Q&A With Jordan Scott

Recently beginning its Kickstarter campaign, Arbiter is a third-person action-adventure game with a heavy emphasis on varied combat and character transformation. Inspired by the likes of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, and Dark Souls, the main character has the ability to transform into either a light spirit (ether) or a dark spirit (umbra) in order to defeat enemies and absorb them in order to gain new abilities over time.

I was interested in knowing more about this game, so I reached out to the game’s creator Jordan Scott for a question and answer session amidst the game’s Kickstarter campaign. Here were Jordan’s Answers:

 

Arbiter 1

What were the influences behind your game?

I’d say the biggest inspirations are Ikaruga, Kingdom Hearts, and Dark Souls. Mega-Man too since the game will allow you to complete the levels in whichever order you wish. The biggest takeaway from those games though is the transformation mechanic and the challenging, fast-paced combat.

 

What has the developmental process been like?

 I’ve been working solo on the game for about five months now, and I’ve tried to keep the scope of the project small so that I can feasibly finish it on my own. As a result, development’s been going pretty well.

 

How close are we to seeing the finished product?

I’m hoping to release the game in late 2018, based on how the Kickstarter does. It’ll be a shorter game at around five hours or so, so I think I’ll be able to finish on time. But as game development usually tends to go, the final release date is unpredictable.

Arbiter 2

What has been the most exciting aspect of development?

The most exciting aspect has been designing enemies. The game is inherently fast-paced so I’ve been trying to create enemies that set the pace of the fight rather than the player. This kinda results in players having to learn to “keep up” with their enemies, which is a play-style I really enjoy.

 

What has been the most challenging aspect of development?

The development’s actually been going pretty well. I certainly feel like I could go faster, but I’ve kept the project’s scope small enough that I’ve been able to hit my deadlines pretty consistently. The harder part has been preparing for things like the Kickstarter and RTX booth since I’ve never done them before. Since the game’s an original IP too, its audience is being built from the ground up which is very intimidating.

 

Were there any anime series’ in particular that inspired the creation of Arbiter?

Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Hunter x Hunter have probably been the most influential.

 

If the game is open-world, how expansive do you plan on making it?

The game will be split into multiple levels that players can choose to complete in whichever order they wish.

Arbiter 3

In relation to the contrast of light and darkness that the main character seems to embody, will there also be morality mechanics available within the game?

The morality conflicts will more so have to do with the story rather than mechanics. But that being said, there will be multiple endings tied to how players choose to pursue the enemies they’re hunting. I’d say the overall point of the game is more than the world isn’t as black and white as it appears.

 

How well has the game been received so far?

People seem to like how polished it is and how well it plays. There have been some complaints on the difficulty since I kind of amped it up so people know that “this is supposed to be a challenging game”, but overall I think it’s been pretty well received. 

 

What platforms are you looking to bring the game to?

I’m looking to release the full game on Steam (PC) and Mac/Linux. I’d like to port the game to consoles as well, but that will be entirely dependent on how the crowdfunding goes.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring developers that may be reading this?

I’d say learn as much as you can on your own so you can better understand development as a whole. It will also help you to kinda manage expectations for what you can expect from your teammates.

 

Where about on the Internet can people find you?

I’m on Twitter @jordy_j_s and you can find more information about the game at https://arbitergame.ca/!

 

Do you have anything else to add?

I’ve been funding Arbiter’s development through my personal savings, so Kickstarter’s success would help a lot with padding out development costs. I’d also like to hire additional artists to make the game as good as it can be. If you’re interested in Arbiter, please consider backing it to help make the full game a reality!

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jordan for taking part in our question and answer session, and to wish him the best of luck with the game Of anyone is interested in backing Arbiter, here is a link to their Kickstarter page:

 

A free demo of the game can also be downloaded from the Arbiter website under the Press Kit section:

Press Kit

Game on,

Scouse Gamer 88

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