Indie Dev Interview with Lauri Paakinaho

Indie games have a special place in my heart. I started my gaming journey on the Game Boy Colour and cheap titles on my laptop at the time. Being an indie developer is no easy task, most struggle to make a profit and releases can be very hit and miss. Yet if you take the time to turn away from the eye candy of the triple A titles the games industry has to offer, you can be entertained by countless little gems. 

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.

Omega Strike

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.

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.

PS5 Launch List and Trailer Links

It has been a few days due to some technical issues. Since the PS5 reveal my access to the PC has been limited. But there is much content coming in terms of showcases, news and Plat Runner articles. 

If for some reason you are still in the dark almost a week later, or you fancy seeing the reveal trailers again. Here they are in no particular order:

Deathloop

Horizon: Forbidden West

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Resident Evil 8: Village

Gran Turismo 7

Godfall

Pragmata

Oddworld: Soulstorm

Demon's Souls

Grand Theft Auto 5 enhanced

Project Athia

Solar Ash

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

NBA 2K21

Destruction AllStars

Stray

Goodbye Volcano High

Returnal

Bugsnax

Hitman 3

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Jett: The Far Shore

Kena: Bridge of the Spirits

Little Devil Inside

Astro's Playroom

Plat Runner: My Path into Trophy Hunting

Assassins Creed Origins shot by me
Aim high, the hardest Platinums give the greatest satisfaction.

I was a late adopter to gaming. I did not enter the hobby until I was 15. But my entry was strong. I was handed down to me a Gameboy Colour and a N64 by a friend and then began my journey. At first games were a distraction from the pains and hardship of my reality, but as time went on they became more of a casual hobby. 

Choosing to knuckle down on a career my gaming took a backseat. I chased responsibility and financial gain and worked my way up the ladder. My work ethic is strong and I tend to work at an alarming rate making myself an asset to any company I work for, however such dedication comes at a cost. At the end of last year in November I snapped somewhere inside and probably never will recover fully, January things got worse and then it was a steady downward spiral. 

Resident Evil 5 shot by me
A wonderful and underrated Co-op platinum experience.

However, it was during the end of October I bought my first non-hand me down console. The PS4 pro. I traded in my Xbox One, a ton of games and sold a few rare Pokemon games on ebay, netting me enough not only for the Pro but a wide selection of games. This choice really was one of the best choices I have made without knowing it at the time. 

Gaming for me comes with feelings of guilt. If I game for more than an hour or two I and hit hit with shame and self hate, knowing I am doing anything productive with my time. If I am not earning or benefiting my life in some way I considered it a waste of time. 

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune shot by me
It was free for all PS Plus members and briefly for all PSN Users
An attainable and rewarding plat.

Thanks to the encouragement of my girlfriend and also being on home care for two weeks after my breakdown point, I had little option but to press on with the PS4 gaming. Eventually the guilt subsided and I was gaming like a 14 year old with no concern for life pressures and responsibilities. Of course this only lasted a few days but it is what I needed at the time. 

It was during this time the Playstation Trophy System caught my eye. No longer did I have to get every achievement in a game to "complete" the entry in my achievements list. The addition of DLC, especially multiplayer DLC to single player games on the Xbox killed my love of achievement hunting. Resident Evil 5 and 6 were probably the last two games I 100%, after the slap dash multiplayer aims, I vowed never to waste my time on a game like game again. 

Control shot by me
An easy and enjoyable 15 hour platinum. Well worth a play even just for the game itself.

At first I was spurred into this by LeonardoxAngel over on Instagram as he had 8 Platinums in his cabinet that he was particularly proud of. I vowed to get four by the end of the year, which I attained. I achieved 6 through 4 easy indie titles Magus on a PS Now 7 day trial and Spider-man.

I found by applying my same work ethic to my gaming I found that it felt less trivial. Not only did I get to play games that I loved but also explore them in depth and do things I would not normally do, such as headshoting two enemies in a set time at a set distance with a sniper rifle, or doing every location objective on the map. 

Far Cry 5 shot by me
All Far Cry titles and most Assassin's Creed games are very achievable Platinums and great fun!

Since being more open about my trophy hunting I get asked questions about it daily on Instagram and have inspired others to join in on the journey. NotGarav just secured his Platinum in the Resident Evil Remake, a feat that is no easy task, while others have gone on to chase their first platinums or pressed onto get more. Through this journey I have had the support and encouragement from many in the community that were already Trophy Hunters themselves. Dragngirle Gaming helped me attain the multiplayer trophies in Far Cry 4 and is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. 

Quiet Wolf84 also spurred me early on with his wise words of encouragement and pointed me towards good more prestigious games to Plat, while TheInnerclick at 961 platinum trophies really inspired me and helped fuel the hunting fire. Most recently I hit it off with Enthusiast Gamer and we have been helping each other attain co-op trophies and trading games. 

My current standing after 7 months of PS gaming.

The sense of community, leader-boards and goals have kept me going over the past few hard months. Due to this along with the VP features I am also going to be running a new feature series under Plat Runners, which will feature posts from trophy hunters on recommended games and how they felt attaining certain prestigious trophies. If you would like to be featured contact me here. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare shot by me.
All trophies are story related, checkpoints are very generous and the plat takes around 10 hours.

PlayStation Donate $10 Million to Indie Devs

PlayStation has launched a corona virus support initiative designed to keep people indoors and indie studios in business.

Announced by PlayStation president Jim Ryan, the Play At Home Initiative includes a $10 million creative fund for indie developers experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Sony had already previously opened a $100 million fund to help those affected by the spread of Covid-19. 

"Independent developers are vital to the heart and soul of the gaming community and we understand the hardships and financial struggles that many smaller gaming studios are facing," Ryan explained.

Many gaming giants have now donated a huge amount to relife funds all over the world, a full article can be seen here over at Gamesindustry.biz.