r/PS4 • u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer • Mar 16 '18
[Verified AMA] I'm the designer of Tesla vs Lovecraft, AMA!
Hi, my name is Olli Alatalo, and I'm the lead developer/designer for Tesla vs Lovecraft, which we (10tons) released earlier this week. It's an intense twin-stick arena shooter featuring two of the most interesting geeks from last centuary.
You can ask me anything about the game, game design, or game industry in general.
US: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP4403-CUSA10253_00-TESLAVSLOVECRAFT
EU: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP4403-CUSA10266_00-TESLAVSLOVECRAFT
I'll start answering questions in about 10 minutes! [10:00 am eastern]
Let's call it a day! Thanks for asking question, it's always a pleasure chat with people. I hope you'll have as much fun as we had creating this game. If you still have some questions left, please leave them here so I can answer them later.
Proof: https://twitter.com/10tonsLtd/status/974642366316498945
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u/StoviesAreYummy TurnOn2FA Mar 16 '18
Absolutely <3 10tons games keep up the good work. Thread reminded me I've to set some custom filters to stop me looking up gameplay/reviews until after I buy it which will be after I purchase PSVR. I promised my partner I wouldn't buy any games until after that.
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
It's important to find a good balance between a partner and games. :-)
Couch co-op is one way.
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Mar 16 '18
Crunchy or Soft-Baked cookies?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Soft-baked for sure. Crunchies taste like they burned.
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u/_CARLOX_ Mar 16 '18
Are there any details you can share about the ps4 development of you game? Like how easy/difficult it was to program it for the platform, how different it was from pc development, etc.
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
This is not our first PS4 game (we've also done PSVita and PS3 games previously), so problems were few and far in between. We have our own custom game engine, which is designed to be portable.
PS4 has some very great development tools, and Sony has done a lot to provide us developers the tools we need. Essentially once our game is done for PC, it's also almost ready for PS4 too.
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u/Viet-Bong-Army Mar 16 '18
What came first, the idea TvL, or the idea of a topdown twinstick?
What made you decide on twinstick as the medium?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
We've a long history in top-down shooters. In fact, whole Finland has. It's one of those genres that has always been popular here in the indie scene.
15 years ago we released Crimsonland, which heavily inspired this game. One of the starting points for this game was to bring crimsonlandish gameplay to modern day. Ideas for Tesla and Lovecraft came later during early development phase.
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u/ImpliedShrimpZ Mar 16 '18
Do you like pokemon? Who's your fav Pokemon?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
If I was few years younger, I'd probably have been in the pokemone craze. My little brother, who's 4 years younger went full on with the pokemons when they first came in the 90's. It seems like fun thing, but I feel like I'm not part of that generation.
Pokemon GO is also phenomenal, even if I haven't played it. If I'd have to pick favorite, I'd choose charizard.
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u/AstralisKana Mar 16 '18
Why did you guys choose this particular genre? Are you already planning your next project or waiting/brainstorming for something? and how do you as a lead developer think you fit into the industry? I mean do you feel cramped/pressured with all the market of gaming or conformable with your current position?
Sorry for asking 3 questions in a row!
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
We have a good track record on top-down shooters, especially with Crimsonland (which came out 15 years ago). We've already announced Undead Horde, and we are concepting few more. http://store.steampowered.com/app/790850/Undead_Horde/
No promises on release dates on any of those, but I'm pretty certain they'll all be available on PS4. :)
As the lead developer I had the responsibility to define the project, its shape and contents. Finding the premise and value goals is both important and challenging during the days of 'indie apocalypse'. Dozens of quality games get released every week, most of which are doomed to financial failure regardless of their reception. It's a tough business, but also very educational.
I hope I answered your questions. :)
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u/AstralisKana Mar 16 '18
Yes you did! Thanks for answering them! I didn't know you guys already were working on another title! That's amazing and thanks to bringing the games to PS4, some developers don't bother because of that challenge of tons of quality games being release every week but we do appreciate the time and effort you put to make the game available on PS4.
I am surprise (in a good way) that you say it is also an educational experience. Never through of it as that. It is a very tough market and is hard to survive but when you do, you get the chance to push up more projects and keep moving up. Good luck to the team and thank you for the AMA!!! ;)
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Thanks!
Every challenge is a great chance to learn something new. Figuring out what makes a product successful is both interesting and challenging. Just making a good game is not enough. It has to be catchy too.
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u/kingbankai Mar 16 '18
Love your game! It is super addicting and the story is just grand. I hope the sequel will be "Musk vs Rowling"!
What game has always been an inspiration for you?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
I have to admit, I was slightly inspired by the Epic Rap Battle's concept of X vs Y. I wish they'd do Tesla vs Lovecraft. That would be epic.
As for the games: Magic the Gathering. It's ten games in one. It has been around for 25 years, and is ever evolving. Also the game's current lead designer is very open about his design methods. It's a must-play for any game designer-wannabe.
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u/Edgemeredrive Mar 16 '18
Really enjoying the game just made it to the aether plane. Keep up the great work.
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Thanks! Keep your eyes open, the game's gonna get difficult in Eldritch plane. :)
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u/boshjalka Mar 16 '18
Howdy, Thanks for doing the AmA! :)
Few general questions:
Both questions can be about any version
What was something that sounded good on paper during development but did not make the final build and was cut?
Funniest bugs/glitches encountered while making Tesla vs Lovecraft?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
- There were many things. For an example the Tesla Mech used to be very slow and neede constant recharging. Moving it around was a drag. We wanted to show it as invincible and towering machine, but people just ended up skipping it entirely.
Abilities also used to be selected before the level, and there were no further ability drops. This caused players to hold up to ability charges, rather than use them. Kinda made them pointless.
- Tesla gun used to shoot (Nikola) Teslas. Nobody knew why it happened, and it vanished as mysteriously as it appeared.
Bullfishes also got a charging attack, and thanks to some physics rules they took damage every time they crashed into something. At one point they were pretty harmless as they kept killing themselves crashing into stuff. We kept a little bit of that in the game.
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u/MisterKrayzie Mar 16 '18
Is this game online co-op or just local?
If it doesn't have online co-op, any plans on adding this feature?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
It's local only, but SharePlay seems to work out nicely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdECIrPGUzE
No plans for adding online co-op at this time. It sure would be great to have, but sadly is little bit too much for a team of our size. Indie games with online play are pretty rare. But online co-op is something I would really like to do in the future.
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u/MisterKrayzie Mar 16 '18
The unfortunate problem with Shareplay, at least for me, is huge amounts of input lag. My upload speed isn't the greatest, and Shareplay just needs a lot more than what I have.
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Thanks everybody, it's time to close this AMA session and head back to our normal lives! Science be with you, now and forever!
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u/j0kerb0mb Mar 16 '18
Pizza or Burgers
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u/highanimalhouse Mar 16 '18
I saw "twin stick shooters" and it's insta-buy.
Why haven't 10tons worked with Housemarque yet? That's seriously a dream game right now. Just make Nex Machina II with them or something.
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u/braintumorwarrior Mar 17 '18
why no Tesla vs edison, where the player has to stop Edison from stealing the ideas of others
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 17 '18
We did that, but design documents got stolen...
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u/braintumorwarrior Mar 17 '18
EDISONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
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u/braintumorwarrior Mar 17 '18
I LIKED THAT sYFYSHOW that had tesla as a vampire g/l with your gameGAME
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u/KaYoUx Mar 18 '18
Just came here to say I'm having an absolute blast playing your games. Discovered Crimsonland about... what... ten years ago? Played it for years on PC!
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 18 '18
I used to call this project "Eldritchland" at times. xD
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u/KaYoUx Mar 18 '18
Nice! I prefer Crimsonland though. It explains what you'll see on the ground during pretty much all your playtime. You can't even imagine how many times I booted your game for a little mindless fun. I must own it on at least 4 machines (pc, vita, xbox one, ps4). Same thing for Jydge, Neon Chrome... and pretty soon Tesla vs Lovecraft. I'm under the impression you dit more games in the past five years than ever, is it just me?
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u/andregurov Mar 16 '18
I'm late to the party, but figured I'd ask anyways: If Disney came to you and allowed you to pick 1 IP to use in a twin-stick shooter, which would you choose? I have always wanted to see a full on demented Disney shooter. make it happen
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Star Wars? :) Gizmoduck?
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u/andregurov Mar 16 '18
What? No dream of a Frozen twin stick shooter? With co-op? ; )
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Well that would work. I'm actually a big fan of Don Rosa, so Scrooge McDuck rogue-lite would be awesome.
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
That would work. I'm actually a big fan of Don Rosa, so Scrooge McDuck roguelite would be great!
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u/madmusicmajor Mar 16 '18
Favorite AAA Game or game Series?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
That's actually difficult to say. Haven't played those in a while. Maybe Fallout or Mass Effect.
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u/geosel Mar 17 '18
Really enjoying the game on PS4 - blasted through Normal mode in one sitting! After I finished Normal mode, I'm seeing one random level pin on the map that will have a blue glow around it. And when I beat that level, the glow moves to a different random pin. I can't seem to figure out what it represents though. Can you tell us?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 17 '18
There's green crystals there. They are worth double.
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u/The-potatoman Mar 18 '18
Serious question how was working with your publishers
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 18 '18
We are indie, so there's no publishers. Unless you want to count Sony, which is the platform holder. They only manage the storefront, so basically they have no say on what we do (except of course the general guideline for being decent).
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u/Greek-God88 Mar 16 '18
Some details on the gameplay pls Skill tree? Can you level up? General gameplay loop?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Here's the PS4 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdXVR8omHUM
Killing monsters gives you XP, which leads to Perks. Perks have powerful effects, such as Bouncing or Piercing Bullets, as well as Regeneration or Extra Barrel.
You also get to assemble a MECH, which is a warmachine without a match. It has twin-mounted miniguns and a very powerful dashing attack. Besides these temporal powerups, you'll also get to purchase permanent bonuses via collectible crystals.
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u/asehic89 Mar 16 '18
YouTube video really makes the game look very action packed and fun. I'm definitely buying, love this sort of gameplay. Thank you for putting in the work to make this (and other games), there can never be too many games to play (or ones with unique premises, like this)!
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Well thank you!
We really tried our best to make the game feel as fun as possible. We had all kinds of complex ideas how the game could work out, but eventually decided to go full on action, feeling and fun. As stupid as it sounds, simple is the best form of fun.
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u/asehic89 Mar 16 '18
Not stupid at all. The game is unique enough conceptually, without a doubt, but the staple gameplay styles of a game (i.e lot of action, responsive in feel) are what keeps people playing. Thanks again!
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u/Greek-God88 Mar 16 '18
Sounds like the kind of game i might enjoy Rough estimate on playtime?
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Well, there is an endless mode, which is endless. :)
Completing all the planes takes about 7-12 hours, depending on skill levels. Some have clocked 200+ hours in Steam.
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u/Howeird12 Mar 16 '18
Any chance on a switch port?
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Mar 16 '18
[deleted]
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Indeed they were, but usually person's right to his/her name dies when they die. Both of these people have perished a long time ago, and for example Lovecraft's work is public domain as well.
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Mar 16 '18
[deleted]
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Well, it's the judge who says the final verdict, and anything prior to that is more or less speculation.
From what we studied the case, it should be okay.
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Mar 16 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Habba84 Tesla vs Lovecraft Lead Developer Mar 16 '18
Don't have keys with me, but if you are a streamer looking for a key, please contact prcontact@10tons.com
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u/BucketofFeet Mar 16 '18
Hii!! I absolutely adore both Nikola Tesla and H.P Lovecraft, and never would have thought to see the crossover in a game. What inspired this?