Dreadline Interview

Rock, Paper, Shotgun recently chatted up Eerie Canal’s Bryn Bennett, Aaron DeMuth, and Arthur Inasi about their newly founded indie studio, the RPG/RTS hybrid they’re working on (Dreadline, obviously), the platforms they’d like to develop for, and more. A sampling from the Q&A:

RPS: Did the idea for a game exist before the forming of the company? Or did you begin with a blank whiteboard and a feeling of terror?

Bryn Bennett: Total terror. Ha. At first I was all excited about being able to do anything I wanted! Then I freaked out thinking about how I could do anything I wanted. Too many options can sometimes lead to writer’s block. So, it took a while for us to settle on this idea. Steve had some idea about being animals in a deserted mall. I had an idea about being in an alternative future where humans now ruled supreme, and hunted demons and orcs as some kind of gameshow. Terrible ideas. Plus, we were just freaking out because we didn’t have any money coming in, and that didn’t really help the creative process. Luckily, we ended up with something we’re all excited about. which is monsters with time machines.

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RPS: Can you explain a bit about how Dreadline will play? It’s an RPG/RTS hybrid, so people obviously immediately think of Freedom Force. Is that the right idea?

Bryn Bennett: It’s more like Freedom Force mixed with a racing game. Freedom Force is deliberately slow, and very tactical. In fact, Ken Levine would play it almost like a turned based strategy game. Dreadline is going to be a lot faster and more frantic. Arms will be flying, and monsters will be ripping through people to kill as many as they can before the calamity hits. It will be very important to work together as a team to not only survive, but to kill as many people as possible. So, why don’t they just go back in time slightly farther so they can take their time? I’m not sure. I think monsters like it this way.