Princess Hunter

Dev Spotlight: Chapter V - Princess Hunter

Today we're chatting with Paul, the lead developer behind the amazing looking upcoming CRPG, Princess Hunter.

1. What can you tell me about yourself and how did your journey into game development begin?

As a child, I not only loved to play games, but also to invent them. From the moment I could hold a pencil in my hand, no idea—or wallpaper—would be able to feel safe. Before I've got a computer, I was limited to board games and outdoor games, but then, my friend and I started actively making simple point-and-clicks and RPGs for our buddies. While studying at the university, I realized that I didn't want to do what I was being taught there, and after graduating, I decided to dedicate my life to game development. That's what I'm still doing (and I'm very happy about it).

2. The main character is a gunslinger who's just trying to making an honest living but what else can you tell me about him and the plot of the game?

The history of the Gunslingers is quite complicated, but in short, they were originally an ancient clan of legendary heroes with an impeccable reputation. Long ago, they challenged the evil Crimson King and lost. To save himself and his family, the head of the Gunslingers signed a treaty that bound him and all his descendants to serve the King until the end of time. Many saw this as an act of cowardice. Since then, all Gunslingers have been vassals of the usurper, causing them to suffer from many internal contradictions and moral qualms.

By the time the game begins, the Crimson King is so old and decrepit that he has not left his Citadel for hundreds of years. He is regarded as a character from scary tales and fables by most of the inhabitants of the Multiverse. Among them is the hero, the last of the Gunslingers, a young warrior who has just inherited a helmet, a cloak, and a pair of revolvers from his father. Living the life of a wandering mercenary, the young Gunslinger has conflicting feelings about his heritage, his reputation, and the sins of his ancestors. Frankly speaking, he is not at all sure which of his father's stories were true and which were fiction.

The Gunslinger's life changes radically when the Crimson King summons him to the Citadel and gives him a humiliating order: The Gunslinger has to visit all the worlds and bring back a princess from each one, from whom the King will choose a bride to bear him a worthy heir. Unable to escape this duty, the Gunslinger is forced to submit. And thus he becomes the Princess Hunter.

3. I saw a few quotes in the trailer that pay homage to other games. What games inspired Princess Hunter and what do you hope people take away from your game?

I've been influenced by a wide variety of games from different eras and genres: from old console platformers and early JRPGs like Zelda and ChronoTrigger, to the relatively modern Hollow Knight, To the Moon, and Inscryption. Lately, I've shifted my interests almost entirely away from AAA games to indie games, mainly narrative-heavy ones—masterpieces created by solo developers or small teams. They give me everything I love in games: a fresh and honest take on complex themes (Gris), an exciting story (OneShot), unusual game mechanics (Baba is You), stylish art and atmosphere (Darkest Dungeon).

However, there was one project that directly inspired Princess Hunter. Surprisingly, it's Helltaker. Despite being a small game with a seemingly simple gameplay—a Sokoban-themed visual novel, in which the player collects a demonic harem—this project was made with such high quality and sincerity that it has won the hearts of millions of people around the world (including mine). VanRipper's stylish art, as well as the amazing characters whose personalities are revealed in just a few static images and lines of text, the great music and the overall vibe of the game just blew me away. After that, the idea of making my own harem-collecting game was born in my head—not with demonic girls, but with monster girls, with a different core gameplay and a more ambitious concept. I don’t think I’ll be able to attain even a tiny portion of Helltaker’s success, but if my game finds its players and makes at least some people happy, I’ll be happy too!

In Princess Hunter, I want to touch on many difficult themes, such as the search for oneself and one’s place in the world; how destructive the desire to live up to someone else’s expectations rather than one’s own desires can be; and also the simple truth that is sometimes so hard to accept: that true power lies in admitting your weaknesses and not being afraid to ask your friends or family for help. Princess Hunter is a game that will primarily focus on building relationships (friendships, partnerships, romances) with a variety of characters.

4. How does combat work in Princess Hunter?

I'm a big fan of turn-based card games, especially those belonging to the deckbuilding subgenre. However, I understand that not all players, and primarily those who come to the game for the plot, dialogues (and monster girls!), are willing to dive into complicated rules and intricacies of the combat system. So, I took as a source of inspiration a very simple and intuitive combat system from the excellent game Guild of Dungeoneering, albeit modified significantly for my purposes.

Its essence is very simple: the player and the enemy each have a deck of battle cards. The enemy always goes first and plays the top card from their deck. The player sees the effect of the card in advance and can choose one of the cards in their hand in order to counter the opponent’s action in the most efficient way. In between battles, the player can upgrade cards in their deck or add new ones (provided by companions), restore health, or equip artifacts that provide passive traits.

However, for those who don't want to deal with them at all, I'm thinking about introducing a Story Mode that would allow players to skip card battles in one way or another.

Today, most people associate card battle systems with roguelike games. I think it's important to note that Princess Hunter is not a roguelike/roguelite, but a CRPG with card battles, like Steamworld: Quest or Black Book.

5. Who did the amazing artwork and character designs for the game?

All current game art is created by our lead artist Ximerika. Her talent and methodical approach to work not only make Princess Hunter better every day, but also inspire the entire team. Her contribution to the project cannot be overstated. The art and characters are not just the face of the project—they are its soul. I sincerely hope that the narrative and dialogues I'm writing will live up to Ximerika's beautiful work.

In addition, several more of my artist friends are supporting us, primarily by creating comics based on the game. Their amazing talent and sense of humor have attracted a huge number of followers. These comics have become such an integral part of the project that I want to include them in the game.

I would like to point out that we are very much motivated by fan art. Every instance of fan creativity makes our hearts beat faster and gives us the strength to move on!

6. What did you learn while making Princess Hunter and what advice would you give to a game developer working on their first game?

Don't dilute the main concept. Start small and focus on what is most important. Mind the Occam's razor and cut out the unnecessary things. The main difference between large studios and indie studios (especially solo developers) is that the latter have limited resources and can't work on multiple things at once. But this limitation is also a blessing because it allows you to focus on what is important without worrying about how to sell more loot boxes to the player.

7. Steam says it will be released soon but do you have an official release date yet?

Due to the fact that my team and I are developing the project in our spare time and at our own expense, I'm afraid I can't even give an approximate date. I cautiously hope that we will try to release the demo this year, but only if it meets my quality standards, which are fairly high. I completely agree with Gabe Newell who said: "Late is just for a little while. Suck is forever."

To keep updated with Princess Hunter's development, check out the Steam or YouTube page which are updated regularly.