What's Next For Eufloria's Kremers And May?

Ambient strategy game Eufloria, formerly Dyson, has been quite the journey for creators Rudolf Kremers and Alex May. The very first build of the game was posted on sister site IndieGames.com back in June 2008, and since then has sprouted into something quite beautiful. Following its debut, Eufloria became a finalist for the 2009 Independent Games Festival, and went on to its first commercial release. Most recently, the duo released a version for PlayStation Network, and are now looking to finish up development on the iPhone, iPad and Mac versions. Gamasutra caught up with Kremers and May to find out how it feels to reach the end of development on the title, and what we can expect from their partnership in the future. You've been working on Eufloria, formerly Dyson, for over three years now, first as a PC release and then most recently for PSN. Have you gotten to the point now where you really want to move on, or do you still have the same love for it that you always had? Kremers: To be vague, yes and no. We both have new and exciting projects we want to get on with, but at the same time we have a number of ports in the works that are quite exciting in their own right, and each of them sees more improvements to the game. Some of it is based on player feedback, and some of it is to get the game as close as possible to the original vision we had for the game. The iPad port for example (which is in beta now) may well get a proper "ambient mode" which is a more freeform way of playing the game, which is something we always wanted. The PSN port had much improved tutorial and balancing and game speed. The PC port is getting better all the time and has awesome modding potential.. so it is an ongoing thing to a degree. We are however going to draw a line under core development done by us soon, but we may well license the game to others, so I reckon Eufloria will keep expanding, a bit like the seedlings in the game really. May: I still love the game and can spend plenty of time with it. I never loathe having to play it due to working on it. But after all this time I do tire of working on it. It is the only project I allow myself to work on, so I have been pretty much doing just Eufloria for a while now. It's not as long as some people work on projects, and of course I was only full-time on the game for the last two years, but I do feel like I need a change, even if it's to a related game idea. Why did you decide to make a console version? Kremers: Because it is a whole new audience that we can reach. We want to give as many people as possible the chance to try the game for themselves and many console players would never have tried the PC build. There was a good commercial opportunity with Sony's Pub Fund so that turned out to be the best option for us. I am really proud of the console version actually. It is very rare to be given a chance to make a console game with limited risk, and Sony really supported us in this process. I am happy we went through it, although it wasn't easy. We got some great freelance help in the end, but doing the port with so few people was a bit scary and a serious achievement in my honest opinion. People often don’t realize that the core team is Alex and myself, with music from Brian [Grainger]. May: We were actually accused of selling out the other day. Someone said we had deliberately abandoned the PC version of the game so we could make money from the console version. Of course, we wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been worth our time, but also it's not everyone who can stand up and say "I self-published a game on the PlayStation Network." The good news is the console version will make its way back to PC soon. What were the main differences between the PC launch and the PSN launch? Would you recommend other indie developers look into console development? Kremers: PSN is a completely different kettle of fish. The cost and the development process, the submission process and the contractual stuff... all much harder. On the other hand you are developing on a fixed platform, while PC platform permutations are nearly endless. It is swings and roundabouts really. A big difference is that the PSN release is much more final, as it is not trivial or fast to patch any updates. So in that way the pressure was on. (laughs) May: For PC, I would say we devoted a portion of our time each to non-development stuff, communication with companies, community, marketing etc. It was possible to do this and maintain development on the game. For console releases I would recommend you have a full-time person on these production roles. If you can't afford that, think twice about it. It really is not trivial. Is this the end for Eufloria now, or is there more to come? Kremers: Oh there is definitely more to come! May: I feel certain there will be updates and expansions. People have asked for a Eufloria 2. Maybe that will happen one day. I think it is more likely that you will see other games set in the same universe. What happens with your partnership now? Are the two of you going to work on solo projects now, or will you continue to work together on a new project? Kremers: Both. Alex and I are very complementary in our skills and there is a lot of mutual respect. In some ways it is the easiest and best partnership I can imagine. We may have some other projects to get out of our system that we are not doing together, but there will definitely be a continuation of our partnership in the future. Right Alex? Alex?! (laughs) May: *hfff* *hfff* *hfff* are we safe? *hfff* can he still hear us? OK here's the money and the piece. Make it painless.