Blitz interview with the authors of Half Dead

On the first of August, the official release of the paid multiplayer game Half Dead from the Moscow team Room710Games, consisting of only four people, took place on Steam. To date, the game has more than 60 thousand copies sold. We asked one of the participants of Room710Games about the studio and the project.

The questions were answered by Marat Galimov.

Marat GalimovHi!

Please tell us a little about the history of the studio. How and why did you get together?

Hi! They were fond of games together and lived in the same room of the student dormitory. At one point, being still 2nd year students, we decided to try ourselves in a new, interesting field for us.

Half Dead is not your first project, which was your debut?

Our first projects were Android games, but the debut PC computer game was Statues, a horror game whose main feature was statues. They are motionless when the main character looks at them, but they begin to chase him as soon as the player takes his eyes off these hostile creatures.

Statues was created based on one of the Doctor Who series (by the way, one of the most creepy), and Half dead is “based on” the cult thriller “Cube”. Is it a coincidence that in both cases they were inspired by cinema or a feature of the studio?

Movies and TV shows, in fact, have an impact on our creativity, as does the whole of modern culture. Plus, we ourselves believe that it will be interesting for many to plunge into the atmosphere of their favorite movies and TV series.

Why was the Cube chosen as the inspiration for the new game?

We do what we like ourselves. Our team liked the “Cube” trilogy, plus the idea is quite simple and original, ideal for multiplayer, in which we just wanted to try out our skills for the first time.

How long and with what composition did Half Dead do?

The main team consists of 4 people, freelancers also participated in the project. In total, it took 1.5 years to develop.

By the way, what tools were used?

Unity 3D, Blender

What was the most difficult thing when adapting the Half Dead movie concept to the game mechanics?

Most of the time was spent on the implementation of multiplayer, but still comprehending the idea also took a lot of time

By the standards of indie projects, Half dead can be called quite successful. He has more than 60 thousand copies sold in his piggy bank. And how do you assess its commercial result for yourself?

Yes, we think this is a pretty successful project.

When did the main increase in purchases occur?

This happened during the full release of the game

Please tell us how the project was conducted within the framework of Greenlight.

After the release on Greenlight, the game quickly got into the Top 100. We made only the trailer and the first screenshots for this. After Half Dead got the green light. While waiting for the green signal, they were mainly engaged in refining the game.

It is unclear why they decided to sell for only $1.99. Did the experience of Statues show that users are not ready to give $4.99 for a good horror for a couple of evenings?

We decided to make the price less, since our game is primarily designed for multiplayer. More people on the servers – more fun for everyone!

How do you define your own strategy in the market?

We don’t follow any specific strategy. We are experimenting. Sometimes you have to be guided by intuition.

The studio has only four people. At the same time, you manage to release a game a year. How do you manage to make projects that are warmly accepted by the audience at such a speed (how are your team’s workflows built)?

We work hard, and at the same time we attract familiar freelancers to work. The main staff is engaged in programming. Modeling and other things are mainly done by freelancers.

And the last question, of course, is about plans. In what direction do you plan to move on?

The plans are to release updates and support the community on the current project and gradually start a new one.

We will not dwell on certain genres. We will try to find an interesting and funny idea and make a new inexpensive multiplayer game.

Thanks for the interview!