The Adventures of Elena Temple (Interview)

 1. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GAME THAT YOU'VE PLAYED THAT MADE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH GAMING?

One of my earliest gaming memories is Pitfall, played on a ZX Spectrum clone called Sintez. There have been many games I've played as a child that all contributed to my love for gaming, including Supaplex, the Dizzy series, Heroes of Might & Magic, Grand Theft Auto, Myst, too many to list really. 

2. HOW DID YOU GET INTO GAME DEVELOPMENT?

 

I started making games as a hobby in highschool and I was sure this was the career I wanted to pursue. I studied Computer Science in college and I got a job making J2ME phone games when I was still a student, in my third year. From there things kept evolving, I made iPhone games quite early, then mobile games using the Unity engine. Had a lot of cool experiences and awesome projects, working on huge IPs from the likes of Marvel and Disney. Then about five years ago I started my own company, working solo at first on indie games for Steam and consoles

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3. ARE YOU A SOLO DEV OR HAVE A TEAM IF SO HOW DID THE TEAM COME TOGETHER?

 

I make games both solo and by partnering with other indie devs. For the moment it makes more sense for me to collaborate on specific projects rather than to have an in-house team. Solo games include The Adventures of Elena Temple and Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale. Recently we launched Last Days of Lazarus for Steam and we're working on the PS5 and XSX version - the game is a big collaboration with Darkania Works, another indie dev from Romania. 

4. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION IN THE NAME THE ADVENTURES OF ELENA TEMPLE?

 

The Adventures of Elena Temple was envisioned as a classic platformer, as old school as it gets. So it needed a name that sounded like something from the 80-90s. It had to be something along the lines "The Adventures of Character". For the lead's name, I picked Elena because it's my wife's name and I love how it sounds and how universal it is. I had to have something like "Lara Croft" and "Temple" combined nicely with Elena. And "Temple" was cool because it works both as a surname and as kind of a synonym to dungeon - as if our Elena was predestined to loot the dungeons in the game.

5.WHERE DOES THE ADVENTURES OF ELENA TEMPLE TAKE PLACE?

 

Initially the game had only one dungeon, now named Chalice of the Gods. Then I added the other two, The Golden Spider and The Orb of Life. They are all named after the key item inside. They are lost dungeons, without a specific geographic location, generic enough to be found almost anywhere in the world. 

6. WHO IS THE PROTAGINST IN THE GAME?

 

Elena Temple, a famous adventurer and archeologist, inspired by the likes of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, always in search of treasure and ancient hidden secrets. 

7.  LET'S TALK DUNGEONS WALK US TO SOME OF THE TYPES OF DUNGEONS IN THE GAME?

 

There are three dungeons in the game. You can explore them freely, there is no predefined path, you can tackle rooms as you see fit. Each dungeon is made out of interconnected rooms, each filled with puzzles, enemies, coins and other loot. You need to figure out how to collect and trigger everything. Each dungeon has an overarching goal - be it to find all gems hidden in treasure chests, to activate all pedestals with magic orbs or to restore the Orb of Life by collecting its four pieces and placing them on the final altar.

8. SO THERE IS SOME NEW TYPES OF UNLOCKABLE MODIFIERS IN THE GAME TELL US
ABOUT SOME OF THEM THAT ARE IMPLMENTED IN TO THE GAME?

The game modifiers were added in the Definitive Edition as a way to spice up the gameplay and to add variety to those players who want to spend more time with the game. Some modifiers help with navigating and progressing more easily, like Double Jumps and Infinite Ammo. Some can change the whole experience significantly, like the Campfires and Limited Lives. For example, if you want a souls-like approach, with Campfires on, once you die you are restored to the last visited Campfire instead of in the same room - this ramps up the challenge significantly, for those who want it. And if you want to go full hardcore, you can activate only Limited Lives and if you run out of hearts, you restart the entire dungeon - so there is an increased focus on not getting hit and finding heart refills and collectibles that can increase your maximum hearts count. There is also a fifth secret game modifier that I'll leave to the more curious players to find. 

9. TELL IS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES IN EACH OF THE LEVELS THAT ARE IN THE GAME?

 

There are various enemy creatures in the game, like snakes, bats, scorpions, which you can dispose of using your revolver, but it can only hold two bullets. So managing your ammo is key to your progress and in finding the solutions to a lot of the puzzles in the game. There are lots of bullet pick-ups, but enemies respawn when you exit the room, so you'll need to take that into account. Some enemies cannot be shot, like the spiders in the second dungeon, which you have to lure away, or the ghosts in the third dungeon, which chase you and you have to avoid them. Other than creatures, there are a lot of obstacles like static or moving spikes, sockets that shoot arrows, crumbling or disappearing platforms and other dangerous contraptions. 

10.DO WE SEE ANY TYPES OF BOSS YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH IF SO WHAT ARE THE
SOME OF THE WAYS YOU CAN FIGHT THESE BOSSES?

 

There aren't any bosses per se, but the final rooms for each dungeon are like boss rooms - they are much more challenging than the rest and unique in their design. You don't have to kill a boss, instead you solve a difficult puzzle and put your learnt skills and reaction time to the test. 

11. WILL THERE BE ANY DLC COMING SOON TO THE ADVENTURES OF ELENA TEMPLE?

 

With the release of the Definitive Edition, the game is in its final and complete state. There is no plan for any additional DLC.

12. WHY SHOULD PEOPLE WANT TO BUY THIS GAME DAY ONE?

 

If you grew up with this type of game, I think you'll love The Adventures of Elena Temple - or at least that's what a lot of my players have kindly told me. If you want a challenging old school platformer made with a lot of love for eighties and nineties gaming, which combines simple and intuitive game mechanics in surprising and testing ways, then this is the game for you.

13. WHEN WILL THIS GAME RELEASE AND WHAT PLATFORMS WILL IT BE ON?

 

The game was recently released for PS5 and PS4, on September 2nd. It is also available for Nintendo Switch, Xbox and Steam. 

14. WHERE CAN THEY FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

 

Best to give me a follow on twitter @GrimTalin. I tend to post most of my updates there, my DMs are also open and I reply promptly. Happy to have a chat about my games or gaming in general at any time! You can find more details about my games and other contact methods at grimtalin.com