Today we have Part 2 of our interview with Andrew and Cory Trese, the men behind Space Traders. Recently they had a Kickstarter project going for their new game Heroes of Steel, which should be out later this year.
(AT = Andrew Trese and CT = Cory Trese)
Q. Tell us about your Kickstarter project
[AT] The KickStarter project was one of the most exciting months we have had in 3 years at Trese Brothers. The whole project was a major groundswell of support and positive energy from every part of our life and community — from friends, family, gamers, fanatics.
We specifically chose Heroes of Steel because it is a game that our community had requested and asked about en masse for a while. And its our first foray into fantasy RPGs for mobile, even though for me, Andrew, fantasy RPG feels like home in pen-and-paper.
As we build out the project, I am most excited about two things: the new engine, and the story. We hit one of our major stretch goals at $20,000 which prompted us to pick up a new game engine so that we could support iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, as well as Android, OUYA, and now desktop as well. This has opened so many doors for us and is allowing us to raise the bar across the entire Trese Brothers gaming experience. It’s a game changer. Heroes of Steel is a new era for us, and will be available on so many more platforms than any game we have had before. What I am most excited about is telling an epic, painful story about people and weaving it through a challenging turn-based combat game. What could be more fun than that?
Q. Do you see more developers using Kickstarter in the future to get their games out?
[AT] For indie developers, KickStarter and services like it are changing the face of what we can achieve. It opens doors for indie developers and I would encourage game developers to use KickStarter, absolutely. Indie game developer struggles with funding — that’s why you’re indie — so they should use KickStarter and IndieGoGo to combat that.
It isn’t a magic bullet, and developers who don’t already have some credit and a following may not do well there. For me, that’s actually encouraging — if you are an indie developer who does it right, who listens to the community and builds your base, then KickStarter will work for you.
It’s also been interesting to watch big studios and big names put out KickStarter projects and raise a million dollars. KickStarter has definitely changed the face of funding for game developers.
Q. Other than your Kickstarter project any other future plans?
[AT] Absolutely. We are really excited about repeating the KickStarter experience. First, we feel we have to deliver, and deliver big, on our promise for Heroes of Steel. We are putting a ton of our limited time into new development right now and Heroes of Steel is moving every day.
For the next KickStarter, we are most likely going to come back to our roots and kickstart a game in the Star Traders Quadrant. With, Heroes of Steel scheduled for late summer, we hope to be back on KickStarter by fall. If we are lucky, all the new fans and followers we have gained through Heroes will join us on our second run!
Q. What are some of your favorite games?
[AT] Growing up, one of the first real games I ever got to play was Heroes Quest, which has some definitely influence on Heroes of Steel. Turn-based fantasy RPGs have always held a spot in my heart, from Shining Force, to the the Final Fantasy series (3 to 7, for me please), FF Tactics, Ogre Battle Chrono Trigger, I could never get enough. It’s one of the reasons that I can’t wait to finish Heroes of Steel!
Q. Where do you see mobile gaming industry going in the next few years?
[CT] I think we will see mobile platforms and console gaming platforms becoming more and more intertwined. I think things like the MOGA, SHIELD, OUYA and the like are the beginning of that convergence. Mobile platforms, and mobile games, will be running on increasingly diverse hardware. It it hard to predict what the hardware diversity will look like, but there are emerging trends around visualization — Oculus Rift and Google Glass that could potentially have massive impacts on the gaming industry.
One of the surprise enablers in mobile gaming is going to be crowd funding — look at GCW-ZERO and the other projects I mentioned. People with big ideas — ideas that might shake up the whole industry have access to new funding and distribution channels. Much in the same way that Google, Apple and Amazon made distribution of applications easy for an independent team platforms like KickStarter and IndieGoGo are making it possible for independent teams to take on much bigger projects.
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Larry- Well I definitely want to thank Andrew and Cory for taking some time and giving us some great insight into their games: current and future. When Heroes of Steel comes out, we will definitely be reviewing that one. If you want to keep up with the Trese Brothers, here are some important links:
Trese Brothers Games (website)
