Developer: FireWo Games
Release: TBD
Genre: Simulation RPG
Art Style: 3D
Social links: Steam / Twitter / Youtube / Discord
Recently I found and backed a really interesting open world simulation game in Kickstarter that aspired to let you loose in Ancient China to forge your own path from rags to riches. The Kickstarter was canceled in favour of a future, better prepared campaign, but my interest remained. As such, I contacted the devs and chatted with them about the project. Have a look!
1. What inspired you to start working on The Bustling World?
The inspiration behind our game comes from a shared love for open-world games since childhood. During college, I started my own business, influenced by a passion for entrepreneurship. We both have a deep appreciation for Chinese traditional culture, including clothing, painting, and ancient texts. This, combined with our love for strategy games and 4X games, led to the creation of The Bustling World.
2. Can you tell me a bit more about the story of the game and the world behind it?
Our game doesn’t follow a specific storyline. It unfolds on the ancient land since the Tang Dynasty. Set in a world mixing many different dynasties, the game features multiple factions, cities, and regions dynamically evolving with player participation. We offer players gameplay mechanics ranging from survival, management, and adventure to reigning, city planning, and warfare. While we guide players to grow from nobodies to somebodies, The Bustling World has no limitations, allowing players to choose their own paths.
3. The scope of the game is truly huge. What led you to pursue such a complicated endeavour?
Our passion for these types of games is the primary motivation. Additionally, we assessed our own capabilities and felt confident that we could bring this vision to life. The achievable scope varies significantly for different teams. For us, everything is under control.
4. Will you be able to explore everything in a single playthrough or will there be limitations to allow for multiple builds / playthroughs?
Based on our current plans, players can experience pretty much all the game mechanics in a single playthrough. But there’ll definitely be replayability as well, if players wish to take different routes and start all over. But our future updates will focus on content-based DLC to avoid forcing players to purchase DLC to access all game mechanics.
5. You are a couple that became a two-dev team. What has been your experience over the past 4-and-half years working together on this project?
We are college sweethearts, having known each other for over 9 years. Our strong connection and understanding of each other make us not only spouses but also like-minded friends and colleagues. Our thoughts align, resulting in a highly enjoyable collaboration.
6. Where could people find you in order to learn more about The Bustling World and keep up with future updates?
Please wishlist our game on Steam.
7. What is the current status of the game? Do you expect to release it soon?
The expected development will take more than a year. Currently, we believe the completion is at 70%. Afterward, we are planning to expand the team, and a playable demo is also in the plan. We should be able to estimate a more accurate launch date by then.
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