As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that Gordian Quest is a game that truly understands the intricacies of delivering an immersive and seamless gaming experience across various platforms.
Recently, we shared the update that Mixed Realms’ Gordian Quest will be available on mobile devices later this year. This addition joins the growing genre of deckbuilding roguelike games. However, what sets it apart, and what does it take to successfully adapt a game for mobile platforms? These were some of the questions I had when I interviewed Justin Ost and Aldric Chang!
Could you introduce yourself and your role on Gordian Quest for our readers, please?
JO: I’m Justin Ost, Founder of Aether Sky. We are a publishing and distribution specialist, working with other publishers and developers to help expand the growth of awesome games worldwide. I’m a huge fan of roguelites, deckbuilders, turn-based titles, and the like – so I am thrilled to support the launch of Gordian Quest on mobile platforms as our first exclusive launch.
AP: Hi there! I’m Aldric Chang, the head honcho at Mixed Realms. We’re a small but mighty team hailing from sunny Singapore. Our claim to fame? Our pulse-pounding cyber ninja simulator Sairento VR and our deckbuilder RPG Gordian Quest.
For those unfamiliar, what’s the elevator pitch for Gordian Quest?
JO: An epic roguelite deckbuilding RPG inspired by old-school classics like Ultima and D&D – now free to play on mobile for the first time.
Was any other game, movie, TV series, or book a source of inspiration for the development of Gordian Quest? If that’s the case, could you explain how those influences are reflected in the game’s aesthetics, narrative, or gameplay mechanics?
“Gordian Quest was heavily inspired by games like Dungeons & Dragons, Path of Exile, and Slay the Spire. Our goal was to create a game that blends the party-based exploration found in D&D, the extensive skill trees seen in Path of Exile, and the strategic deck interactions from Slay the Spire.
Deckbuilding RPGs are fairly commonplace, particularly on mobile. What makes Gordian Quest stand out from the crowd?
JO: Quality, scale, and style. This is a premium PC game that has been ported to mobile and we don’t see many titles on mobile that match it in quality. In addition, Gordian Quest provides a different kind of experience with up to 18 units on the battlefield at any one time – not including reinforcements – robust character and equipment customisation faithful to RPG systems, world exploration & camping mechanics just to name a few. Not to mention the sheer scale of content: different possible builds & party compositions across the 10 different characters with their unique specialisations, talents, and more are on a totally different level than pretty much anything else we’ve seen.
The game has previously launched on PC, so it’s a known entity to some extent. Why did you decide that now was the time to bring it to mobile? Whether that’s the current marketplace, requests from players or simply a case of ‘why not.’
JO: It’s a combination of players yearning for an opportunity to play the game on mobile and also a bit of ‘Why Not’ –the combination of the two is a powerful argument!
Last year, updates for the PC version of Gordian Quest were still being made, marking the beginning of plans to release the game on other platforms. It’s only logical to expand the reach of such a notable game in its genre. Regarding mobile gaming specifically, we didn’t see many rivals for Gordian Quest at that time. However, since then, games like Loop Hero and Balatro have also been ported to mobile – both exceptional titles that have thrived. This trend suggests the market is eager for distinctive games of this nature.
Can you talk us through the process of porting a game from PC to mobile? What changes were needed to make it run well on a touchscreen device? Is it a more complex process than non-developers like myself realise?
AC: The Unity game engine is generally super versatile – therefore flexibility and modularity initially are a big help. However, beyond the adaptive functionality of the Unity engine, there are several important considerations.
Players frequently value personalized control settings and full-screen display options. Fortunately, since Gordian Quest employs a click-based gaming system, only minor modifications were essential during the shift from PC to mobile platforms.
Enhancing user interface (UI) compatibility for mobile devices is equally important in our work, and we’ve dedicated a good deal of effort towards it. Given the richness of detail and text within the gameplay of Gordian Quest, readability and functionality are undeniably key. For instance, making sure that the UI adjusts smoothly across various screen sizes and resolutions, and that tooltips and other elements don’t get hidden during gameplay are some examples of our focus areas.
A crucial part of the process is conducting tests. Given the variety of devices and specifications in mobile technology, it can be challenging yet vital to run the game on multiple devices to uncover any issues that might be device or platform-specific. This way, we can ensure all players, regardless of their device, experience uniform performance and usability. Frequently, platform compatibility bugs are detected during this testing phase.
During this stage, we’ve tackled multiple challenges stemming from the diverse handset platforms’ discrepancies. These hurdles encompass irregularities like frame rate inconsistency, varying screen resolutions, display issues, crashes, and sluggish performance. To put it simply, these are bugs that require individual troubleshooting and solutions, frequently because of incompatibility in shaders or plugins between different devices.
To put it simply, when transitioning a game to mobile devices, we encounter numerous hurdles and complex issues that need resolution. However, our goal is to make sure these technical aspects are seamless and invisible to players. Instead, they should solely focus on enjoying the game on their mobile devices.
The mobile market is a very different beast compared to PC, when it comes to payment models. How is Gordian Quest going to be monetised?
JO: Gordian Quest on mobile will be free-to-play. Accessibility and fairness were very important considerations in bringing the game to mobile and from the get-go, players will have access to most of the game’s Realm Mode for free with half of the characters available. There is then just a single purchase option to unlock the rest of the full game and remove ads.
Our aim is to make it easy for people to start playing without worrying about an upfront cost, giving them a chance to explore the game and decide if they want to upgrade to the full version, which includes Campaign and Adventure Modes, all characters, and the highest levels of Realm Mode. This way, they can experience the game in its entirety as it was intended.
Finally, can you share when the game will be released? Or roughly when? Likewise, will it be available on iOS and Android?
JO: We are aiming for Gordian Quest to be available on mobile this Winter – and this will be on both iOS and Android. It’s important for us not to release the game until it’s optimised and of a high enough quality to meet our players’ high expectations. Also, Aether Sky specialises in distribution on alternative platforms & app stores so you can expect to see Gordian Quest available on other local and global channels too.
Are there any further plans for Gordian Quest beyond the launch of the mobile version? Similarly, are you working on anything new you can share or perhaps tease with us?
JO: Depending on player feedback, we may look to introduce a multiplayer Skirmish Mode on the mobile version and potentially also additional content over time. Player feedback will be instrumental in shaping how Gordian Quest will evolve. As for Aether Sky, while we cannot share anything else today, but watch this space, our story is only beginning!
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2024-10-17 13:18