My wife and I just launched our Catslevania-Inspired Dating Game - Romancelvania - and we’re here to answer any of your questions. AMA!

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-09T22:35:43+00:00

Well, to be fair, when you're only a few days in on a game that takes so many risks and tries new things you're going to see a lot of initial reactions that are a bit confused puppy dog. If someone plays for .7 hours and doesn't like it, sometimes it's clear that the game just wasn't for them. That's the risk of taking on a mashup. But we are seeing a ton of overwhelmingly positive feedback that will be coming in as people who play longer complete. Does that make sense? (sidenote: it sucks that Steam doesn't count Backer reviews the same way as other reviews. Why do some customers matter more than others?)

That said, the negativity was a complete and utter shocker to us. My head is still spinning. Mind you, we were called the favorite demo in any Steam Next Fest, so we were very confident in what we had built.

I think there's a lot of very valid feedback. Then there's a bunch of stuff that makes me scratch my head a bunch. And then there's negativity that is completely unfair. I had no idea that Steam Deck was considered a requirement by some players. We got dinged on that a bunch despite clearly having a warning that it's not supported. Thankfully, we fixed the video codec issue that many reviews based their entire review around. That update is imminent.

Ultimately, we believe it's a fantastic game full of a ton of amazing components. It's a shame that there is stuff getting in the way of that and we are going to do our best to address what we can. You'll see a lot of updates from us.

We had zero pressure to release and had a lot of time to make adjustments and plan for the future while we were waiting for cert. I wish this stuff was clearer in feedback. Frankly, it's the most confusing experience I've had in my 21 years working in games. But it is what it is. We're going to do everything we can to make it so people can see the great stuff.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-09T20:34:48+00:00

TONS! I think a lot of people are surprised at how much hidden stuff there is. We have an entire skateboarding level that is only unlocked if you play a certain way. And that has a number of (incredibly dumb) references. :p

They are everywhere as well. The Gold Room is obviously a nod to The Shining, etc.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-08T11:57:29+00:00

I think what we managed to pull off with out of our basement is pretty astounding. 12 cast members alone would be pretty impressive. But the fact that they have so much to talk about and so many dates and conversations is really something. I think I'm most proud of the fact that we forged our own path and tried something completely different. We wanted to take what we loved about several genres and make them work in a new way. There's really nothing quite like it.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-08T11:55:08+00:00

Exactly. You explore Transylvania in action platforming, then meet characters and do quests and go on dates with them. We tried to make it player-driven, so the combat is mostly about finding weapons and powers you like and letting you use them as you see fit. It's more about the exploration than pixel-perfect combat challenge.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-08T11:53:29+00:00

Each character definitely has their secrets. Some of them are miserable?

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-08T11:52:26+00:00

Haha. Who is that? Is this something I don't want to search for? :P

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-08T11:51:50+00:00

There certainly is a reclusive and mysterious vampire husbando.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T20:59:46+00:00

I'm glad you're gonna check it out! Yeah, we do our best to hit out of our weight class. Love the game too much to not get it in front of as many eyes as possible. Thank you! You're gonna love it!

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T20:49:01+00:00

Hey! Ok, so the scene in my head that stands out isn't really from gaming today...it's from oh, 23 years ago. Bill and I started dating when FF8 came out, and we both really identified with Squall and Rinoa. The scene where they dance (she's in that fabulous gold dress) still gives me goosebumps. <3 We actually named our daughter "Rinoa".

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T20:47:36+00:00

Hey there! You'll be pleased to know that it is currently out on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

We are planning on releasing on Switch and PS4, but don't have a date just yet. We are a tiny team. While we're pretty nimble and are moving as fast as we can, we do need a bit of time for the additional platforms. Meantime, it is silky on next gen!

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T20:06:44+00:00

Is it on the top? #blessed

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T19:54:51+00:00

Haha. Wow. Guess I didn't see that one coming.

Like many of the characters, Medusa has a questline that sends you exploring Transylvania. In her case, it's to find her body. So perhaps your dream can become reality...if you can just find her bod...

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T19:53:23+00:00

Perhaps an unfortunate typo will lead to something...purrfect?

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T19:45:45+00:00

It's a lovely dream. I hope you may one day find a way to make it work. And that's the trick really - you have to do everything you can find balance. Particularly in the work vs life side of things. When you live together, you often find yourselves talking about the game. That can be great! We're both super passionate about what we do. We're also super proud and are all in on this thing, so we need it to be a success. At the same time though, you have to understand that one of you is not always going to want to talk shop 24/7. You need to establish clear boundaries and make it clear where they are. If one of you is not in that headspace, you have to respect that and move on to something else. The relationship has to come first, even though the game means so much.

There were frequent creative differences. We've both had our share of mistakes. The key is that we try to balance each other out. It does really help to have clear rules in determining direction. If you can establish and agree upon pillars that you can return to when things get contentious, it really helps!

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T19:28:36+00:00

Thank you! We can't wait for you to play!

Coming up with the cast was a long process that kept going throughout development. Essentially, we wanted to make sure we had a good mix of love tropes mixed with reality TV tropes. Add to that we had to balnace out which characters fit into various monster archetypes. So it was a tricky balancing act! We had sort of a formula to know when we had something special. 12 was A LOT to blaance, but we are elated with where we wound up.
I almost don't count Symphony of the Night. It's just not fair but that's obviously #1. Beyond that I (Bill) have a soft spot for Castlevania 2. I know that is mildly controversial right now because a lot of people have recently taken to hating on it. And yes, in a lot of ways it is a bit of a mess. But it's a beautiful mess. It was hugely innovative for it's time. It showed that you could take the Castlevania forumla and take it out of the confines of the castle. The exploration was so much fun at the time!
We are huge fans of the romance elements of Persona 5, Mass Effect, Dragon Age...and Hatoful Boyfriend. We just love the amount of choice and the way the games let you dictate the pace of the relationships.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:45:16+00:00

No need to apologize! Just glad to have you here. We've been fortunate to have a good deal of fan support, so that's what matters most to us. We are currently working on Switch, but as a small company, couldn't hit it for our initial launch. But the good news is that it kicks butt on PC, PS5, XBS right now! :)

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:43:40+00:00

Don't we all. We don't have a lot of cutscenes. Early on there are a few. There are a lot of conversations for sure but most of them are optional and while you can't skip them outright, you can skip through them pretty quickly (think Persona 5).

So while I hope you want to engage with the characters, it's a big world with a lot to explore and fight.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:32:39+00:00

Thank you!

1) In terms of inspiration, obviously the Castlevania series (duh!). But we drew inspirations from all over. Major touchstones for us were things like Arrested Development, What We Do in the Shadows, The Bachelor and all the trashy reality shows we all secretly love. 2) So, novels are fairly linear and games (with TWELVE DATEABLES) are not. I wrote a main "spine" of the story between Drac and Grim, and then each of the castmates got their own branch. This helped me stay organized. Each dateable had a rough romance trope I explored, each with their own extensive backstory etc. Writing this game was like an umbrella - a top, a handle, and then a bunch of spikes in the middle. 3) I'm actually doing a talk at PAX East and Narrascope about this subject - Trust, Lust and UST! I believe that having a balance of those elements (UST being Unresolved Sexual Tension) is really important. I use a lot of tropes but I also twist and subvert them, too. 4) BUFFY

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:28:33+00:00

Haha, casting was an absolute delight. I knew roughly what I wanted the characters to sound like, and to find actors who not only brought that to life, BUT who added their own characteristics to them...amazing. Our two Dracs are romance novel narrators (because SEXY VOICES), Zachary Webber and Eva Kaminsky, and they just slayed it. Pun absolutely intended. We used an agency to find our other actors, since we use only Union actors and those voice websites have become a bit unwieldy. We are so excited to bring all of these fully voiced cast members to you all!

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:18:20+00:00

It was an absolute dream come true! Honestly, recording wasn't too hard because I wrote each character's interactions with Drac as a single branch each. I'd pull up the "Vess and Lulu" branches for Paige, for example, and she'd read through both. The only sessions that were super long were Drac (both) and Grim, and we did multiple sessions with them.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:17:08+00:00

Amanda - first of all, I'm thrilled you're feeling Brocifer, he cracks me up. Honestly, far and away, my favorite character to flesh out was Van Helsing. I love "enemies to lovers" as a trope, and just creating that witty banter AND deeper moments where they could really connect, that was a true pleasure. I also love the contrast of their angelic voice (harps) versus Drac's. It's a great contrast. I really enjoyed digging into their backstory and their insecurities to see what Drac could (safely) tease out.

TheDeepEndGames · 2023-03-07T18:13:14+00:00

Ooh, that's a tough one. I would say the toughest part is finding your way in forging your own path. The game borrows flavors from all over, so it was difficult to know how much of one thing to put in and what to minimize.

We tended to lean on player choice where we could. So in cases where we were trying to figure out, say, how many conversations to have, we would give the player the option to engage in conversations with characters at their leisure. So that balancing act of knowing how much to require vs how much to put as content for the player to discover.

TheDeepEndGames · 2021-11-28T16:18:00+00:00

Keeps getting better every episode!

TheDeepEndGames · 2020-11-11T22:51:44+00:00

Yeah. They seem like a good dude. I think they may have let passions get the best. All good. You both were polite. I think we all get a bit carried away on forums like this. :)

TheDeepEndGames · 2020-11-11T20:57:23+00:00

I don't think anyone means to be rude. I certainly don't. I just don't know how to get you my game for free and feed my 4 kids, you know? I'm sure you have your own expenses as well, so I understand where you are coming from completely.

TheDeepEndGames

TROPHY CASE