For a decade now, Francisco González,the solo developer at Grundislav Games, has been perfecting his craft in the adventure genre,and now he is busy working on his 5th game,ROSEWATER. We were able to catch up with him and have a chat about his experiences,his love for the genre and of course, what we can expect from ROSEWATER(spoiler,there’s some A list voice acting here) In speaking with him you can sense his passion for the industry and what he’s building.
Can you tell us a bit about ROSEWATER? Perhaps where you are drawing any inspiration from?
ROSEWATER is a point & click adventure game set in an alternate Wild West. In this version of the 19th century, first seen in my previous game LAMPLIGHT CITY, the United States never declared independence and is known as the Commonwealth of Vespuccia. There are also some light steampunk elements that exist, such as a mysterious force located in the atmosphere called aethericity.
You play as Harley Leger, a former bare-knuckle brawler trying to make a name for herself as a writer. After her arrival in the sleepy town of Rosewater, a seemingly trivial assignment to interview a legendary cowboy turns into a treasure hunt as she and a posse of 5 companions set out in search of a missing man’s fortune.
The journey across the frontier is shaped by your choices and relationships with your companions. The general vibe I want players to feel is “going on a roadtrip with friends.”
As far as inspiration, I looked to a couple of classic adventures, namely Conquests of the Longbow and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Both these games featured multiple paths and a good amount of non-linearity, which I wanted to emulate. Artistically, I looked to Full Throttle for the larger sprites with high contrast color schemes. Since this game is high resolution, I’m able to give the characters body language and facial expressions, rather than relying on closeup portraits.
Do you have any specific goals you want to accomplish with ROSEWATER?
My goals with Rosewater are to level up the production values, specifically with music and voices. The soundtrack by Mark Benis (who also composed Lamplight City) is an epic sweeping score reminiscent of of classic westerns but with his own spin. He's also using live instruments and hired some amazingly talented players, adding an extra layer of richness. I'm extremely proud of the voice cast. This is my first project working with SAG-AFTRA voice talent (and I may possibly be the first solo dev to do so, using the recently established Low Budget Interactive Agreement) The cast features names like Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan in Red Dead 2) Cissy Jones (Delilah in Firewatch) Dave Fennoy (Lee in The Walking Dead) and so many more.
What made you want to go down the indie route and working on your own rather than joining a bigger studio?
Mainly it’s because I’m a control freak, but really it’s more because I’m completely self-taught in all aspects of game development. I only know how to program in Adventure Game Studio, and I don’t really have any skills developed to a level where I could get a job at a bigger studio. Besides that, I like working alone, even though it can get lonely.
ROSEWATER is currently only in development for PC,do you have any plans to expand to other platforms in the future?
A Switch port is likely, but no plans to go to other consoles beyond that.
You've only ever made adventure games so far in your career. What is it about them that draws you to the genre?
What I love most about adventure games is their ability to tell a story. Before I got into games, my dream was to make movies, and adventure games are about as close to that as you can get. As a solo developer, they’re easy to make in the sense that they don’t require any special mechanics or real programming know-how.
The main challenge of design for me is coming up with puzzles that feel well-integrated into the story, but are challenging enough to please players looking for that classic adventure game experience.
Have you ever thought of branching out to others(genres)?
I’ve thought about doing something like a cinematic platformer in the vein of Prince of Persia, Flashback, or Out of This World, but I’d need to team up with someone who could code it, because that’s way out of my wheelhouse!
The gaming industry is going through a lot of turmoil and changes right now despite the record profits, how has it affected you,if at all, and how do you feel as a developer working in the industry today?
My heart goes out to everyone affected by the industry layoffs. I got laid off from a full-time designer position at an indie studio in late 2015 and had to scramble to find another publisher for my previous game, Lamplight City. There’s no worse feeling than having your dream job end. Luckily, I was able to land on my feet and find another publisher.
The current layoffs haven’t affected me, but working in the industry today definitely feels way more precarious.
While Francisco doesn’t have a final release date locked in just yet, ROSEWATER is currently scheduled to release on Steam,Mac and Linux sometime in 2024. We look forward to seeing his finished product. For now you can check out the official trailer:
