Arc Willow (Interview)

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

It was a Jedi Knight when I was 6 years old. I love the Star Wars universe and how this game makes me feel. It was absolute freedom in combat and exploring.

2. HOW DID YOU GET INTO GAME DEVELOPMENT?

In my highschool years I thought about making my own Minecraft server that would have a whole universe of lore, 2 rival factions and a questline for both of them. I was too optimistic.. I even started to make a cinematic trailer for that, and since then I was introduced to 3D modeling. At some point Unreal Engine 4 became free to use, and at this point I was just crushed under difficulties of making a Minecraft server, so I decided to move on to make my own game.

3. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NAME ARC WILLOW?

I love playing Dota since Warcraft 3 and I still love it today. In Dota 2 i particularly like 2 heroes - Dark Willow and Arc Warden, so i mashed together their names. Dark Warden sounds uber generic so I went with Arc Willow.

4. WHAT GAMES HAVE YOU CREATED BEFORE THE ONE YOU ARE WORKING ON NOW?

I have released a 3rd person Survival Horror called C.Y.S.M.A. and I'm not proud of it. There is no tutorial or story - only a big labyrinth with enemies and bosses. Is sorta Roguelike cause after death you will lose all your progression. Point of the game was to memorize the labyrinth and leave it. Catch is - he randomly rearranges itself and there are 3 random spawn points so everytime you will spawn in a different location. Game kinda flops and there is no review of it on steam, and I think it is well deserved.

5. TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NAME GWENBLADE?

Gwen means light and Blade is quite literally used^^~ so it's like a blessed sword to purify people's minds from fear and negativity,
In Universe it's the name of the company where the protagonist works. Her name is Jennifer and it is cognate with the Welsh form Gwenhwyfar or Gwenever.

6. WHAT ENGINE ARE YOU USING AND WHY?

Unreal Engine 5. UE4 and Unity became free to use around the same time, so I have tried both of them. I did like Unreal more for its design and blueprints. I moved to the 5th version around a half a year ago and I regret this decision due to the many bags in the newest version. Either way it's too late to turn it back.

7. WHERE DOES GWENBLADE TAKES PLACE?

It's an alternate universe that has a few differences from ours. For example you can die from depression. People who are overcome with negativity fall into a coma and die after 3 days. There is an invention to bring them back - MindEdge via which you can jump into people's minds. To use it you need to be qualified and also around the same age as your patient. GwenBlade companies are paid from the government so they can bring people back and treat their mental issues.

8. WHO IS THE PROTAGONIST IN THE GAME?

Jane Walker is a 21 years old student and wants to help people with MindEdge. Game starts with her first patient after 2.5 years of studying. She is a musician and plays piano so when she is in other people's minds she uses the power of music to defeat negativity! This is why there are Treble Clef Sword, Alto Clef Bow and even an electric guitar as weapons in the game!

9. ARE THERE ANY CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION IN THE GAME?

As Roguelike there are a plethora of ways to customize your character. You can choose different weapons for range and close combat that differentiate by movesets and stats, you can have one melee weapon and one range weapon at a time. There are Infusions for your moves - your attack, shot, jump, dash and even killing an enemy can cause a specific attack that can deal elemental damage (Spikes, Wind, Lightning, Fire and Doom). You can choose from 17 different active abilities in 4 slots. There are also costumes but right now they are just cosmetics.

10. WHAT TYPE OF WEAPONS CAN YOU USE IN THE GAME?

You can have 2 weapons at the same time. First is a melee weapon, for example, Sword, Scythe and Guitar and for range there is a Bow and Shotgun.

11. TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS YOU CAN LEVEL UP IN THE GAME?

All previously mentioned buffs can be obtained after fighting and via exploring the level. But there is also a Happiness and Misery system. You can spend happiness on temporary buffs(they will disappear after death in roguelite) or you can spend Misery on meta upgrades that improve your stats and allow you to use new moves.

12. DOES GWENBALDE HAVE SIDE MISSIONS? IF SO TELL US SOME OF THE THINGS YOU CAN DO IT WITHIN THE SIDE MISSIONS?

There is only a main story.