A Promising First Step, Escape from Naraka Interview with Irfan Sarwono
It’s no secret that currently the Indie game industry in Indonesia has entered a new phase that is more promising than in previous years. For 2021 alone, we have seen many of the latest Indie game titles from local developers that are very interesting. One of those games is Escape from Naraka, which is the first project from a local developer called Xelo Games.
From news reviews that we’ve summarized before, Escape from Naraka is an adventure game that brings fun and challenging 3D platformer gameplay. Apart from the intense gameplay, the appeal of this game also lies in its world setting which carries a traditional Balinese feel and gives a distinctive local touch to the game. Even though it doesn’t carry the horror genre, the world setting still has a unique gripping feel.
Out of curiosity, we recently had the opportunity to interview Irfan Sarwono who is the Founder and Game Director – Xelo Games. Instead of being curious, just look at the summary of the interview below.
GamerWK: As the first indie game from Xelo Games, what was the main inspiration in developing Escape from Naraka? like where did the spark of inspiration to make this game come from?
Irfan: When the team was first formed in April 2020 yesterday, we had absolutely no idea what game we wanted to make. Our benchmark is only limited funds, time and number of teams, we want to make a simple game that can be done by 3 people in less than one year. Then we chose a game called Dark Deception as inspiration, a very simple game basically Pac Man but can be executed well.
GamerWK: During the development process were there discussions about the idea of making it a pure horror game, third-person action, or other genre?
Irfan: We focus on the Platformer genre, and why choose first-person again because of the limited time and number of our team. With first-person we don’t need to make the main character model, just his hands. With these limitations, our challenge is how to keep the Escape from Naraka game interesting to play.
GamerWK: We saw how Escape from Naraka took strong inspiration from local Balinese mythology. So what are the processes that the development team must go through to create a world setting with that authentic form?
Irfan: I spent 1 month in Bali to study and take some photos as a reference that can be used in digital form or game form.
GamerWK: Escape from Naraka, at least from what it looks like so far, feels like a game that focuses purely on its platforming gameplay. For that, will the plot in this game also bring players into a story moment that is shown in the cutscene?
Irfan: Yes, we will use cutscenes to tell the story.
GamerWK: Are there various stages or other types of enemies that have not been shown on purpose?
Irfan: Yes, a lot of stages and enemies that have not been shown.
GamerWK: How did the development process for Escape from Naraka go after successfully recruiting the well-known publisher Headup?
Irfan: Initially we wanted to cooperate with local publishers, because our main goal was to advance the local game industry, but it turned out that the response was quite complicated and lengthy, because we had a lot of documents that we needed to fill out while our time was very limited, we wanted to focus on making games instead of filling out long documents. . Then we decided to look for another option, namely overseas publishers, and sure enough their response was faster and less complicated, we didn’t have any documents that we needed to fill out except the cooperation contract, so it fit our timeline. And Headup’s role was very helpful in developing the Escape from Naraka game, before I got a publisher I couldn’t focus on production, because in the middle of making the game I still had to take care of marketing, meetings, etc. With Headup as a publisher, I no longer need to worry about marketing matters, I can focus on adding content and beautifying the Escape from Naraka game. Not only that, we are supported by Headup with more adequate hardware to improve the quality of Xelo games.
GamerWK: What feedback did players give the most after launching the demo version on Steam?
Irfan: Add music please.
GamerWK: We already know that the game will be released on PC via Steam, so is there a possibility to bring it to other platforms too?
Irfan: We have already designed Escape from Naraka for the console platform, but our publisher recommends focusing on PC first. After that we can port to other platforms.
GamerWK: Maybe it’s too early to talk about, but does Xelo Games have a rough idea or plan for the next game project after Escape from Naraka?
Irfan: Escape from Naraka is actually finished, we just implemented some of the technology provided by Headup, so we can start production of the second game this month.
GamerWK: Is there a message for GamerWK readers as well as players looking forward to the game?
Irfan: We ask for support from all of our friends to share info about our game with friends or social media so that our community can also continue to grow. Our dream is that the game industry in Indonesia can continue to grow and be in line with games from developed countries such as Japan and America. Don’t forget to wishlist at Steam.
Escape From Naraka itself is planned to be released on PC in the third quarter of 2021. You can monitor updated information about this game and other projects from Xelo Games on the official website. HERE.
Be sure to stay up to date with other game news on Gamerwk.
Escape from Naraka
Release Date: 2021-07-29
PC
Escape from Naraka is an adventure game that brings fun and challenging 3D platformer gameplay. In this game you are on a mission to save a loved one from the grip of the demon Rangda the Leyak Queen. Your job? It is to survive the many life-threatening dangers and escape from Naraka.
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