Old School Gamer Magazine chats with Exorcizamuste solo developer Toni Palacios Rubio, who lets us know what the development cycle has been like and so much more.
About Exorcizamuste:
Exorcizamuste offers an online co-op mode where players act as hunters, aiming to eliminate supernatural beings. Their objectives involve finding, exploring, identifying, and banishing these entities, and they operate from a Bunker with distinct sections for various tasks.
Equipped with flashlights, watches, tablets, primary, and secondary weapons, the hunters encounter different types of entities like Spirits, Spectrums, Demons, Lighted, Dark, and Poltergeists.
Detecting entities relies on crucial clues such as temperature changes, camera views, EMF readings, footprints, and writings. To succeed in their missions and exorcise dangerous entities, effective teamwork and utilizing the provided equipment become essential elements of gameplay.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How was this game born?
Toni Palacios Rubio: Exorcizamuste was born during a period of unemployment that I took advantage of to start learning on my own how to make video games. I always liked horror and action games, so talking to a friend about them and a TV series I was watching at the time, the idea came up and I started on it.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What is your role in the game?
Rubio: Well, I’m the programmer, artist, designer, etc. I am the creator of the game in its entirety.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What has development been like?
Rubio: Point out that the development is not finished and the truth is that it is being great. Obviously there have been better and worse moments and in general it has been an exciting experience, I am enjoying it and learning a lot.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What makes this game special?
Rubio: That I have done it, isn’t it obvious? No! Hahaha it’s a joke. Well, of all the games I’ve played similar to the one I’m creating, I think Exorcizamuste is the most complete and fun. It has moments of action, of tranquility, of tension, of fear, you have to think to solve small puzzles, prepare strategies, there is no room for boredom.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What games influenced this one the most?
Rubio: The game that has influenced me the most is Phasmophobia in first place, the TV series Supernatural (I love this series) in second place and classic games like Resident Evil in third place.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?
Rubio: Wow, right now a wild moment comes to mind that happened not long ago, before going to the Gameinvest fair in Malaga, which was making the teaser that is currently published. I had never done anything like a trailer before and when I got to it I spent 48 hours straight without sleeping doing it, I started it and finished it, without stopping. Very wild indeed.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What were the major lessons learned?
Rubio: That if you do something that you really like, it doesn’t matter how much time is dedicated to it, the sacrifice that it entails or the result. Because you are enjoying it during the process.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?
Rubio: I think it is important not to forget them and preserve them in certain aspects because if they worked they will continue to work, and that it is also important to give them a spin to polish them, improve them and create new ones, since in their day those that we call old were also new.
Old School Gamer Magazine: The marketplace is crowded. How do you think you stand out?
Rubio: Well, whoever likes games that are challenging and don’t become repetitive and to win you have to shoot a ghost and return it to whatever place it came from, then this is your game.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How have your previous experiences in the industry helped this game?
Rubio: The only experience I have had with the industry was in the fourth year of compulsory education when I made, as a final year project, a Lord of the Rings video game based on the first two movies, modifying an existing game called Tibia. On the other hand, there is the experience that I have had as a software developer working up to now and my passion for video games, since I am and have been a gamer since I was very young. So, I think all of this has brought a lot of richness, variety and authenticity to the game, as well as a lot of crazy and great ideas that are yet to come and I look forward to developing in the near future.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How do you want this game to ultimately be remembered?
Rubio: It would be great for people to remember: Exorcizamuste, how difficult it is and how scary it is but how fun!
Old School Gamer Magazine: What’s next?
Rubio: The next thing is going to be to finish and fix all the suggestions and impressions received during the last fair in Malaga to have the game ready, polished and with as few bugs as possible as soon as possible.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Anything else you’d like to add?
Rubio: I would like to thank you, everyone who has already played a version of the game, all my friends and especially my partner for your time spent with me, your support and your patience for putting up with me for so long talking only about Exorcizamuste. And I encourage you to try the game and I hope that all of you who do like it as much as I do, or at least a part of it and again, thank you very much and a huge greeting.
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
