The world of game development is a world filled with unique tales and personal stories. And we’re not just talking about the wide range of endlessly creative projects that see the light of day on a daily basis, but also the brilliant minds that will these titles into existence. Our series of game developer interviews began with a simple goal in mind: to introduce you to some of the most wonderfully creative people of the industry, and to learn a bit about their personal experiences and perspectives while working in this field.
It’s shaping up to be an exciting journey, and we’d love to have you along for the ride — so, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
I think we can generally agree that one of the most influential genres of the last decade is the so-called “soulslike”– a type of punishing action-RPG inspired by From Software’s original Dark Souls. Today’s interview picks the brain of a solo developer who introduced gamers to his own unique take on this evergreen genre: we’re chatting with70`Strike, creator of the Skelethrone games.
First things first: could you please introduce yourself for our readers?
Hi, my name is Dmitry or as most people are already used to my nickname “Ksayfar”. I am a solo developer who is convinced that “If you want to do well, do it yourself” no matter what it is – music, art or programming. Of course there’s always someone better, but I’m used to it and I’m comfortable with it.
Screenshot from Skelethrone
Skelethrone: The Chronicles of Ericona is being described as a game inspired by Castlevania and Dark Souls – having played it ourselves, we can most certainly agree with that statement. But let’s go a bit deeper: were there any specific titles in those franchises that you drew the most inspiration from? Any personal favorites?
If we talk about Castlevania and the genre of metroidvania everyone will probably think that it could be Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but for me maybe definitely my favorite is Simon’s Quest. Speaking of Souls games now released quite a few variations and Skelethrone is definitely one of them, although in a simplified form, it’s hard to say which game I was inspired by the most, rather the whole series as a whole, Souls is not only leveling, bosses and bonfires, by the way “Praise the sun brother!”, it’s also in many ways the atmosphere. It’s that state of mind where you just want to be there.
What inspired you to get into game development?
If you tried to guess, it’s unlikely you’d succeed the hundredth time. Ha ha. Back in the 90s I was about 17 at the time, I watched the movie 101 Dalmatians, and one of the characters Roger worked at home on the game, which did not want to take in publishing, of course in the end he succeeded, I thought it would be cool if I could also do it. Eventually 25 years passed and it was only then that I was undermined by the pandemic, self-isolation and all that around, and it all worked out, somewhere good somewhere bad, but somehow it all worked out.
What would you say has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face while working on your game?
That’s a tough question I’d rather not answer. Where I lived for the first 2 years of development and how it all happened. It’s not all easy. Everything else is not a problem, but a lot of hard work.
What is the one thing that you believe every game developer should be aware of?
I think he should not know, but understand where you want to be in a year, two, five. And calculate your strengths and capabilities. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Everyone takes their own bumps and mine is a pretty big project for one person. Everything else you learn and learn in the process. In my opinion, the main thing is not to burn out and bring it to the end.
In your opinion, what is needed for a game to be recognized by the gaming public? What will make people pay attention to the project?
The question is ambiguous, it would seem to look like good graphics, great optimization, story, seemingly exciting gameplay, but the game is not bought. And some thrash is sold in millions of copies. In general, in my opinion and observation, when I started to pay attention to it, the first is gameplay, now the player is very sophisticated, and if the game does not catch him in the first 10-20 minutes of the game, he throws it and goes to a new one. Easy dopamine, social media and projects with session gameplay take too much attention. On the other hand a project can lie in the Steam landfill and then someone digs it up in a year or 2 as it was with Vampire Survivors and it becomes mega popular by chance. Of course, good marketing and content is important, but no one can cancel the “lucky case”.
Do you have any words for aspiring game developers?
Never start this business unless you are willing to work 24/7. This is not a regular Monday through Friday 8 hour job with a lunch break. If you are not ready for that, find something better for you.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your past self? Is there anything you’d do differently?
Never, ever rely on anyone. It will save you both, nerves and time.
Finally, could you tell our readers where they can follow you and your work if they’d like to stay up to date with any future developments?
I’m not heavily active on social media but I do post X amount of stuff online from time to time. Definitely this. https://x.com/Skelethrone1
Mr.Kettlebell (Facebook) is the group of my new project which I created just a couple days ago. If you like platformers and fun gameplay, welcome.
Discord of my publisher (Valkyrie Initiative) I can always be found there.
Make sure to check out our previous indie dev interviews as well:
The Wild Gentlemen (Chicken Police)
Lucky Cat (The Silent Kingdom)
Cybernetic Walrus (ORDER 13, Roadside Research)
Grundislav Games (Rosewater, Lamplight City)
