Crowdfunding is a way for independent video game developers to get fundings for their projects without having to sell their should to a publisher. Quiet often we report on new Kickstarter projects which we think have potential or that are at least worth mentioning. Eco Spirits is one of them.
Eco Spirits by DOT Studio is an adventure RPG social game that takes the best from classic RPG games.
The game begins with the player awakening in an unknown place without remembering anything. The player will have to explore each zone in the game while he tries to learn more about himself and the monsters he has found while traveling.
Once the player finds his way and started exploring the wild areas of the game, you have no choice than fighting against all the monsters that show up on the road. Apparently there will be over 250 monsters in the game.
To learn more about the game, we decided to set up an interview with Kristoffer Ancona of DOT Studio to tell us more about this game. But first, check out these concept designs!
[alert type=”blue”]Editor’s Note: All images on this page are concept art and not actual in-game screens.[/alert]
The Chat log
We spoke with DOT Studio producer and game designer Kristoffer Ancona about the Eco Spirits Kicstater project. Here is how our conversation went down. Please note that the following questions and answers are in [sic] format which means there may be typos and grammatical errors.
Cyberpunk Deux: Thank you for taking to talk to us, Kristoffer! Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Kristoffer Ancona: Hello Nelson, well i started on the game industry when i got a job on Gameloft to be part of the QA Team, a team that was responsible of the quality of Gameloft games for different mobile devices. Later i had the opportunity to work as a Game Producer while in Gameloft being the man in charge of the production process for mobile games and the first touch screen devices before the iphone. Later i decided to go indie to make on my own games and together with my brother Carlos Ancona we funded DOT Studio where we started making iOS and Web games and also custom apps for companies. While working on DOT Studio i also got the Game Producer job on Jojugames where I have the daily challenge of managing my team, reach milestones and thinking creative ideas for the games. I have been involve on high quality multi platform games like Jewels of the Amazon and Bingo Blingo published by SGN.
Cyberpunk Deux: You sound like a very busy person, specially when trying to meet milestones and deadlines. Being an indie developer must be quiet hard, right?
Kristoffer Ancona: You’re right. Actually being an indie game developer is harder than just being part of a team inside of another gaming company. Because you have to wear many different hats. From Game Design and Programming to Business Development and Marketing. But the time we have worked on other gaming companies we have got the experience to create good games and deliver them on time.
Cyberpunk Deux: I guess having that experience really helps you out after becoming independent. At least being indie gives you the freedom to do whatever you want with your games, right? You don’t have to worry about publishers looking over your shoulders.
Kristoffer Ancona: Absolutely. I think that being indie is like a dream for any game developer out there. As you said, that gives you the freedom to make the games you want to make, the games you would like to play and also you could be your own publisher.
Cyberpunk Deux: Respect. *ha ha* Okay, please tell us about DOT Studio. How many people are involved?
Kristoffer Ancona: When we started DOT Studio we were just my brother and i working at home. Now we have an office with a team of 11 people to make the programming, art, design, management, business and legal stuff.
Cyberpunk Deux: Eleven? Sounds like you’re on your way to become something big then! The legal department staff is, in my opinion, key on startups and anyone in the gaming industry. Back to the questions, how many games has your company released up to date and for what systems?
Kristoffer Ancona: We have released 5 games where 4 of them are for iOS, 1 of them is also for Web and Android and the other one is on Facebook. And we currently have in development 2 games for iOS and Android.
Cyberpunk Deux: Okay, so you have released six then? 🙂
Kristoffer Ancona: Sorry, i meant 3 for iOS only, 1 for iOS, Android and Web and 1 for Facebook Only.
Cyberpunk Deux: Ah, okay. Being a small indie company, how do you get funding most of the time?
Kristoffer Ancona: The first 3 games were funded from our pockets. Then we continued development from the revenue generated from those games and also from apps developed for local companies.
Cyberpunk Deux: Starting up and spending pocket money had to be tough. Has any publisher tried to reach to you?
Kristoffer Ancona: We had some talks with Chillingo for the publishing of an iOS game that ended in nothing, later when we tried to publish our Facebook game we crossed some words with Spil games and also 6waves but finally we ended up publishing by ourself. We tried to reach a publisher so we can maximize the distribution and increase the success rate but there’s always a risk because they always ask too much of revenue share and also if the revenue is not good they could leave your game dying there.
Cyberpunk Deux: Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe faith wants you to be indie? Anyway, you reached to us about a Kickstarter project. Can you tell us about it and how you came up with the idea?
Kristoffer Ancona: When we funded DOT Studio 3 years ago was with the idea to make a monster raising RPG game, but at that moment we know that a big game like that would need a big team. So we decided to leave that idea apart and started making smaller games to test the market. Now when we discovered Kickstarter which is a great projects funding platform and we have a solid team we thought that now was the time to work together with this game genre fans to shape the design aspects of the game and develop a game we always wanted to make.
This game is about creatures that have been cursed by an evil Wizard and you the player must find your way and explore Eco Spirits world. These creatures have gone wild by the curse attacking anyone in their way and you are the only one with the skills to recover the stability in the world battling your pet monsters. This game is designed to work multi platform and will have social multiplayer features to play with your friends. The innovative things about this game are the combat mechanics and the way you collect, trade and transform your creatures with in game cards.
Cyberpunk Deux: The images you sent us, which are posted going to accompany this article, reminds me a bit of Pokemon and Digimon. Were those two your inspiration? If not, what inspired you to come up with the game’s monster fighting idea?
Kristoffer Ancona: We have played all Pokemon games out there and we love them. And it’s true that inspired on it but also on Final Fantasy we came up with this game idea.
Cyberpunk Deux: Ah, Final Fantasy, a favorite among NES and SNES gamers. So the game will have FF elements, too?
Kristoffer Ancona: For sure, Final Fantasy game series have been our favorite since ever and we are taking inspiration from it to design the battles and the quests.
Cyberpunk Deux: That is good news, I’m sure a lot of gamers will relate to your game then! Has production already started or are you waiting to see how the Kickstarter fundraiser goes?
Kristoffer Ancona: We have started the production of a prototype and we continue working on the game art assets while we wait for the Kickstarter results. But the funding support is very important to be able to complete and launch this game.
Cyberpunk Deux: Will the game have voice-over dialogue or text bubbles?
Kristoffer Ancona: Initial planning only includes text bubbles but if the fundraising goes good we could consider adding voice-overs.
Cyberpunk Deux: Is this a single game or can it be played with another person? e.g. One on One battles, co-op, etc.
Kristoffer Ancona: We are planning to make a game where the player can play an offline campaign alone but also include online versus mode to test your PvP skills and pet monsters. There will be some co-op quests you can join to play with your friends. Including cloud services so you can take your progress anywhere.
Cyberpunk Deux: I think that’s where the moola is at; competitive gaming. If the Kickstarter goal is met, how long would it be until the initial version of the game is released?
Kristoffer Ancona: We have estimated a production schedule for 8 to 10 months of development to have a beta version released. So the backers and the fans could have a first taste of the game and continue maintaining the game as we get live data and feedback from players. Also continue adding more content in future updates.
Cyberpunk Deux: I see. That’s not bad considering it’s being built from scratch. One final question: What message would you like to tell prospective backers?
Kristoffer Ancona: We would like to tell backers that we are envisioning a very fun and different game to Pokemon so don’t hesitate to ask us any question regarding the project and we promise that they will get engaged.
Cyberpunk Deux: Thank you so much for your time and for reaching out to us. We hope you keep us updated! Cheers!
Kristoffer Ancona: Thank you so much for your time. Regards!
[button size=large style=less_round color=blue align=right url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1116521800/eco-spirits]Visit the Kickstarter page for Eco Spirits![/button]
