Old School Gamer Magazine chats with developer Raul Gogescu, who discusses his new game, “Ezaron Defense,” breaking down the development cycle and how classic tower defense titles paved the wave for its development.
About The Game:
In Ezaron Defense you will have to fight with hoarders of dark creatures, customizing your defensive strategy with over 50 upgrades and a mighty arsenal of magic spells.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How was this game born?
Raul Gogescu: The idea of the game came after debating if we should try to approach a different genre for our next game. RVL Games was creating mostly casual games like HOPAs and Solitaires, but we wanted something more.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What is your role in the game?
Gogescu: The action is set in the kingdom of Ezaron which is overtaken by evil forces that use a rift to invade the realm. You play as a Lornar, the trusty army captain and right hand of Lord Arator, the ruler of Ezaron, and your duty is to protect the kingdom.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What has development been like?
Gogescu: Development had its ups and downs, like any other indie project. This was our first project of this size so it was a learning opportunity for us.
We started working on it, but after a few months, we were forced to change our focus to a commissioned project so the momentum was lost for a bit. In the end, we managed to concentrate and finalize Ezaron Defense.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What makes this game special?
Gogescu: We’ve kept the game as close as possible to the original tower defense games. Our gameplay is simple and the mechanics are straight-forward. This makes the game easy to pick up and play immediately.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What games influenced this one the most?
Gogescu: One of the biggest influences was the well-known tower defense game, Kingdom Rush. We loved their simple and classical approach to the genre so we tried to replicate it with Ezaron Defense, too.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?
Gogescu: At a certain point in time, we had an issue with our game source files and we lost two weeks’ worth of work. Fortunately, our backup solution was only a few days behind so we managed to quickly get back on track.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What were the major lessons learned?
Gogescu: Always backup every day 🙂 Apart from that, the single most valuable lesson we’ve learned was to always have a clear plan before starting a project of this size.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?
Gogescu: Short answer, yes. We don’t believe there are any games 100% original, each inherits gameplay and game design elements from older ones. This is also an advantage because the players are partly accustomed to the game mechanics.
Old School Gamer Magazine: The marketplace is crowded. How do you think you stand out?
Gogescu: We think our game appeals to audiences of any age, our graphics and story are family-friendly, and the gameplay learning curve is gentle.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How have your previous experiences in the industry helped this game?
Gogescu: Having previously developed a bunch of other games, we already knew what to expect in terms of deliverability and how to avoid common pitfalls for young indie companies, like not having enough resources and not planning for unexpected delays.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How do you want this game to ultimately be remembered?
Gogescu: As a fun, fast-paced, accessible Tower Defense game.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What’s next?
Gogescu: In the following months, we’re planning to support the game with regular patches and at least one big update. As for other projects, we’re already working on a first-person adventure series called “Classified Stories”.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Anything else you’d like to add?
Gogescu: Thank you for the interview, don’t forget to check our Steam page, hope you enjoy the game.
Patrick Hickey, Jr., is the founder and editor-in-chief of ReviewFix.com and a lecturer of English and journalism at Kingsborough Community College, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the past decade, his video game coverage has been featured in national ad campaigns by top publishers the likes of Nintendo, Deep Silver, Disney and EA Sports. His book series, "The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Game Developers," from McFarland and Company, has earned praise from Forbes, Huffington Post, The New York Daily News and MSG Networks. He is also a former editor at NBC and National Video Games Writer at the late-Examiner.com
