Beyond A Steel Sky - Dev Diary #3

October 2019 Dev Diary - Meet the Team!

Posted 06 / 11 / 19

Hello everyone, and welcome to another Developer diary for Beyond a Steel Sky !

This month we primarily focused on preparing and optimising the first hands on demo at EGX. We had such a blast at EGX, and we were delighted by just how many of you came along to play (a very early) demo of Beyond a Steel Sky!

For now then, we thought it a perfect opportunity to introduce you all to some of the team working on our most ambitious adventure to date.

Without further ado, here are some of our lovely scripting team:

Hi! Nina here. I’m Lead Scripter here at Revolution, which means I spend most of my days immersed in Unreal Blueprints. I’m also a gamer and a mum, although I don’t have as much time to feed my games addiction these days. So if anyone has a Time-Turner for sale, please DM @steamgirlgame on Twitter! XD

Could you tell us a bit about what you do at Revolution, and what that role entails?

If game creation consists of chucking art assets, animation, design, writing, and engine code into a funnel, then the Script Team is that funnel. We take what we’re given, and we turn it into the game.

As Lead Scripter, I’m here to help the Script Team achieve the highest possible quality of implementation. Besides scripting my own scenes, I keep us somewhat organised and give feedback. The team is full of creative and talented individuals. There is nothing more amazing than to see them bringing the game to life!

How did you get involved with Revolution?

I started off as Community Manager 7 years ago, when we Kickstarted Broken Sword 5. Later I worked as a scripter on the Pearl and Duane scene in the chapel. I loved creating Pearl’s perfect spiritual moment with only a telescopic mop, a mug, and a wing mirror. ;)

How has it been working on Beyond a Steel Sky compared to when you worked on Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent’s Curse ?

Everything’s different. Different office, different team, different engine, different game, different vibe. But what always remains the same is that it’s Revolution.

Our team is bigger now. We’re working with Unreal in 3D, whereas Broken Sword 5 was 2D with a custom engine. We have a whole extra dimension to think about! And on Broken Sword 5 we often had pastries in the kitchen. On Beyond we have donuts. Major, major change.

But yeah, I’m working on a sequel to a much-loved game with a team of amazing people. You can imagine how privileged and honoured I feel to be here!

If you could tell the community anything about Beyond a Steel Sky, what would you tell them?

I would answer the question that everyone is asking. “Will Joey be back?” But alas - my lips are sealed. ;)

Hello, I’m Matthew, one of the Scripters on Beyond a Steel Sky. I’m fortunate enough to be situated at the heart of Revolution inside the York based office. I’ve been with the company for two years, first working as a Virtual Reality researcher and designer for an older project. Whilst my role spreads across many aspects of the project, I have a particular interest and specialisation in interactive-narrative.

Could you tell us a bit about what you do at Revolution, and what that role entails?

As a Scripter, I get to put my hand to a variety of elements on Beyond a Steel Sky. Primarily, my role is contributing to the scripting and implementation of the whole game in-engine, ensuring specific sections meet the design requirements; a large part of this, especially in the earlier stages, involves designing and prototyping gameplay sections.

A large portion of my time is spent on narrative design, which involves contributing to various story discussions, ensuring the game design supports Revolution’s world famous interactive storytelling. Working closely with other Scripters and writers, I also manage and coordinate the writing of dialogue. This involves designing and creating interesting characters, whilst ensuring the dialogue is written to schedule, as well as supporting the gameplay and narrative.

When a get a free moment, I often address any technical issues with the companies hardware/software, gaining sadistic pleasure from opening up one of our machines to play with it’s guts.

How did you get involved with Revolution?

I consider myself an expert at pestering my superiors to a point of compliance. I was first introduced to Charles Cecil through a talk at university, at which I expertly feigned interest and enjoyment. We then met again numerous times across my studies, including at the UK Games Conference, ‘Develop’, in 2015. After working and travelling in the States for three months, I once more reached out to Charles looking for work, to which he promptly replied. After a few lavish and high-status meetings in a Mecca Bingo car park, I was overjoyed to be welcomed onto the team in mid-2017, working on a VR design concept.

How has it been working on Beyond a Steel Sky ?

As my first large-scale industry project, working on Beyond a Steel Sky has been and remains an incredible experience. Besides working with an incredible team of experienced and creative minds, I’m able to focus on so many interesting elements of video game development. I feel endlessly fortunate to be working on a game that covers so many aspects of video game storytelling, as well as innovating and exploring creative possibilities in the adventure genre.

You’ve said you’re involved in many aspects of development. How has that been? And are there any in particular that you’ve enjoyed the most?

Hard work, but I wouldn't want it any other way! I have always relished a challenge, and feel highly honoured to have been given responsibility with so many elements of Beyond a Steel Sky. My passion for games as an art form means I’d struggle to work solely on one aspect of the game, and feel much more comfortable being involved across the board.

It’s hard to say what element I favour most - I find myself missing coding if I’ve been more dedicated to design, or vice versa. I’d have to pick my involvement in the dialogue and narrative as the highlight so far.

If you could tell the community anything about Beyond a Steel Sky, what would you tell them?

It sounds cheesy to say, but I truly believe this game was made with the community at the heart of it - every design decision is held up against the standard we know our fans deserve, and the game has only been made greater for it.

I’d recommend they brace themselves for tears, laughter and an awful lot of grievously devious puns.

Hi there, I’m Loz, and I’m one of the developers at Revolution. My degree’s in Archaeology, and I’ve been both a professional viking, insurance salesman, and a leatherworker in my time, so, obviously, my chosen career is in video game development.

I have a passion for history and the art of storytelling, and feel that videogames is the perfect medium to tell truly fantastic tales. I’m an avid participant in game-jams and the proud father of two wonderful children.

Could you tell us a bit about what you do at Revolution, and what that role entails?

I’m a developer on the Script Team, so it’s my job to take the high level design and turn it into a playable game - the team here at Revolution isn’t sprawling, so on the implementation side we tend to do a bit of everything - from blocking out the levels to fine-tuning behaviours of our characters, to writing additional dialogue. Of course, testing and hunting down bugs is a big chunk of our role too.

How did you get involved with Revolution?

I joined Rev’ during the development of Broken Sword 5. I’d originally applied as a community liaison to help with the kickstarter fulfilment, but was given the opportunity to playtest the game after my interview. It turned out my report after that playtest was rather useful and so I ended up being brought in for QA, and ended up being in-house tester for the second half of the game (^_^);

Afterwards, I did end up working on the Kickstarter rewards, and did quite a bit of the archival work for the 25th anniversary edition.

How has it been working on Beyond a Steel Sky ? Any highlights so far?

Absolutely fantastic! Beneath a Steel Sky was one of my favourite adventure games growing up and it’s been a thrill to not only see what happens next, but to be a part it telling the story. I’m really excited to see what people think of the VT system too - it’s been something Revolution has been working on since Lure of the Temptress, but I think our new implementation is the best yet.

How does working on Beyond a Steel Sky compare to Broken Sword 5 ?

At their heart, both are story-driven adventures, so the core is the same - solid story, dialogue and puzzles. The main difference though, is the move to true 3-d. We have a lot more room to iterate, do trial runs and add extra features, behaviours and fun reactions.

If you could tell the community anything about Beyond a Steel Sky, what would you tell them?

We are standing on the shoulders of a giant here - the original BASS was, well, BASS. It’s a classic, and I know some people are wary of the move to 3-d. I’d say to them, come to BASSII like you did the original BASS, embrace it’s new way of doing things, fall into the story and I’m sure you’ll come to love it. Everyone working on the project has a deep love for the original BASS, and I know it’s going to be great.

Hi! I’m Naoimh and I’m a student on my year in industry at Revolution. And of course most importantly I’m a Scripter on Beyond a Steel Sky!

Could you tell us a bit about what you do at Revolution, and what that role entails?

Here at Revolution I’m a part of our Scripting team, which means I’m mainly focused on implementation. My work begins when our lovely lead designer hands me a design document filled with content for me to make into reality. I get the pleasure of setting up all the colourful characters you’ll meet with their various behaviours and making sure the player can interact with the world. When that's done, I have to do lots of testing to make sure it runs smoothly and feels right!

As a student, taking a year out in Industry, how has your experience at Revolution been so far?

Fantastic! I had very different expectations when I started all those months ago and I can honestly say they’ve all been surpassed. I’ve learned so much about design, scripting and the games industry - and how much I love them! But the best part has to be the team. Working with all the passionate people here has been as much fun as it has been hard work and there has been a lot of hard work.

I’ve honestly loved every second.

Especially the bits where we got donuts.

How has it been working on Beyond a Steel Sky ?

Beyond a Steel Sky is the first game I’ve worked on and I have fallen horribly in love with it. It has such a fascinating world and premise, packed full of colourful characters and 25 years worth of passion. Knowing that every day I help contribute to make this game a reality is incredibly rewarding. And, okay, maybe I sometimes go to sleep dreaming about how to fix that one bug I left behind at the end of the day. That’s probably completely normal.

How has it been managing your own section of the game? Any particular challenges you’ve faced?

It’s quite daunting, knowing you’re responsible for making sure a part of the game is as good as it can be. But then I get to see all the amazing concept work for something I’m working on and the actual 3D models entering the game (has anyone mentioned how gosh darn pretty this game is yet?). I get so excited finally seeing things come to life right in front of me. But there are always challenges. Managing a section means a lot of iterating on old designs so we can refine them down into what's the most fun possible. I will mourn for all the very good code I’ve had to scrap, but it’s worth it to make sure the game is at its very best.

If you could tell the community anything about Beyond a Steel Sky, what would you tell them?

I would of course tell them about [redacted] and [redacted] and- oh wait, I probably can’t mention those. I suppose that I would then tell the community that this is a project filled with passion! Everyone here is working so hard and cares so much about this game we’re making. Beyond a Steel Sky is a game made with love and filled with all the things love brings; fun characters, puzzles, a beautifully realised world, a giant walled city in the post apocalyptic wasteland. You know, those things. I think they’re going to love it.

Hi there! I'm Luke. I’m currently a scripter for Revolution and have been for nearly a year now. I’m a huge Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Wuxia film nerd, obsessed with history and adore mainly Adventure, RPG and RTS games. I have an incredibly deep board game collection and relish any opportunity to break them out!

Could you tell us a bit about what you do at Revolution, and what that role entails?

In my head, describing what I do as a scripter is a little like brewing a potion. You add a dash of level design, sprinkle in some puzzle planning, a smidge of game logic creation and a flourish of dialogue. A quick overview of my daily work is that I have several more general tasks on the list for the week (something like “Change this section to incorporate this puzzle” and “Update new dialogue” might appear) and I am responsible for figuring out how best to achieve that goal.

How did you get involved with Revolution?

My path to Revolution was a case of the stars aligning at the right time, in many ways. I had just finished my third and final year of a Games Design degree, where for the first two years I had crossed paths with Sucha (our Art Director) and was lucky enough to have a few conversations with him. As it turned out, Revolution was interested in hiring Level Designers and through Sucha and my tutor, Ady, I learned about the job.

An application, interview, work test and several wracked nerves later (and a long story about how I got in the right mind frame that would take much more space than I have) I was successful and welcomed to the team. I’ve never felt prouder.

You mentioned this was your first job in the Games Industry, how has working at Revolution compared to what you imagined?

There are parts I was completely prepared for and parts that surprised me. I can hand on heart say I’ve never once woken up since starting it and groaning that it’s a work day - something I was all too familiar with when working retail jobs! But the respect and trust that Revolution has given me, despite being a relative newbie, is inspiring.

How has it been working on Beyond a Steel Sky ?

It’s been absolutely incredible. Beneath a Steel Sky is never very far from, if not on, most fondly remembered adventure game lists and working on a sequel 25 years later is incredibly exciting. It’s a little nerve wracking at times, thinking about how much it has to live up to, but if anything that gives you the extra drive to really make it shine.

There’s something absolutely fascinating about watching a game crystalise as you work on it, too. A year ago when I started, there were blocks and shapes to suggest things, where now there are cityscapes and humanoids. I’d have to say so far my favourite part is when the <<LINC CONNECTION TERMINATED - CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL DETECTED>>

If you could tell the community anything about Beyond a Steel Sky, what would you tell them?

I’d tell them that we’ve really done our best to make them proud and we’re sure it’ll show!

Don't forget to check back in next month for some more behind the scenes development for Beyond a Steel Sky!