Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
IllFonic is most known for its work on Friday the 13th: The Game. However, since development on the game has ceased, the company has ventured out and began putting work into its own projects. We caught up with a couple of developers at the studio to learn more about their journey the past few years and making Arcadegeddon.
Shacknews Head of Video Greg Burke recently sat down for a chat with Charles Brungardt, CEO and co-founder of IllFonic, as well as Jared Gerritzen, head of creative. During the interview, the duo talked about creating their latest game, Arcadegeddon.
“It was a refactoring and a cause and effect of another game dying,” said Gerritzen. Arcadegeddon had originally been in development at another studio, but the project was canceled due to internal issues. “We as a team just didn’t want to let the idea go,” Brungardt added.
During the interview, the two also talked about the differences in developing games based on existing properties and creating their own. “You have a built-in understanding of what it is and a built-in audience,” said Gerritzen. “With Predator or Friday the 13th you kind of have your box to play in and you know you have to do the franchise justice,” Brungardt added. He went on to explain how things were different when building Arcadegeddon. "When we were working with Arcadegeddon on our own IP, it's pretty freeing." The developers were able to take good gameplay mechanics and build the story around them.
The full interview with the developers from IllFonic is an insightful chat that you can view over on the GamerHubTV YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe there and to Shacknews for more exclusive gaming content.