Divine Studios talks about Valorous and what it’s like to be an independent studio

Clique aqui para ler a entrevista em portugês.

Indie Games became more and more popular nowadays, and a lot of them are teaching the industry a lot about history, creativity, and new game mechanics that even “AAA” games still need to learn. Games like Hollow Knight, Hades, Stardew Valley, and Disco Elysium prove that Indie games can be as good, and even better than many mainstream games.

Today we had the opportunity to interview Divine Studios. They’re developing the game Valorous. We like to thanks Zain, CTO and Lead Programmer, and Minh, CDO and Lead Designer for the interview. Let’s go to the interview!

Otageek (OTG): Can you talk a little about your work in Divine Studios?

Divine Studios (DS): We have two games in production currently, however, we’re focussed on Valorous. Valorous has been well received by the community and due to the hype and high demand, we have decided to release it before anything else

OTG: Can you tell us a little about Valorous, the game that Divine Studios is developing?

DS: Valorous is a top-down multiverse that brings the genres Sci-Fi, RPG and Fantasy into a single compelling experience. You’re entrusted to bring order in the world of chaos commencing from Earth and making your journey through multiverses towards the divine realm itself. Valorous is inspired by Warhammer, Starcraft, Halo and Metal Gear Solid series, to weave awe-inspiring game mechanics, modern graphics and a thrilling storyline into one package.

OTG: Did you encounter any challenges during the process?

DS: Our games are a work in progress and with a growing community, we’re not only focused to deliver promising games but also understanding what our community expectations are and what they demand because without our followers, fans, supporters and community, we don’t exist.

OTG: There are others projects that Divine Studio is working on?

DS: Before Valorous, we were initially producing Dawn of the Dead; it’s a zombie apocalypse survival game with tower defence and resource mining combined into one. Dawn of the Dead won’t be seen in the stores any time before the launch of Valorous.

OTG: What are the biggest difficulties you had with being an independent studio?

DS: We’re a small team with big dreams. We believe devotion, creativity and a strong connection with the community is the way to move forward. We have limited resources and that is indeed one of our greatest challenges at the moment, to secure funding and required resources to be able to reach our goals and release Valorous in a planned timeline. We’re open to positive opportunities to connect with publishers and investors.

OTG: Is there any release date and what platforms Valorous will be released?

DS: We aim to achieve AAA standards of quality and details and hence Valorous will be released on PC and PlayStation/XBOX as our first priority. Subsequently, as we hit more milestones, we will be shipping Valorous on mobile platforms (iOS/Android/Nintendo) as well. We aim to release Valorous between 2-3 years of time duration.

OTG: Developers often don’t know where to start when creating their own game studio, what advice could you give to those who are entering this field?

DS: We are still a young studio with much to learn, however from our experience we can share a few pieces of advice. Before commencing game production at any level, it is very critical to know where your goals lie and the direction you’re headed towards. Everything should be taken seriously from the very start and not left for the later part of the project timeline; There are always uncertainties and potential risks that if not factored in early will cause imminent failures. Better market research to learn new trends and technologies and techniques may not guarantee success but will surely paint a better picture for the dos and don’ts. Being connected to the community to learn what they wish for and being transparent with them about everything is something that should not be taken lightly.

Valorous

The universe is paying a heavy price due to the everlasting conflict between the two mighty creations, Angels and Demons. Both are empowered with equal strengths yet opposing natures. Angels strictly abide by the rules and righteousness whereby Demons would go to any length to take what they desire, lawfully or unlawfully. The Demons’ dire urge to take the throne and challenge divinity clashes with the Angels’ purposeful life-on-duty to protect the divine realm and maintain the order, and hence the outrageous clash never ceases resulting in the loss of countless lives.

As the Demons set course to disrupt the divine balance, their dark motives bring them to the multiverse to lure more civilizations with the fantasy of endless power and rule, and those unfortunate ones who don’t give in to the dark temptations, suffer by paying with their lives. The Multiverse turns into a battlefield and one of such expeditions from Demons brings them to human civilization.

This is the time when human civilization has reached the pinnacle of advancement in science and is surrounded by cutting-edge tech. A progeny of such rapid advancement in modern robotics and AI. The irony of it, created by man and superseding mankind in neural capacities and capabilities brings them to channel an uprising against the human race. The robots construct a network of intelligence to topple the hierarchy of human society thereby slaughtering endless lives and taking key positions under their control.

Still reading:

• EVO 2022 | Now we know the Line-up for the event

That was our interview with Divine Studios, many thanks to Zain and Minh for the interview and we will continue to follow the development and bring you the news of Valorous. If you don’t know Divine Studios, we’ll help you, let’s put their social networks below. And keep an eye on Discord, anything new about their work gets there first!

Instagram: @DivineStudi0s

Twitter: @DivineStudi0s

Discord: Valorous

The Medium: @DivineStudios

E se você gostou do nosso conteúdo, apoie-nos através das nossas redes sociais e acompanhe nosso podcast