How did you get into making games?

I started making games in college, after downloading Adventure Game Studio and realizing that I could actually make something in it. I'd tried using other programs in prior years, including Klik and Play, but nothing really worked for making the type of point and click adventures I wanted to design. AGS, it turned out, was the perfect tool I was looking for. From 2004-2012 I made an 8 part series (10 if you count remakes I did of the first two games) called Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator. You played as fresh out of college Ben Jordan, who decided to travel the world investigating paranormal phenomena related to local legends and folklore. They're completely free to download, and were a great learning experience. The most important thing they taught me was how to actually finish and release a game.

You use Grundislav as a name online and as a studio name, what does that name mean?

The name Grundislav is, according to my 11th grade history teacher, the old Germanic form of González. My friends started calling me Grundislav in high school, so the name stuck and I began using it as my online handle. Grundislav Games is just the name I came up with to define my "studio" when I first started making adventure games back in 2001. 

Can you say anything about your recent games?

In 2013 I decided it was finally time to try making adventure games for a living. My first commercial game was A Golden Wake, released in 2014, a historical fiction piece about the rise and fall of a real estate developer in 1920s Miami. After that I made Shardlight, a post-apocalyptic tale about a young woman trying to find the cure for a deadly disease while trying to expose and bring down a corrupt government. Shardlight came out in 2016, and afterwards I began working on Lamplight City, a detective adventure in an alternate 19th century. Lamplight City was released in 2018, and I'm currently working on Rosewater, a wild west adventure set in the same alternate 19th century world.

Is “Rosewater” a sequel to “Lamplight City”?

Rosewater, despite being set in the same universe, is not a direct sequel to Lamplight City. It's more of a spinoff or "side-quel." You play as Harley Leger, who is the sister of Bill, the deceased partner from Lamplight City. There are some references to events and ideas mentioned in Lamplight City, but having played it is not required to understand what's happening in Rosewater. The overall plot of the game is that Harley comes to Rosewater intending to start a job writing for the local newspaper. She's assigned a rather mundane puff piece, interviewing "Gentleman Jake," a wild west legend who happens to be in town putting on a show. Jake soon recruits her to go in search of a lost fortune, and Harley joins up with a ragtag posse to journey across Western Vespuccia.

Is “Rosewater” a bigger game than “Lamplight City”?

With Rosewater, I'm trying a few new things. Graphically, I'm working at the highest resolution I've ever attempted, 1280x720. That doesn't sound that high by today's standards, especially with 4k, but considering my previous games were 320x200 and 640x400 resolution, it's quite the step up! I'm also doing fullscreen animations to emphasize certain events, like a character being thrown out a window or Harley getting pickpocketed. This hopefully makes the game feel much more cinematic. The thing I'm most excited about, however, is being able to work with larger character sprites, which means I can have them gesture and change facial expressions, adding a lot more dynamism to the characters instead of having them just stand idly while talking or relying on giant character portraits appearing on screen. So far, I'd say my biggest challenge has been adapting to a higher resolution. Thankfully it wasn't as difficult as I feared, and I think I've gotten the hang of it at this point.

What kind of gameplay can players expect in “Rosewater”?

Gameplay-wise, my focus on design is allowing for multiple solutions to most puzzles. Since Harley is a former boxer-turned-writer, it allows for some flexibility in play style. You can either look for a more cerebral, "puzzly" way to bypass obstacles, or find a solution that's more violent in nature. You'll be playing as Harley throughout the game, but there will be points where your companions might make suggestions or plans you can side with. The main focus is your relationship with your companions. What you say to them and what actions you perform in their company will affect how they perceive you. The game's third act and how it plays out will depend on your standing with your companions, and which of them choose to stay with you. This depends on how you've treated them up until that point, so your attitude will have an effect! While the story does branch, I'm not planning on including multiple endings with wild variety. Instead, I'm designing the ending to be the same endpoint to the story, but have the fates of your companions vary.  The game will have both autosave points as well as allowing for manual saves, so players don't need to worry too much about making any "wrong" decisions, as the game won't punish you or lock you out of content for choosing certain actions. I'm putting in a few timed dialogue options, but using these very sparingly and in situations where they make sense. There's also a setting to allow for extended timers for players who want it.

What do you like about being a game developer?

I think the thing I enjoy most about game development is being able to create interesting worlds and stories for players to explore. Sometimes I'll load up the game and just wander around the town of Rosewater, and even though I've seen it hundreds of times, I still get a little bit excited thinking about the rest of the game and what I'll get to work on and show off. Being able to still feel excited about a project after nearly 2 years of development is something I'm taking as a good sign!

When can we look forward to playing “Rosewater”?

Rosewater will hopefully be out next year, in 2021.

Thanks for doing this interview!

Thanks to everyone for your support, and if you haven't yet wishlisted the game, please consider doing so on Steam or GOG. Rosewater will be available for PC, Mac, and Linux.