Fluent plays Kenshi

[Deleted Member 16721]

Just curious, had you asked him if he would do an interview with you?

Yeah, I was in contact with them and asked if I could do the interview. They agreed but they were just busy which is why it took so long to get the answers. Always ask first, don't want to impose.

 

[Jimmious]

It seems that he implies that he will go for a Kenshi 2 but not for any more content for Kenshi itself?

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

It seems that he implies that he will go for a Kenshi 2 but not for any more content for Kenshi itself?

I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps adding features to Kenshi and releases a Kenshi 1.5 "definitive edition" or something for free. Not sure, but a Kenshi 2 would take a long time to do unless he goes with a larger team.

 

[toro]

Alright, here's the interview. Enjoy, it took awhile to do. Chris Hunt's answers will be bolded.
________________________

Hi Chris! First off I want to say that I am a huge fan of Kenshi, I think it's one of the most unique and creative games ever made, so thank you for making it and also agreeing to do this interview.

My first question is, what was your goal with making Kenshi? What did you set out to do, and do you feel you have accomplished what you set out to do with this game?

I grew up playing the old-school games that had smaller budgets and had the freedom to create what they wanted. I’m trying to bring that back in a time when everyone is devolving and just trying to make clones of the latest successful games and factoring the market into their design. I wanted to make the perfect game that I wanted to play myself. I’ve been inspired by a lot of games, but on the other hand, I’ve experienced game flaws that niggled at me and limited me as a player and I wanted to address these limitations, pampering and level scaling.

When I play the game I sense inspiration from RPGs like Asheron's Call and even Morrowind. I'm also interested to know which games inspired you to create Kenshi. It's almost like a new genre.

Many, but mainly the original XCOM and Fallout games, and Jagged Alliance 2

12 years in development is an incredibly long time to create a game. What were the major factors along the way that delayed the release and took the most time to work out?

We had some difficulty upgrading the Havok engine, so, what we expected to take just two weeks ended up taking around a year. Apart from that it’s not so much been technical difficulties but more my own ambition and constant growing list of features and player suggestions. Early access is great for integrating feedback from the players themselves, but it sure becomes a rabbit hole of satisfying everyone’s needs. There has to be a limit at some point.

On one hand I was over ambitious, and on the other hand I was cautious. Early Access helped a lot to fund us financially but our earnings were still rather modest to fund such a big project. I had to keep the team small for financial stability but this also meant it took a while longer.

I see that the renowned modder, Vurt, helped design the beautiful foliage and fauna of Kenshi, really bringing the world to life. Did he do this task alone or were there others involved in the general foliage and terrain/landscape creation of the game?

Our main world designer was Oli Hatton

The game world is massive, coming in as the second largest singleplayer RPG map since The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. What made you create such a huge world, taking a risk where most devs wouldn't even dare create a world that size?

Kenshi is all about insignificance, feeling powerless in a savage world. The large bleak, desolate world really helps add to that insignificance, but it also makes the game a treasure trove for exploration. I wanted exploration to have an important role in the game that involved the travel itself - wandering desolation, camping out at a fire, taking in the views and finding your next meal to sustain you.

On a more specific note, what inspired you to create the world as a wasteland with 3 major factions vying for sole control of it? And where did the inspiration for the minor factions come from and how they fit into the picture?

I wanted the world to be in constant conflict. At the borders there will be patrols fighting eachother, there will different kind of forces fighting for different evils. Humanity will always have conflict, conflicts make Kenshi real.

Did you expect the game to be received as well as it has been? For a somewhat niche and complex title it seems to have very positive reviews on Steam.

I was a little concerned at how it would received after release. It felt like we were leaving a bubble where we’d be facing a whole new breed of customer. Perhaps new issues would crop up that we hadn’t noticed during Early Access? But I’m really happy with it’s reception. The biggest reason for people refunding is simply because they don’t like the harsh sandbox style that is Kenshi. I always knew that Kenshi was for niche tastes and I’m not aiming to please everybody. Satisfying players like me and that missing gap they see in the gaming market is what makes me happy.

Do you plan on revisiting Kenshi in the future, say with some DLC or an expansion? The game has received great reviews and seems to be selling well. We'd all love some new content.

I’ve never liked DLC and we don’t currently have plans to add any. However the story and concept of Kenshi is far from being finished with.

Was there any content that had to be cut during the development of the game, content that you wish could be restored? Or did you have to just accept cutting things and move on to release?

There were a couple of luxury features we had to cut, including the ability to break down or climb over walls; controller support; Mounts, egg hatching and taming. These were never in my original vision for the game and at this point I don’t feel like the game lacks because of there being cut. Years ago in development we tried adding in missions and had to remove them because of complications. Again, missions were never in the original concept of the game and I don’t feel like the game lacks because of it. All of the important features I came close to cutting were eventually added.

Thanks again for answering the questions and for making a legendary game!

- Fluent

______________________________

Infinitron Front page plz?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

When I play the game I sense inspiration from RPGs like Asheron's Call and even Morrowind. I'm also interested to know which games inspired you to create Kenshi. It's almost like a new genre.

Many, but mainly the original XCOM and Fallout games, and Jagged Alliance 2

Interesting that his main inspirations all had turn-based combat, and two of them are more in the realm of squad-based tactics games than RPGs.

Other than X-Com having base-building and Fallout having a post-apocalyptic setting, I don't see much of these games in Kenshi.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Interesting that his main inspirations all had turn-based combat, and two of them are more in the realm of squad-based tactics games than RPGs.

Other than X-Com having base-building and Fallout having a post-apocalyptic setting, I don't see much of these games in Kenshi.

Yeah I don't see it either, but I guess in terms of having zero level-scaling, being difficult games there is a similarity. He mentioned he didn't want to pamper the player like many modern games do, so you could see some of that in comparison.

 

[Theldaran]

That game has ass graphics, or maybe it's your machine.

...Yes, I know what's incoming.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

That game has ass graphics, or maybe it's your machine.

...Yes, I know what's incoming.

The game has charming and unique graphics. Far from ass. Yes the engine is Morrowind-esque but every biome is incredibly unique looking and interesting visually. Use your imagination a bit, you cunt.

Just wanted to bump this in case anyone was interested in and missed the interview I did with Chris Hunt, creator of the game. Enjoy.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Bros, this game has blown UP. Almost 10k reviews on Steam and is sitting at Very Positive. Wow. Great to see Chris and company get the recognition they deserve!

 

[CyberWhale]

Fuck you Fluent, I've dreamt about this shit last night. Party members were my family members instead, which makes it even more disturbing.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

That sounds like a fun adventchah dream, why are you upset about it? I love when I have cool dreams like that.

 

[baud]

It depends what happened to his party, they might have ended as slaves or crippled

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

True. In my dreams they would have kicked ass, but everyone is different.