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Hello and welcome to another exclusive by the TavernRPG team. We reached out to Writer and Designer Anton Krasilnikov. Atom Team is a multinational game indie-development studio based in Cyprus, Ukraine, and Latvia, currently working on Swordhaven: The Iron Conspiracy, a classic party-based RPG. Don't miss its upcoming Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atomrpg/swordhaven-iron-conspiracy
Q: How is Atom Team doing these days? What was it like for an indie studio with offices in multiple countries to go through the COVID phase, then the war, and now the industry crisis?
Anton: To be honest, the pandemic didn’t hit us professionally all that much. We worked from home even before it started, so there was no painful transition period.
We even managed to adapt to war. Well, as much as one can adapt to something like that.
Q: ATOM RPG is heavily influenced by the classic Fallout games. How does it feel to tap into such greatness? Did you folks feel excited or perhaps afraid that the bar might be set really high?
Anton: Aside from the first two Fallouts, ATOM was mostly influenced by (for lack of a better word) Eurojank. And quite a few Eurojank RPGs were, in turn, influenced by Fallout, so it’s all a weird circle in the end.
Trudograd, on the other hand, was inspired by ATOM. Like, what if other developers decided to create their own version of ATOM, but with unique twists and improvements? Did we succeed in doing so? I suppose the answer lies in the eye of the beholder.
Q: What’s the story behind the decision to set the game in the post-apocalyptic Soviet Union? Did you ever have any concerns if this was the right move?
Anton: But the game doesn’t take place in the Soviet Union. The Union collapsed in the world of ATOM, just like it did in our own world. Though a bit more violently.
There is a certain ‘Soviet’ flair to some aspects of the world, but that’s just because both ATOM and Trudograd take place only 20 years after it went down.
I suppose the correct term would be post-apocalyptic post-Soviet Union, but that’s a mouthful.
Q: What aspect of ATOM RPG: Trudograd are you the most proud of?
Anton: Even though Trudograd was an obvious continuation of ATOM, it still felt very different from the first game. Creating something faithful to the source, but also distinct where it counts is a fine line to walk.
Q: What’s your biggest take-away from players’ reviews of ATOM RPG: Trudograd? What of the critiques have you embraced and considered to change and which of the praised have you kept and will use again?
Anton: Trudograd was already made with the help of our players’ suggestions that we received in abundance after releasing ATOM.
Alas, in Trudograd we also encountered new challenges. Like battle balance, which some would argue was worse than in ATOM at times. Or the issues with pacing, although perhaps this is just my personal opinion.
Even then, I’m happy to say that most changes and improvements were met with a positive reaction. The graphics were enhanced, the quests had more ways of solving them. The weapon modification system, and the special (aka power) armour also received good feedback.
Now we’re considering adding the weapon modification system to our new game, as well as Trudogradian UI changes and quality of life features. There may be additional updates in the works, but I prefer not to talk about them as we’re still in the process of internal discussion.
Q: ATOM RPG was obviously more than just inspired by Fallout, it took the best of it but also kept the very worst. What was the reasoning behind this design decision to not evolve the genre instead of sticking to old tropes?
Anton: As I mentioned earlier, the first ATOM was a sincere effort to create a Eurojank game—not just for artistic reasons, but also because, realistically, at the time, that was our limit. So I don’t know if we necessarily took the best of Fallout
As for the worst, believe it or not, initially we wanted to make ATOM much more convoluted and unfriendly, even more so than the original Fallouts. However, it dawned on us pretty early in the development that we actually wanted people to play our game. As a result, that plan was scrapped.
Q: ATOM RPG and Trudograd have excellent writing, even small side characters felt fleshed out and like they really were living in the world of ATOM. What was your inspiration coming from in writing all of these characters stories and personalities?
Anton: The idea of giving most of the characters their own little story and personality came from the Ultima series.
As for the inspirations, it depends. Some characters and their stories are references to books, games, movies, and life. But most are simply made up on the spot
Q: Turn-based combat games are legion nowadays. Why is it you think this mode is so popular in RPG games and will you use it also for Swordhaven: The Iron Conspiracy?
Anton: Well, the turn-based combat is much more cerebral, and also more convenient if you’re playing a classic cRPG with a controller, which many people do nowadays.
To some turn-based combat also means additional roleplay opportunities. Like, “how would my character deal with this combat situation?”
This is also why we’re using it in Swordhaven. It’s a game with combat systems way more complex than in ATOM RPG, or even Trudograd, and thus most players will require the option to sit down and really think about their next move.
However, for those who are more restless and want a quicker flow of combat, we’ll also be adding Real Time with Pause (RTwP).
Q: ATOM RPG and Trudograd with its base in FO had very limited controls of NPCs, while many contemporary games expand greatly and put a lot of emphasis on these aspects. What is your vision for NPCs, team mechanics and group combat in your new game?
Anton: We got a little too close to the source when making limited NPC control in our first two games. With Swordhaven, however, we’re taking a step forward by providing full party control right from the beginning, similar to what you might experience in games like Pillars of Eternity.
Q: With a wasteland, futuristic, fallout-esque game done, where do you draw the most inpiration for your new fantasy game?
Anton: There are a lot of sources: history, fairy tales, Alexandre Dumas, Robert E. Howard… I could go on and on, but some of the inspirations could spoil the game’s plot for you
With all that said, it doesn’t mean that you’ll meet a barbarian musketeer going to Cimmeria to fight the Richelieu’s guards. Inspirations are just that, inspirations.
Q: Did the release of BG3 and its reception affect your plans for Swordhaven: The Iron Conspiracy?
Anton: Not really. We were thinking of making a fantasy RPG for some time now.
Q: Considering it’s a classless system how would skills and attributes progress in Swordhaven: The Iron Conspiracy?
Anton: It is a classic ‘get EXP for quests and monsters—level up’ type of system
Every build will succeed in something or other, and you’ll have to really try to become helpless in the game.
As a matter of fact, we want to encourage players to experiment with combining different weapon types and techniques in order to discover their own paths. During game testing, I like to invest a few points into the longsword for its area of effect attacks, and pairing it with daggers that can cause bleeding and blinding critical hits on strong solo targets.
Q: How long do you think the game development will take?
Around 2 years, probably. Of course it might change if we see that we need a bit more time to polish the game.
As always, thanks so much to everyone involved in making this interview possible!
The importance of being able to set up an interview like this cannot be understated.Previous TavernRPG exclusive interviews:
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