Inside Forestrike: director Thomas Olsson on reinventing the bagel
Forestrike is causing quite a stir in the industry. With a unique twist on the roguelike formula, players enjoy the combination of combat and puzzle solving. I was lucky enough to talk to director Thomas Olsson about the project, and here's what he had to say.
Forestrike combines thoughtful tactical combat with roguelike progression. Were there any specific games that inspired your approach to mechanics or overall pacing?
The main, original inspiration for combat in Forestrike is definitely Into the Breach. Shogun Showdown is also a game we've often looked up to, especially when it comes to the one-dimensional aspect of combat. Other references include Hades, Slay the Spire…
The Foresight mechanic is an outstanding and unique gimmick. How did it evolve during development?
At first, Forsyth was limited in resources. But a friend advised us to make it infinite, and this improved the situation significantly. Other improvements included more dramatic and thoughtful changes to actual combat.
What was the biggest surprise or unexpected challenge during development?
Understanding the stakes of the combat system, the balance between mystery and action was difficult. Making combat as consistent as possible was also an ongoing design and technical challenge. Luckily, talented people joined the team midway through development and were able to help prioritize our design. It was also difficult to come up with a non-invasive narrative that still told the story we wanted to tell.
Are there any mechanics or ideas that didn't make it into the game?
Tons! For example, grabbing and throwing enemies, a “curse” system that adds complexity, or a whole set of people you need to protect in addition to the smuggler.
Being published by Devolver Digital, how has this partnership supported the project?
It literally made it possible! And Devolver's job isn't just to spread the word, they also help improve the game every step of the way. They helped us find beta testers, gave us feedback, organized QA, localization…
The combat animations have a cinematic rhythm. What films shaped the look, flow, or narrative of the game?
A mixture of very different influences. Various action films from the 90s, classic kung fu or wuxia films (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Come Drink with Me, Jackie Chan films…), and sometimes Japanese cinema (Yojimbo).
Having spent so much time bringing Forestrike to life, what do you see as the next step for you and the studio?
We would like to continue working on Forestrike further, improving and expanding it!
If you could pick one thing that you really hope players talk about after finishing the game, what would it be?
We hope they'll share the crazy fights or builds they come up with using the Share Battles feature. We're also interested in hearing how people interpret the story because it's quite open-ended.
Many thanks to Thomas Olsson for taking the time to answer our questions. If you'd like to read our full Forestrike review, Click here.
Thanks for keeping it locked on COGconnected.
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