GTFO - Simon of 10 Chambers Collective

Interview With

The Developer!

10 Chambers Collective

Q: What's the importance of developing a hardcore, team-based title today?

Simon: We don't know if it's important, that's for others to decide. We just felt that there was a vacuum in the market there, and thought that we could create something that filled it.

Q.a: While the best experience is with other friends, are there single-player options? Simon.a: We are putting all of our focus on cooperation. If you want single-player campaigns, there are many other games that will scratch that itch for you - but if you and your squad want to be challenged in your ability to coordinate and communicate, GTFO is your jam.

Q: Having the creator from the 'Payday' series, what was the biggest difference between creating a studio title and this smaller, independent game?

Simon: “Payday: The Heist”, the first “Payday” game, was in fact a smaller, independent game - so, in reality, we're going back to the roots. We just felt that there was room for improvement but so much needed to be changed that it had to be its own, new brand without any history and/or baggage. To answer your question, we'd say the biggest difference is the creative freedom, and more specifically the freedom to make choices that narrow down the game's appeal. “GTFO” is a lot more niche than any games we've previously worked on, and we love that.

Q: What's a feature you're most proud of to show off and introduce to new players?

partly because of the tools we've created that help us curate and polish new expeditions for the game. This is what gives us the ability to maintain the "Rundown" concept, which is all about introducing new expeditions and scrapping the old every month or every other month or so. Completionists will hate it but it keeps the game fresh and makes the entire community focus on the same small set of maps which become the current "season" of sorts in the game.

Q: What was the biggest hurdle in development, and how did you overcome it?

Simon: The expedition creation tools took an enormous amount of time (and several attempts) to realize. That hurdle was overcome by just soldiering on and living longer than we had first projected off of our own savings. Some things just need time.

Q: How was it balancing a game that is so team-centered and challenging? Simon: A lot of it rides on the game depriving players of resources and information. Scarce resources force players to synchronize their efforts and pool their resources and abilities. Scarce information forces players to communicate and take charge of their own. Something as simple as not giving players a waypoint to move towards but instead force them to find out on their own where to go - a process that often starts with arbitrary/aimless exploration - forces players to talk and come up with a joint plan. With a waypoint, everyone just "follows" the game blindly - running towards that waypoint - and can easily forget to talk to one another or stay together.

Q: Are there future plans for matchmaking in the works?

Simon: Yes, very much so. But it will take some time since we see matchmaking as a part of a larger system that doesn't just find teammates for you but keep you and those teammates together and facilitates your unity: There will be host migration and in-game voice chat as part of this system. Bare-bones matchmaking just wouldn't cut it - we'd rather do it right.

Q: What were the team's inspirations behind 'GTFO'?

Simon: It was really all about looking at what strengths and experiences we had as a development team and figuring out that we had a pretty good shot at making something within the 4-player PvE genre. Then, when we had decided we want to make a co-op game where cooperation really is crucial, the idea that it should lean

towards horror and be set in a sci-fi environment came sort of naturally: Horror lends itself to co-op experiences because a scary environment encourages players to stick together and it'll galvanize the team. Sci-fi is great because you can get away with anything in terms of game design: If we want a flying monster because of gameplay variation, we can do that. If we want a tool that can scan room structures through walls we can do that, and it's all justified by the idea that the game is set in a sci-fi environment. If the game was set in a contemporary setting, we'd have to abide by a lot more rules. Then, on top of all of that, we sprinkled a little "Alien" inspiration!