
and eventually my own art style developed in the same direction.
Q: In your time as both a gamer and a creator is there any other Indietitles that have inspired you?
A: Yes, several games have inspired me along the way such as Spelunky,
Mercenary Kings and many many smaller games like old flash games.
 |
| Spelunky by Derek Yu |
 |
| Mercenary Kings by Tribute Games |
Q: What were the biggest obstacles you faced being an indie developer and how did you overcome them?
A: I work mostly alone, so the biggest problem is making games that are
good enough to stand among all the other games that are coming out. It's
really hard to make a living as an indie dev and you never know if your
project will be profitable. But somehow after 10 years I'm still doing
this for a living so maybe I'm just extra lucky hehe.
Q: Do you have any advice for budding games designers out there?
A: Start small and try to finish projects. It's fairly easy to get your
game released on the App Store or Steam these days and even though the
game may not make much money, it will look good on your resume if you're
looking for a job in the games industry.
Q: And finally do we have a new game on the horizon to look forward to?
A: I've been working on a game called Royal Frontier which is a turn
based roguelite. It should be coming out later this year or maybe next
year.
