Raphaël Colantonio, Creative Director and President of WolfEye Studios and Co-Founder of Arkane Studios, discusses his career journey from Electronic Arts to founding Arkane and starting anew with WolfEye Studios. They also talk about their approach to accessibility and challenge in game development, the wins and near misses of their first game as a new studio, and the unique relationship between Devolver Digital and independent developers.
The decision to leave Arkane Studios and start anew with WolfEye Studios was motivated by a desire for a new adventure, renewed creative energy, and more artistic control.
The development of Weird West involved navigating challenges such as crafting a compelling story with time constraints and implementing procedural elements while maintaining a satisfying player experience.
The immersive sim aspect of Weird West was a big gamble that paid off with positive reception from fans, and constant testing and player feedback are deemed crucial for refining the game and implementing future updates.
Deep dives
The creation and vision of Weird West
Weird West is a game set in a fantasy version of the West, with five different characters and a rich and immersive system. The game initially planned to be 2D but evolved into a top-down 3D perspective. The creative decision was influenced by feedback from publishers and artists, and the team realized the potential of the game during E3 and the positive reception from fans.
Leaving Arcane Studios
After 18 years at Arcane Studios, the speaker felt a desire for a new adventure and a need for renewed creative energy. The decision to leave was influenced by a combination of factors, including fatigue, frustration with certain management decisions, and a desire for more artistic control.
Starting WolfEye Studios
After leaving Arcane Studios, the speaker initially wanted to take a break and focus on personal projects. However, they eventually decided to start consulting and ended up consulting with former colleagues. This led to the desire to create their own independent studio, WolfEye Studios, which would focus on smaller, more creatively driven games.
Overview of Weird West
Weird West is a dark, top-down, immersive sim game set in an imaginary fantasy version of the West. The game offers a rich, simulation-focused experience with multiple playable characters and various playstyle options. It combines elements of dark mystery, role-playing, and exploration to create a unique and captivating experience for players.
Crafting the Story in Weird West
In this podcast episode, the speaker discusses how they crafted the story for the game Weird West. They explain that due to time constraints, they decided to have five face characters and built a story around the idea of why these characters were connected. Despite the challenges, the story turned out to be cool and satisfying. The speaker also mentions that similar situations have happened in other games, where a story had to change direction to fit the constraints. They highlight the importance of using constraints to create something unique and interesting.
Successes and Challenges in Game Development
The podcast delves into the successes and challenges faced during the development of Weird West. The speaker mentions that the immersive sim aspect of the game was a big gamble, but it paid off as fans of the genre appreciated it. They also mention the difficulty of implementing procedural elements, as they had always relied on hand-crafting in the past. Despite not completely cracking the procedural aspect, they were able to incorporate dynamic changes in the story based on player actions. The speaker also discusses the challenges faced with the combat and aiming system and how they are constantly working on improving it. Finally, they talk about the importance of testing and player feedback in refining the game and the potential for future updates and improvements.
Trent Kusters chats with Raphaël Colantonio, the President and Creative Director of WolfEye Studios, who recently developed Weird West. Previously, Raphaël was also one of the Co-Founders of Arkane Studios. Together they discuss how Raphaël got his start working at Electronic Arts; founding Arkane Studios and working on their early projects like Arx Fatalis; deciding to leave Arkane after 18 years and beginning anew with WolfEye Studios; how they approach accessibility and challenge in an immersive sim; and the wins and near misses they identified after their first game as a new studio. Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel
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