Posted September 24, 2014
in Ten Questions With...
Ten Questions With… The Team (Extend Studio)
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So Many Me is one of the most adorable, not to mention challenging puzzle/platform titles we played this year. It features a cast of cute characters and a vibrant gameworld, but isn’t afraid to provide you with a rigorous mental workout. We had a chat with the team from Extend Studio to find out more about this unique game.
Can you give our readers a quick introduction to the studio?
Extend Studio (x10) was founded in 2008 by a group of friends who share the same dream: making a great game that people want to play. Our company’s goal is to create a blockbuster IP that makes everyone proud. We immediately began development on our first self-funded title, A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda. So Many Me is our second adventure!
How did the idea for So Many Me come about?
We wanted to create an innovative puzzle game. So we brainstormed and many ideas were proposed. We ended up choosing ‘clones’ as a keyword because we really like how it looks when many small characters are seen on the screen at the same time.
What are the games that influenced you and how?
Our lead designer is a fan of masterpiece puzzle games like Braid and Portal. In our point of view, these games emphasize their own keyword and push it to the limit. Braid’s is ‘Time’, Portal’s is ‘wormhole’ and So Many Me is trying to do the same with ‘Clones’.
What features of So Many Me are you the most proud of?
The first and the most important, an ability to transform ME into a stepping-stone. It is the main mechanic that drives the game, which has been redesigned so many times because it’s meant to be the first impression to players and we wanted it to feel as smooth as possible. You would be surprised how clunky it was in our first version.
What was the biggest challenge while creating So Many Me?
The biggest challenge is level design. It is very time consuming, since we don’t have experience in creating puzzle game before. Most of the levels have been revised several times, and that make us very happy with the final look of it now.
What aspect of creating the game was the most fun?
There are quite a lot of fun things that happened during the process, but the first thing that comes to mind is when we were designing the collectible appearances. We already love how cute original Filo looks, and the thought of creating Filo-cute version of many popular characters, including other franchises is just amazing. Thanks to our indie dev friends who are generous and kind enough to grant us their permission to do so. 😀
In hindsight is there anything you would have changed about the game?
We plan to update the game with a new global stat feature which will sum up the total time of Filo’s death, generated by every player who plays the game, and show it as the global stat score. Everyone who plays So Many Me knows how often they might be dead, and this feature will make the game even more enjoyable.
What are the future plans for So Many Me/Extend Studio?
Well, it’s still not finalized but we think an extra chapter (with loads of new puzzles and challenges) would be a good candidate for So Many Me DLC 🙂 In addition, we plan to have a big update/expansion for our debut game, A.R.E.S., soon.
What is the most unusual thing on your desk right now?
This
Anything else you would like to add?
We have done our best to ensure that everyone who plays So Many Me will have a good time exploring the puzzles (and taking the time solving them). For those veteran gamers who might think this game is only for kids, it is not.
Thank you to the folks from x10 for all the great insights about the game. We gave it a well deserved 9/10 in our REVIEW, so head over to the Steam Storeand buy yourself a copy if you like what you see. The game is also available forOUYA.
