On August 25, the game Party Hard turned one year old. In this regard, we talked with its developer – the Ukrainian team Pinokl Games – about the history of the project and how it was conducted after its launch on Steam.
To the questions App2Top.ru the whole studio answered.
Hi! First of all, I want to congratulate Party Hard on the first Birthday that has already passed. But before we move on to discussing the game (and its first year), please tell us about yourself.
Hi! Thanks!
We are a small indie studio Pinokl Games. Previously, they were engaged in the development of games for social networks (in total, they scored more than 15 million installations).
One of our most successful projects – the game “Real Steel” – was installed by more than 2 million users only on VKontakte. Then there were several mobile projects. Now we have finally broken out of f2p to steam and consoles.
Today we have a wonderful team of 12 Ocean’s friends (laughing).
As far as I know, the history of Party Hard originated within the jam. How was it? Saw an opportunity, watched horror, like “Friday the 13th”, and sat down to code /draw?
Yes. They freaked out (laughing). We took part in the Games Jam and Ludum Dare contests in order, first of all, to shake ourselves up and get a new experience. So at that time we decided to do something unusual, something that analytics does not require and that does not put us in a certain framework. We wanted to get away from everyday life, fool around and spend three days on something completely crazy.
The jam theme turned out to be very fruitful (Indie vs PewDiePie), and it wasn’t difficult for us to come up with several concepts right away. Of course, until we got to Party Hard, we had to sweat a little, but it was sweet suffering.
We drank beer, ate pizza, discussed subtle issues like “And let’s do it all in a pixel!”.
We also switched roles – the programmer drew, the designer made sounds, the producer codified, etc. In general, from the very beginning we were tuned in to the fan, and what could come out of it – that was another question. As soon as we gathered all the ideas in one fist, we decided to start.
As usually happens at jams – [the development] took liters of coffee and three days of time, but in return they received a charge of cool emotions and such a crazy pixel toy about a maniac who tries to kill everyone at an evening party!
Did you come to pixel art right away or were other options discussed? Why did you come to him?
Our developer, Alexander Ponomariov, has been fond of pixel for some time, he lobbied for the graphic direction of the game, which we all unanimously supported. Also, from our experience with previous indie contests, we have seen that pixel graphics enjoy a good reputation among the participants.After all, within a limited time to make pixel graphics faster.
I think the question is relevant to you – isn’t there some kind of fatigue from pixel art today? By the way, in what visual styles would you like to work more?
We treat the pixel as a Greek mosaic, which has value and is aesthetically perceived pleasantly. He is always beautiful and we don’t have a drop of fatigue from him.
The threshold for entering pixel graphics is very low, and, unfortunately, many people use it. Against the background of many low-quality crafts, people’s attitude to the pixel began to deteriorate, but it was and remains an excellent solution for games (if used correctly).
Of course, we want to work in 3D, but this is a question of more expensive production and a wider audience that we would like to reach. In the near future, we will definitely please you with something interesting in 3D.
Let’s go back to Party Hard. How long did it take for the first version? And did you go through a lot of gameplay options before coming to the current one (by the way, can you tell me what else you tried and why they refused such mechanics as a result)?
It took 3 days. Of course, this is about the curve version made on Flash.
We almost immediately saw a huge interest in the game and decided to make a more “cultural” version.
It took a month to repeat and rewrite the game on Unity. It was one full-fledged playable level, which we presented at Casual Connect in Amsterdam in 2015. At the same time, we took the prize for the best game on the #IndiePrize showcase and met our publisher #tinyBuild.
When we were supported by YouTubers with millions of views, critics and the press, and the players were fans – we decided that it was necessary to move forward! Together with tinyBuild, we set about the full development of the game for Steam. From the very beginning, there was a guideline for a measured tactical game with puzzle elements, where you can complete the game only with a certain sequence of [actions]. But in the course of development, sending a build for streamers every month, we saw that the audience together with the players do not want tactics in slow passage, but unexpected situations: an incoming UFO, the opportunity to kill a cop, a horse in the middle of the house… In general, the players wanted this kind of fun madness, which is what we took the benchmark for in the end. And it seems to have worked.
It took us more than six months. And exactly a year ago, on August 25, we launched! We are satisfied with the results, in general, Steam is just a great platform!
As I remember, the game quickly formed a dedicated community. And there was a viral success. Were you ready for this yourself?
As already mentioned, we did not plan to make it a full-fledged project. There was even a moment when they thought not to post the build. And we could not imagine such a launch of the game, and even more so such a result. Thanks to the players, streamers and viewers for convincing us to develop the full version! For today, Party Hard also feels great.
How was the transition of the first version to the one that was then released on Steam (what was added, what was abandoned)?
The transition itself was easy for us. We were already familiar with Unity by that time, and it was not difficult to repeat the extended version of the demo.
We borrowed only assets from the original flash drive, from which we were able to build further.
As a rule, they refused everything that did not give the necessary indicator in the context of significance \ time. Following this rule, we did not miss the opportunity to add small details if they did not require a lot of time. And we didn’t worry if we had to spend more of the planned time on an important aspect.
Was there a difference in the tools that were used in the development of the original and the full version? And what kind of tools (engine, task manager, and so on) do you usually use?
As I said, the contest version was made in a flash on the knee. Then they rewrote it on Unity.
The tasks were all [displayed] in Trello, or even directly in the Telegram. He has recently been more convenient for communication inside the office. Yes, and within the framework of a small team, you can very quickly negotiate live.
Now I will ask a question that, I am sure, is of interest to many who participate in jams. What is it worth preparing for (for what alterations and tests) for those who have successfully passed the jam and now want to make a full-fledged product on the basis of the received project?
By the way, we didn’t win the jam, but – what can’t be taken away – we received a lot of feedback, reviews and fans.
Such hackathons help to evaluate features and mechanics at lightning speed. To negotiate, to look for ways of implementation. For example, in order to constantly send builds, we had a jam week almost every month. It was necessary to quickly assemble the project, fix or disable what does not work, or does not work as we would like. So, first of all, jams develop the ability to make decisions quickly.
By the way, what was the most difficult thing for the team on the way from “we make a game in 72 hours” to “we are making a big release on Steam”?
We planned to make everything bigger, more beautiful and faster than in the jam version. Since the game is a kind of sandbox, we needed to organize everything carefully and think through everything so that even being in the very center of chaos, an experienced player could orient himself and turn the course of events in his favor.
If we take into account that the game often corrected its direction during development, starting from the feedback of streamers, then I think it was maintaining the integrity of the game that was the most difficult task.
The Jam version received 2 million views on YouTube in 72 hours. We can say that it was a very big success. After that, there was no fear – not to justify the hopes of the loyal audience who liked the original?
At first there was more fear because of the subject matter… Maniac, murder… But not living up to expectations is not as scary as not having an audience at all.
We’ve been working with our fans and viewers all the way. They saw their influence and our reaction to their wishes in the product.
Already when it was released on Steam, were there any fears that a provocative topic (the game, although in a joking tone, is a simulator of a psychopath) could somehow negatively affect sales or cause questions from the market? By the way, what is the age rating of the game?
There is no hard rating on Steam as such. For example, for GamesCom, after all the blood was removed, it was 16+.
As for the negative reaction of critics – this has happened. But thanks to the pixel and, as you correctly noticed, the playful tone, the game has ceased to be gloomy. The players did not associate what was happening on the screen with the real world. Here in this article, the difference between our game and Hatred is very clearly described.
The project is premium. It is usually considered that we release premium – and that’s it, we forget, this is not a fritupley service. Nevertheless, you have released patches and new levels for the game. How much did this affect sales, did it make sense to add them?
The game is currently being sold at the level of the second month after launch. Moreover, updates stimulate sales on Xbox One / PS4. The picture below shows the online schedule from the very start. It displays the work of the tinyBuild team very cool!
And we think that this is not the limit. We hope to reach the milestone of 1000 one-time players within the framework of this project. And only then – the second part.
And was there any additional work done with the community, that, they say, look, we have a new pack?
We have a small team, but we try to monitor our community properly, since they solve a lot of misunderstandings and consultations among themselves, we only intervene when we can’t do without us.
As far as possible, we enter into a dialogue with dissatisfied players and collect feedback on what exactly they did not like. This helps to understand what exactly we should tighten up and where to move the game further.
As for our plans: we share them mainly at live events like PAX/E3 with the press and streamers.
After the release of the project, you worked with Twitch. How exactly, can you tell me?
We have integrated twitch into the game. Not the video streaming itself – you can still use separate programs for this – but the chat connection, thanks to which viewers can influence the events taking place.
With the help of the chat, players voted for all sorts of events, could help or, conversely, interfere with the player. Now we are preparing a big update, in which there will be even more of these features (up to character management). In addition, each viewer will have their own account, the ability to collect points and spend them in any stream of the game.
Have you watched the game streams. What have you learned from them for yourself?
Yes, we analyzed many hours of streams, and some recordings were reviewed several times.
First of all, we were interested in bugs and blunders: incomprehensible places where players do not understand what is happening, or our characters do not behave as expected.
Some glitches decided to leave because it’s fun. For example, our chickens can peck a player if they see a murder (initially it was thought that they would just be passive observers).
The game had T-shirts on Amazon, as well as a soundtrack on YouTube. What were these activities aimed at and what did they lead to?
Such small nuances are always pleasant to fans of the game, whom we periodically like to pamper. It doesn’t take much time, and people are grateful. It’s just a joy for us.
In April, the game got a level editor. What made him implement it into the project? How did this affect the indicators?
The idea of an editor was born almost immediately after the launch. As soon as we saw that there was a critical mass of players who were waiting for him and ready to be creative, we immediately got to work. And, apparently, we did not miss: our online has grown, the community has cheered up, fooling around with new levels and sometimes posting really adult and suitable works. In the future, we plan to feature such levels by selecting them in an additional category of tops, a la Editors choice.
Do you think it was necessary to implement it immediately?
In general, such updates are a great reason to remind about the game. Plus, [the project] has the opportunity to get a feature, and we show the players that we will support our product after the launch. We believe that if there is an opportunity to launch later – without harming the game itself – then it is better to use it.
And the last question is about your new project – Party Hard Tycoon. I am sure we will talk about it separately in the future. But now it’s interesting to find out what this game is about, what inspired you to develop it (is it really a map editor for Party Hard)?
Yes. But not only.
The fact is that many players and viewers were expecting a typhoon according to our picture.
We also have fans of this genre in the studio.
Plus, we conducted analytics and saw that there is a huge demand for such games on Steam, but the supply is limited. We confirmed the right decision by showing it to the audience at GamesCon Cologne 2016, and received an excellent feedback!
Interesting! Thanks for the interview!