Old School Gamer Magazine chats with Ruyn developer Paul Marrable, who discusses the FPS’ creation cycle and so much more.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How was this game born?
Paul Marrable: It actually started from messing around with creating level editors and tools for a pre-existing game. I was playing around with an open-source raycasting game called Anarch, which is a lovely game written in pure C. I wanted to see if I could make a level editor for it that was simple enough for my 8-year-old son to use—he’s really into game dev at the moment.
That actually worked really well. Then I started modifying a bunch of other stuff—swapping out enemies, adding new weapons, changing the game rules, etc.—and it eventually turned into its own thing, which was surprisingly fun to play. I released that version on itch.io under the name Ruyn.
A little later, I started getting back into Unreal and thought it’d be cool to see if I could use the same underlying level data to build levels in Unreal. And yeah, it worked nicely. From there, it was just a matter of building out the gameplay in Unreal and tweaking it until it felt good. That’s basically what Ruyn HD is today.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What is your role in the game?
Marrable: So yeah—pretty much all of it! Game designer and programmer. I can’t take credit for the art and music though—those were sourced from various asset packs and public domain resources, with some light Photoshopping here and there
Old School Gamer Magazine: What has development been like?
Marrable: This has probably been the most fun I’ve ever had working on a game. I always knew I was going to release it for free, so that took a lot of pressure off. It’s been a pure labor of love, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s taken a bit longer than I would have liked since I have a family and a full-time job, but the only pressure really comes from me
Old School Gamer Magazine: What makes this game special?
Marrable: Ahh, that’s a tough one. I’m not sure if it’s special, but I really like how it feels to play—it’s fast and focused. I wanted the game to be all about the combat and the scoring, and I think that really comes through in the gameplay.
I’m especially happy with how the scoring turned out. It’s a mix of speed, multipliers, and creative kills. It feels pretty rich without being too complicated.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What games influenced this one the most?
Marrable: Ah, that’s an easy one—OG DOOM all the way. DOOM is, and always will be, my favorite game. The reason I started messing with level editors and raycasting engines in the first place was to understand my favorite game better. The gameplay idea was to distill my favorite parts from DOOM—the combat and the speed—and just focus on them. So, less secrets and getting lost, and more blowing the heads off demons.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?
Marrable: Honestly, rather disappointingly—no. It’s been pretty uneventful, or maybe fortunately so, depending on how you look at it. Wanted to make a game, made a game, released the game
Old School Gamer Magazine: What were the major lessons learned?
Marrable: I think there were a few with this one. From a technical point of view, I wrote a lot of my own tools—like the level editors and online services. That had a higher upfront cost, but because I knew those tools inside and out, it let me work 4 or 5 times faster when actually putting the game together.
From a less technical perspective, it’s a lot easier to make games when there’s less pressure. I always knew this was going to be a free game, and I didn’t have any deadlines, so that really freed me up to make exactly what I wanted, when I wanted.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?
Marrable: Absolutely! There’s a reason those mechanics existed in the first place. Some came from technical limitations—like Space Invaders’ single shot or Silent Hill’s fog—but most were created because they were fun and just felt right. That’s why I think OG DOOM and Quake still stand up today.
They’re simply just fun, and the mechanics are perfect for what those games needed to be.
Old School Gamer Magazine: The marketplace is crowded. How do you think you stand out?
Marrable: Being a free game definitely helps, but even then, it’s really hard to get anyone’s attention. This one’s been a bit easier because it fits into a very specific niche. So, I just shout at the boomer shooter community until they play it.
I also think having a super streamlined version of a boomer shooter helps—it’s really easy to jump in and out of, and it doesn’t take up more of the player’s time than necessary.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How have your previous experiences in industry helped this game?
Marrable: Yeah, experience always helps. It’s mostly with things outside of the game itself—like knowing how to set up a Steam page, where to post about the game, and how to act on player feedback.
Also, each game release just feels less daunting the more times you’ve been through it.
Old School Gamer Magazine: How do you want this game to ultimately be remembered?
Marrable: If it’s remembered at all—just as fun. Fast and fun, with exploding heads.
Old School Gamer Magazine: What’s next?
Marrable: I think the next thing I want to look at is a console release for Ruyn—maybe add some more levels, new enemies, etc.—and make it a bit more console-friendly.
I also want to jump back into some homebrew stuff. I’m currently about halfway through a Mega Drive (Genesis) game, and I really want to make something for the Game Boy.
Old School Gamer Magazine: Anything else you’d like to add?
Marrable: Nah, just thank you for having me 🙂
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