This week we chatted with Tomas Sala about his new game Bulwark and the challenges of being an indie dev in the age of social media.

GSC: You just released your second game, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, what has that process been like going from an aerial combat game to a city builder? What made you go in such a different direction within the same universe?

Tomas Sala: “Well famously I get bored really easily and making a straight sequel was never in the books.  Falconeer was quite a dark game to make and I wanted to branch off into something more relaxed and slightly bright (not too much tho). Building seemed like a good idea, it encapsulates what I enjoyed most about making the Falconeer, building the world.  The thought was very simple, If I enjoy that I can then share some of that creative enjoyment.  I don’t plan out or pre-design much, I just sit down when in a good mood and start prototyping, building, testing, feeling and basically that’s what I do until there’s 80% of a game. The last 20% is of course the hard work, pulling everything together, hehe masking mistakes with duct tape and hoping for the best.”

Critically the game has been quite the success, I know our review gave it an 8 and that seems to be the general consensus among most people, including gamers. It must be a pretty special feeling to put so much work into something and it be received well by everyone? 

“I find launching quite a difficult process cuz whatever you do, when you do it mostly by yourself, I have help from a publisher and such, but most days it’s just me, then it’s really hard to actually enjoy it. There is so much uncertainty and you may find yourself being celebrated, but there’s always someone disliking it equally or worse, and it’s very hard to  balance that. This is confounded by having the literal financial future of your family being dependent on this game, cuz that’s how our industry works, if you do maverick experimental stuff you are always going run around the edges of true big scale success. 
This may come off dark, but it’s just what launching does to you, it’s looking at your bank account  while it drains and at the same time fills up again and you can only ask yourself, is it enough? Enough to make another game and do something crazy again?

This launch has been one of the best I’ve ever had, it’s a good success that I can somewhat exhale, but this is also my darling, my wrought masterpiece and as long as folks are playing it, I’d want to improve it and make it better.  I just need to digest the launch, embrace the folks who truly seem to love the game and embrace the folks who don’t and have something to say about it ;)”

You've already announced the third game within the Falconeer trilogy, Ancient Waves which again sounds like it will be a pretty big shift from the first two. Are you planning on doing any big updates or DLC for Bulwark, or is it full steam ahead on Ancient Waves?

“No Ancient Waves isn’t being started on for a while, I usually need a while for the things to gestate, but the scale shift from aerial war narrative, to (re) building the war, to a small scale adventure set in the before times, I like that that is my trajectory as it were. But Bulwark is my main project now and for the foreseeable future, Falconeer had a year and a quarter of solid updates and improvements with a ton of content being added. Bulwark deserves double that if not more, it is a canvas unto itself and I hope people keep discovering its draws so I can keep investing in filling it in and expanding it. This is by far my most ambitious game, I am not entirely sure I can ever do something at this scale again, where the stars aligned, I had a good idea and a good base in the Falconeer and it just became something totally original.  

I don’t think everybody sees it yet, but I don’t think this type of radical diversion from the genre is going to be more common in the hyper AI, data driven gaming future. Everything is getting dug in on what a game can and should be, and Bulwark is so weirdly idiosyncratic even its development and artstyle intertwined to a point that developing a Bulwark-like with a team will be radically hard to do. It’s just that weird, with it’s no -textures tech, and singular chaotic artstyle that allows kitbashing stuff together. I’m really proud of that, but it’s also special as this unique fantasy that it fulfils, something I hope remains a draw and gives it longevity as I flesh out more and more of its potential. I’ve never thought that about a game, that I could be excited do spend more years on it, not even the Falconeer did that to me, but Bulwark does.”

I have to ask this as I'm a huge proponent of physical games. The Falconeer had a physical release, Bulwark did not. I'm sure as a developer it must feel pretty special to hold something in your hand that you created. How do you feel about the industry moving away from physical media? Could we possibly see a physical release for Bulwark later on? 

“There might be a physical or special edition but nothing has been agreed upon. The industry has shifted and physical is very expensive, it requires games to sell at a higher price, a price that’s not tenable for indies anymore. Triple Indie mega successes perhaps, but even then it’s questionable. 

I love physical but physical isn’t directly on the table, my publisher Wired Productions make some of the coolest special editions in the industry, so there is always a chance, if folks keep supporting the game and the growing chorus, it might.“

You are pretty active on social media and going to shows to interact with everyone. Do you feel that's even more important to do as a single person developer team?

“Quite some time ago many indie devs already saw what was coming, this downturn of the indie space in the face of massive amounts of gaming content. I distilled a few possible escapes within that flood.  The first was being mega small, well I achieved that, cannot get much smaller than me, I am cheap and nimble and can survive on less than a studio, so I can take risks that make my games stand out, even if they aren’t massive hits. The second was to build up my own IP, my own connected universe, why throw away good characters, code, art, etc every time, this industry isn’t a string of game jams, what survives are carefully built franchises and worlds that people grow to love. The third espace was, celebrity value, an artistic signature or auteurship, that stamp of approval that something is made by a real person who cares passionately about their creation, the authenticity we see in our favorite content creators or even fantasy authors, you are engaged with the artist as much as with their work.

I believe that’s something that’s just going to explode, the gaming auteur, not as some hateful egomaniac who cannot run a team without harassment, no, as your favorite storyteller whom you trust to take you away into the stories in worlds they create. So yes me as that storyteller is important, and being on social media is part of that, and genuinely for me its therapeutic in a sense, throwing out my fears, anxieties and anger into that space where people can also connect that to my work, cuz they are one of the same, the Ursee, my ideas, beliefs and the games I make, they are all me.”  

Tomas was a delight to speak to and is very open and honest with his thoughts. We appreciate the time he took to speak with us. Bulwark:The Falconeer Chronicles is available now on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.