Hello everyone,
Time to answer some questions about Inferno. Why Endless Legend? Why now? I thought you guys were all working on Endless Space 2, so who's worked on Endless Legend? The answer to all this, and more, in a little exposition backstory, straight from our Creative Director Spacetroll:
Since Endless Legend's Tempest expansion released in late 2016, we had many, many requests from the community, from people who wanted to go back to Auriga. As you know, we have been focused on Endless Space 2 ; but at the same time, the question of how to make Auriga alive again never really left our minds. Eventually, the solution came, once again, when some fans contacted us. This is how we met the folks at NGD Studios.
We hit it off immediately when we learned that we were mutual fans… they loved Endless Legend, and we were super impressed with their work on Master of Orion. So a few of us flew out to Buenos Aires, talked game design, indulged in several pints of the delicious local lager, and we really hit it off.
When they first came up with some ideas for an expansion, we were impressed by how knowledgeable they were on the game’s mechanics. We loved what they suggested, and we felt our baby could be in good hands, so we decided we would make it happen, together. Keeping the fruit of this cooperation secret was very difficult, especially from the more inquisitive among you, and those who were already in on the secret! Thankfully, they’ve been working underground on the next expansion (codename “Inferno”) for some time now, and we’re ready to talk about it. We’re delighted by what they’ve cooked up in terms of content, and we know they are eager to share all of that with you!
Our NGD friends are be on the forum in the new role of “Guest Star”. They are looking forward to meeting you!
Finally, this is a new experience for us. Your feedback has always driven us to make games that we’re all proud of, and we know NGD is eager to join the family. We've been with them every step of the way, and we trust them to carry on the legacy of Endless Legend.
Once more unto the breach, my friends!
SpaceTroll
MEET NGD
Hi everyone!
As you know, we've still got some surprises coming up for Endless Legend, and we're working with NGD Studios to do it. We've gathered our Creative Director SpaceTroll in virtual a room with the NGD team working on Inferno. Want to know more about the people behind the Kapaku's face masks? Read on!
1 Well, tell us about yourselves! What’s NGD, and who are you guys in particular?
NGD is one of the oldest game studios in Argentina, founded all the way back in the dark ages of 2001. We started small, developing our own MMO (engine and all) with high hopes and higher goals. Most people probably know us for having the nerve, nay, the audacity to reboot Master of Orion. All in all, we think we did a pretty good job there.
[Kassapa]: My name is Matias (Kassapa on the Forum), Lead Game Designer for Inferno. I’ve been working in games for almost 10 years, over 5 of which have been here at NGD. I mostly come up with new and exciting ways to make everyone else’s work harder, especially Ezequiel’s.
[VadimMelkay]: I’m Martin, also known as VadimMelkay in the forums and I’m the other Game/Content Designer for Inferno. I’ve been working in the industry for the better part of 9 years and I love video games and the potential they have to create unique experiences for the players.
[Captain Nexus]: I am Andres, you can find me in the forums as Captain Nexus, Lead Programmer on Inferno. I’ve been a game programmer (exclusively) for over ten years and a gamer since I can remember, starting very young with a Commodore. I’ve been playing 4x games since I was 13 and got my hands on a copy of Civ II. I then made a point to get my hands on any 4x game I could, though I also play many other genres: right now I’m over 1k hours of Factorio. I am, of course, a huge nerd.
[LadyPandora]: My name is Laura and I’m a Gameplay Programmer here at NGD Studios. I’ve been working in the industry for about seven years now and I’ve been here at NGD for 1 year and a half so far. On Inferno, I’ve worked on features like the new Dust Eclipse season, map confluxes, a part of Volcanoformation and a little bit of the AI, among other things. You can find me on the forums as Ladypandora. :)
[Kelo]: My name is Ezequiel, aka Kelo. I’m Lead Producer for Inferno. I’ve been working in the industry for 12 years. I started as a Programmer, but I got tired of fighting off producers... so I became one (*Dark Side intensifies*). I’m a huge strategy games fan and most importantly I make my own beer. Cheers!
[NL]: My name is Nicolás and I’m a Junior Technical Artist. I’ve just started working in the industry (less than a year) after several years as a hobby game developer. On Inferno I worked mostly on asset implementation and VFXs, such as the Kapaku menu scene.
[Spacetroll]: And I am Romain, I founded Amplitude in 2011 with a bunch of industry veterans, dying to dust off the 4X genre to develop our dream universe, the Endless Universe.
2 So, how did you guys get the idea for this cooperation? Did you just knock on Amplitude’s door with a bag of ideas?
[Kassapa]: Craigslist.
No, just kidding. Amplitude was looking for a partner company to help with the DLC for Endless Legend, and we felt that as huge fans of their games and having just the right experience we could be that partner. It also helped that we have a good relationship with the folks at SEGA (Hi Sonic!).
[Spacetroll]: When we were working on Endless Space 2, we were closely watching over the competition, and I had a few sleepless nights after playing Master of Orion from NGD. I really liked their take on it, its simplicity, accessibility and very polished visuals. Already then I was daydreaming about mixing our strengths to create the perfect space 4X… that was until through SEGA we got to meet in the flesh.
At the time we wanted to develop another add-on for Endless Legend, because after a few years of space battles, we wanted to have a reason to play Legend again. With a fresh look, they proved to us they would be the right ones to continue the life of our legendary baby! And I can tell you that it is more fun to play a game when it’s all play and (almost!) no work! ;)
I can’t wait!
3 A few Amplitude peeps visited the studio and spent some time with you when we started working together. How did that go?
[Kassapa] We really hit it off right from the start. It was a very work-intensive week, but it helped get us all on the same page and start with the right foot. Also, having people with hands-on experience on the project was very useful, even if it was a lot to take in at once!
[Captain Nexus] It was a very interesting and welcome experience. We've faced many similar challenges and have a lot of interests and ideas in common. We immediately felt like part of the team.
[Kelo] Also, it gave us an excuse to go to some fancy restaurants and drink lots of beer. That’s always a plus.
[Spacetroll]: The team we sent did not want to come back from Argentina… some took up to 3 weeks to find their way back here! When I saw the pictures, I quickly understood why. They also raved about the passion for 4x and the talent of the guys at NGD. I sometimes feel that we are among the international happy few of the 4X gang.
4 Spacetroll: how did you feel about handing out your baby to strangers for them to create entirely new content? Do you think they pulled it off?
If I was afraid, I think NGD are the only ones with whom I would have tried it, because of the impact their MOO had on ES. I was dying to see their impact on Legend.
5 Can you guys tell us about how you proceeded to create the faction? Obviously, there's an ocean and all of Brazil between Buenos Aires and Paris. How do you make it work?
[Kassapa] We discussed several ideas for the new faction while Amplitude was in Buenos Aires, which gave us a good foundation from where to continue working--as well as providing a better picture of how each team thinks and works its way through different challenges. After that, time zones can really mess up your lunch schedule, but no big issues there.
[Captain Nexus] Thankfully the internet exists to bridge those gaps, but you have to start keeping things in mind, like that by the time we go to lunch, folks at Amplitude are already going home for the day. So talk often, share the information, be sure to answer questions early and quickly and make sure everyone is on the same page. Video conferences and—insert sponsored group chat app here—help a lot.
[Spacetroll]: That pretty much sums it up, yes!
6 Ok, so, the Kapaku look adorable, but we know very little about them. What are they like? Do they remind you of anybody on the team?
[Kassapa] One of the earliest drafts we had for the faction was this small, masked sort of goblin being cradled by a rock giant, and the idea for their personality caught on right from that point—child-like, aloof aliens.
Their backstory went through several changes as we worked on the project, and throughout that time we made some adjustments to their personality to bring them closer in line with their gameplay. But at their core they remained a race of tinkerers and inventors.
They are outsiders who barely avoided extinction, crash-landed on Auriga, and must find a way to coexist with their previous inhabitants while carving out a place of their own. Heck, we could’ve called them the Neo Geodesic Directorate.
[Spacetroll]: Or they are a bunch of Amplidudes lost in 4X-land! Well as you can see they are close to all of us, outsiders of any kind... And I wish I could terraform around me as well!
7 Trickier one: Tell us how they play! What makes them unique compared to all the other factions in Endless Legend?
[Kassapa] They come from a very different world, so Auriga works very differently for them than it does for the natives. They have a hard time getting food on Grasslands or Forests, but they are uniquely suited to surviving on the harsh Volcanic Regions that just so happened to pop up all over Auriga. As builders and engineers, they have some unique buildings that allow them to make the most of the regions they settle. While they have the power to alter Auriga to suit them, they must balance doing that against the impact it will have on other factions.
[Spacetroll]: When Amplitude worked directly on Endless Legend, it was getting difficult to find unique ideas we hadn’t thought of for new factions, but thankfully NGD didn’t have this problem. We’re impatient to see what players make of them, like one of our players who won science victories with the Forgotten!
8 If you could choose any faction in Endless Legend to live with, which one would that be and why? Do you think the Kapaku would be friends with them?
[Kassapa] I think the Roving Clans are the most easy-going of the bunch, and they have the nice perk of Mercenary Comforts! I don’t think they’d have much in common with the Kapaku, tho. I think they’d each mind their own business, sort of a live and let live kind of deal.
[Captain Nexus] I would go with the Drakken. They may come off as a bit presumptuous, but overall they feel like the most positive. They would totally be friends with the Kapaku, you can't NOT be friends with the Drakken!
[Spacetroll]: I would probably choose the Ardent Mages. To make games, you need to be ready to overcome challenges. In fact we already are Ardent Mages at heart.
9 Finally, is there anything you want to say to our players to conclude?
[Kassapa] Hope you enjoy the content, it was made with a lot of love for the previous game and the lore of the Endless. We hope to continue adding to it.
[Spacetroll]: This is just a beginning right now with the closed beta, and we look forward to your feedback so that together we can make the Kapaku and Inferno great additions to our universe. We’re extremely happy to see that years after the game came out, so many of our players are still enthusiastic about Endless Legend! Thank you for all these years of passion, we hope you enjoy!
***
So there you have it: nerds meet other nerds with similar interests, work on game together.
We've asked NGD a whole bunch of questions, but we've surely missed some. What's a question you'd like to ask them?
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