Ten Questions With… Dominique Lemire-Nault (Juicy Beast)

Ten Questions With… Dominique Lemire-Nault (Juicy Beast)

Facebook
Like Juicy Beast on Facebook

Twitter 
Follow Juicy Beast on Twitter

Website
Check out the official
Knightmare Tower Website

Discussion
Give the developers feedback on the Steam Discussion Page

Purchase
Buy your copy of Knightmare Tower on the Steam Store page 

To say that Knigthmare Tower is an addictive title would be an understatement and we still find ourselves having another go every now and then despite completing it multiple times. To find out more about the four man team responsible for our lack or productivity we caught up with Dominique Lemire-Nault. Check out what the guys had to say below.

Can you give our readers a quick introduction of yourself and the studio?

Hi, we are Juicy Beast, a small studio that started as four guys in 2009, who were making free online games (or Flash games). Then, five years later, despite being the same four guys, we have much more experience and are slowly moving to the world of mobile, consoles and PC! So far, people know us for Burrito Bison, Knightmare Tower and for our very first immature and gross game, GOBTRON!

How did the idea for Knightmare Tower come about?

We first pitched the idea of a character bouncing on enemies to go higher and higher, performing combos and stunts, to some big client who wanted a game from us (something we rarely do as we pretty much always work on our own IPs). Unfortunately, the idea was rejected as it was not “viral” enough for them. Since we liked the prototype we made, we decided to take it further to see what could come out of it. We always wanted to do a medieval themed game in our own way and thought that it would be funny to have a knight climbing a tower by launching himself on a rocket, defying gravity and facing tons and tons of monsters mid-air!

What are the games that influenced you and how?

We all grew up surrounded by games so there’s literally a ton that influenced us, and there’s many reasons to it. Going through all of them could go on almost forever, but to name a few of them, just thinking about Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Sonic, Megaman, Castlevania, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and many more brings so many happy memories. There are so many masterpieces out there. Achieving that level of polish and entertainment is something that we respect a lot here at Juicy Beast and we try our best to create games that reflect it.

What features of Knightmare Tower are you the most proud of?

This will sound a bit weird, but we are somehow very proud of the lava. We know that technically it doesn’t make much sense that a 25 km tall tower is rapidly filling up with it, but it gives you this urgency to always be on your toes. The feeling you get when you think you will be swallowed then suddenly, you gain that speed boost to outpace it!

What was the biggest challenge while creating Knightmare Tower?

Make a game where you do not feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over again, even though that’s exactly what you do haha! We do hope we made a good job at hiding that fact.

What aspect of creating the game was the most fun?

Slaying monsters in mid-air for way too much time even though the game was just in the stage of being a prototype? But seriously, creating all the monsters, power-ups, equipments, princesses and their rewards, and, of course, the lava! Everything we added to the game was really enjoyable!

The best part about creating a game though is probably when some unexpected bugs come up and give us a good laugh! You can see some of them in this video:

Knightmare Tower is your first Steam release. How did you find the experience?

We never actually thought that Knightmare Tower would ever be on Steam so it is a big accomplishment for us. To think that it first was a Flash game, then an OUYA game, then a mobile game, to finally get on PC! We think it’s amazing! We’ve been through a lot during that long process, but it was worth it all.

What are the future plans for Knightmare Tower/Juicy Beast?

Knightmare Tower has already been through a lot and we are very satisfied of what we’ve accomplished with it so far. It would definitely be great to see the game on more platforms such as the PS Vita, but working on that many versions of the game takes a lot of time for a small team like us. So, unfortunately, there’s no official plans for the future of Knightmare Tower yet :[ .

What is the most unusual thing on your desk right now?

I’d say maybe the goat on Mario’s head, next to Kratos on Yowan’s desk?

Or JP’s mouse pad?

Or all of Dom’s food?

Or a magic 8 ball on top of a USB fridge next to a mug full of pen and toothpaste on Alex’s desk?

Anything else you would like to add?

If you’ve just read this “Ten Questions With” but have no idea what Knightmare Tower is, go buy it unhesitatingly. If you are not sure whether we are trustful people or not, you can learn more about Juicy Beast’s four man team on the about page of our website: Juicy Beast About Page Thanks again for everything GAMERamble!

We would like to thank Ken and KJ for answering our questions, and wish them luck for future PD Design Studio projects. You can check out our review for Dusty Revenge: Co-op Edition HERE and buy a copy of the game on Steam or from the official website.

Related posts

Ten Questions With… Anton Pustovoyt (Pixel Night)

Ten Questions With... Anton Pustovoyt (Pixel Night)

We recently played Empathy: Path of Whispers and found an intriguing title with a gameworld begging to be explored instead of simply admired from afar like in similar titles. It also features a storyline that dares to be different and trusts players to piece together the puzzle themselves instead of having everything spelled out. It is hard to believe that such an ambitious title started out as a graduation project, but Anton Pustovoyt from Pixel Night was kind enough to tell us more about the game and what makes it so unique.

Ten Questions With… Marco Mantoan (Picaresque Studio)

Ten Questions With... Marco Mantoan (Picaresque Studio)

We were very impressed by the gameplay trailer that Picaresque Studio unveiled for their upcoming title, Nantucket, and clearly we were not the only ones. The game managed to get Greenlit in record time, which means the Steam community is just as eager to get their hands on this Herman Melville influenced title. To find out more about the game we got in touch with Marco Mantoan.

Ten Questions With… Niklas Hansson (Defrost Games)

Ten Questions With... Niklas Hansson (Defrost Games)

We played through the mind and space bending puzzles of Project Temporality a while ago and it impressed us enough that we had to find out more. Fortunately, Niklas Hansson from Defrost Games was willing to give us some insights about this unique title, so check out what he had to say.

Ten Questions With… Rasmus Stouby (Bolverk Games)

Ten Questions With... Rasmus Stouby (Bolverk Games)

We recently had a blast with the pure platforming action of Glyph by Bolverk Games, which features more than 80 challenging levels. The combination of exploration, puzzle-solving, platforming challenges, and beautiful visuals certainly makes for a memorable experience, and the game scored a well-deserved 8.3/10 in our REVIEW. To learn a little more about this charming game and the studio, we asked one of their marketing managers, Mr. Rasmus Stouby, a few questions.

Ten Questions With… Vedran Klanac (ZeroBit Games)

Ten Questions With... Vedran Klanac (ZeroBit Games)

We recently had a look at the upcoming retro style arcade blaster, Zotrix from ZeroBit Games. The game offers a mixture of old school arcade action with the promise of more modern elements such as resources and upgrades. To find out more about this unique title we had a chat with the CEO of Ocean Media LLC, Vedran Klanac.

TEN QUESTIONS WITH… Lucia Czemerinski Foos (BeautiFun Games)

TEN QUESTIONS WITH… Lucia Czemerinski Foos (BeautiFun Games)

We were pleasantly surprised by Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets, the recent frantic puzzle-adventure by BeautiFun Games. The game impressed us with well-designed puzzles, great creature designs and a wealth of content. To discover a little more about the game, we had a chat with Lucia Czemerinski Foos who was kind enough to answer our questions.

Leave a comment

thirteen + twenty =