An Interview with Red Hook Studios: Creators of Darkest Dungeon

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty with Red Hook Studios' Chris Bourassa (Creative Director / Artist for Darkest Dungeon)

An Interview by Glitchiee:

Darkest Dungeon is a rouge-like dungeon crawler focusing on the stress of adventuring instead of just the slaughter of enemies.  Including gameplay elements such as darkness, starvation, and stress relief, the creators of Darkest Dungeon, Red Hook Studios, have introduced a fresh concept leading to an amazingly addictive game.  For more information on Darkest Dungeon, check out P&P's original review and the recent Fiends and Frenzy addition.  Since Darkest Dungeon is such a great game that is not even out of the Steam Early Access stage, P&P just had to sit down with Red Hook Studios' Chris Bourassa for a bit of insight into the game and its development.

"Hey, Phil, it says 'full' right above your head."

"Dammit, Tom, I told you eight Boston Cremes was one too many.  Let's just make this dungeon 

quick before I crap my pants."

P&P: Welcome, Chris, so tell us…did you come up with the idea for Darkest Dungeon first or did the art inspire the game?

CB: The idea for a classically-inspired RPG that focused on stress responses and the human cost of adventuring came first, but the art wasn't far behind.  I think the theme was strong enough that we built both game play and art direction out of the same core ingredients.

P&P: Were the Lovecraftian tones always part of the game design or an aspect that was including at a later date?

CB: We're huge Lovecraft fans, and given that the game focuses on the mental strain of adventuring, it was a perfect combination!  The core design, art, and tonal influences like Lovecraft all came at the inception of the project—they were our core ingredients, and we structured each of them to reinforce the other.

P&P: Where do the various themes for the dungeons come from? Such as the ectoplasms, swine, etc.

CB: Diversity in an RPG is important, so making sure that each dungeon had its own identity was vital.  We talked about color temperature, types of monsters, types of objects you'd find—anything we could do to make the regions interesting and distinct.  Monsters were themed based on the dungeon environment, and also have significant game play differences.  The idea was also to make different heroes more or less effective in the different dungeons, encouraging players to experiment with their party comps.

"Psst...what happening now?"

"What's it look like?  She's playing a mean air guitar and that's made the beastie burst into tears."

"Oh...makes sense."

P&P: There is a good amount of humor in Darkest Dungeon. Who is the humorist of the group or does the entire team contribute?

CB: There's some black humor in there for sure—even a couple song cameos (check the Jester's camping skills)!  A dash of that stuff is important I think to offset all the bleakness found everywhere else in the game.  The same way the characters themselves have just a hint of cuteness in their designs, while the writing tries to incorporate just the slightest bit of levity here and there.

P&P: Is developing Darkest Dungeon a full-time gig with your lives on hold or is it part time?

CB: The only way we've been able to get where we are is by making it a more than a full time commitment.  For the bulk of our development, we've been using up our own personal savings/RRSP's, and spending upwards of 55-65 hours a week with no weekends for 2 years.  We're all experienced developers, and we knew going into this that there would be no way we'd ever get across the finish line if we approached it as a hobby.  This game was an all-in move for us, and we're so grateful that it has paid off.

P&P: So what is the environment at Red Hook Studios then? Do you all work together in the same office or are things done via telecommuting? Does everyone help with everything or are certain aspects individual only?

CB: We were in the same office for over a year, but recently we've been working from home while we look for a new spot.  It's been nice to try both approaches, but each has its pros and cons (that steam library though!).  There's a good amount of collaboration across the team, but everybody definitely has their core areas that they handle.

"Are you sure beating this thing with a sock full of soap is the best the plan?"

"Hey, it smells like corpse ass...so it can't hurt, right?"

P&P: How do you feel about the success of the game? Are you guys shocked? At this point, are you further along than you expected?

CB: We've been blown away by the response to the game so far.  It's very humbling to see so many people engaged with it.  It's definitely performed beyond our expectations and that has been incredibly rewarding and exciting.  We also feel a responsibility to our players to make sure that each update improves and refines the experience.  We want everyone who has joined our early access community to enjoy the ride right up to our 1.0 release in October!

P&P: And finally, what are the hopes for the future? Expansions? Possibly a Darkest Dungeon 2?

CB: We'd love nothing more than to continue to expand and grow the core game, explore other versions like board games/tabletop, and yes, if there continues to be a demand, a sequel would be amazing.  We love the game and the world, so it's a dream come true to be able to continue developing it!

P&P would like to thank Red Hook Studios (especially Chris Bourassa), not only for making an awesome game, but for also taking the time out of their busy schedules to sit down with us and discuss Darkest Dungeon.  And P&P wishes them nothing but tremendous luck in all future endeavors.  Gamers, hold onto your butts, because the full game release is right around the corner.  Stay tuned to P&P for more Darkest Dungeon coverage.

Writer: Glitchiee – Twitter / Twitch

Editor: Hank – Twitter / Twitch 

Coming up this Saturday on P&P: Fallout 4, Kiss Your Real Life Goodbye.

Darkest Dungeon: Fiends and Frenzy Brings Stress to the Next Level

An article by Glitchiee:

Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook Studios is still on Steam Early Access, but that doesn't mean they are not bringing their A-game when it comes to new content.  While the game in and of itself is superb, as you can see in my original review, introducing new game play aspects helps keep the game moving forward, attracts new players, and increases brand awareness.  Plus, new things to beat into a pulp, is just so exciting.  Fiends and Frenzy, packed with fun and dastardly new things for players to explore, released on May 28th to much hype.  With new character classes to play, new bosses to fight, the stress mechanic getting an addition, and even new art, Fiends and Frenzy brings a lot to an already great rouge-like dungeon crawler.

CHARACTER CLASSES:

New character classes always breathe freshness into a video game.  New abilities, new team compositions, and new personalities lend themselves to wreaking havoc in game.  And Darkest Dungeon is no exception.  Fiends and Frenzy introduces the Man-at-Arms and the Arbalest, the latest to join the ranks of fighters in Hamlet.  The Man-at-Arms is a front line tank with amazing buffing skills.  But not only that, his ability Retribution comes with a unique skill: Riposte.  Riposte allows the Man-at-Arms to counterattack whether an enemy lands a hit or not.  On top of that, Riposte ups the attack damage and critical chance of the counterattack.  This makes the Man-at-Arms a high damage class with plenty of health and protection to keep on ticking.

To back up the Man-at-Arms is the Arbalest: a ranged attacker with area of effect debuffing skills.  She is the perfect companion to those melee attackers.  Working well with the Bounty Hunter and Occultist due to marking enemies, she also comes with a heal that buffs other heals through a Battlefield Bandage ability.  And her synergy with the Occultist is perfect.  Not only can he mark an enemy for the Arbalest to attack, but her healing buff can help his Wyrd Reconstruction heal for even more.  Combine that with the Bounty Hunter's damage output and you have a deadly team.

 "Listen up, the plan is simple: you distract the guards while I stuff the canon full of bananas."

NEW BOSSES:

Along with new character classes, Fiends and Frenzy, brought three new bosses.  The Prophet, the Brigand Pounder, and the Flesh.  All three bring new abilities needing new battle tactics in order to defeat.  The Prophet is a twisted man who juggles his own eyeballs.  And with bits of pew in front of him, just reaching his nastiness can be a challenge.  The Brigand Pounder is a beast of a cannon guarded by bandit reinforcements.  Trying to take down this metal monstrosity will take more than brains.  Patience, determination and someone with heavy hitting is the way to go.  And last but not least, comes the Flesh.  This freaky pulsating conglomeration of random parts will not only disgust you, but it can change its form.  On top of that it can heal itself which is infuriating to no end.  But once you find that sweet spot to hit however, taking down this grotesque aberration is a piece of cake.

"Okay.  I've got one.  What's worse than spiders on your piano?"

"I give up."

"Crabs on your organ!  Get it?  Get it?"

"Yeah...I'm going to bed.  Wake me when something interesting happens." 

DUNGEON CRAWLING AND STRESS:

While it may seem like the bosses are the only dangers to rear their ugly heads in the dungeons with this new patch…that is hardly the case.  Implementing some balance changes, the Red Hook Studios crew has upped the stress, made monsters stronger, added in a surprise mini-boss, as well as other small things that will chip away at your sanity.  Not only will these changes take you by surprise if you are not prepared, but they can completely wreck your day in a flash.

To start off, the darkness is stronger now.  So stress piles up quicker than ever before, making its management even more important.  But not only that, if you max out the stress bar again after becoming afflicted—BAM—heart attack.  And this isn't like battling at death's door.  Any character hit by a heart attack is instantly gone.  So if you fail to keep your character's stress down, a winning battle can quickly lead to defeat when the heart attacks start.

Healing has also had an addition.  The same way that attacks can crit, so now can healing abilities.  This is incredibly helpful when the crit is massive, lessening the need to heal that character again.  It is also important because characters become full when eating now.  So no more food spamming.  After eating four pieces of food a character will refuse to eat anymore, notifying you with the word "full" appearing above their head.  However, the healing that food gives can also crit making the need to keep eating less necessary.

Mobs are now stronger than before.  When wandering through the dungeons, spiders, skeletons, ghouls and swine now inflict more damage.  So planning ahead is more important than ever.  Consider having a constant healer in the team or bring more food to be able to eat after every battle.  And there's another inclusion in the dungeons: Shamblers.  These mini-bosses are found at the Shambler Alter and summoned by sacrificing one of your torches.  Resistant to debuffs and marking, this baddie snuffs out all light when it makes its appearance from the void.  But defeating a Shambler allows you to obtain an ancient artifact.

"I just...I just don't understand how he keeps hitting us, if he's juggling his eyeballs."

"Because we're in a video game you idiot.  It's not supposed to make sense."

HAMLET CHANGES AND SELLING TRINKETS:

When you are done exploring the dungeons of your old estate, it's time to return to Hamlet for some stress relief.  And the town has had some upgrades.  The statue now has a purpose as it holds your ancestor's memories.  So go there to listen to what your ancestor said as you loaded into a boss dungeon or when you first started the game.  The graveyard also received an update.  Now all your dead characters have fancy gravestones that progressively get fancier the higher the level they are when they die.  Some even get flowers, while others get tentacles, or are just stuck with a plain old headstone.

Done visiting the graveyard?  Good, now you can take a tour of your new trinket inventory.  A big addition with Fiends and Frenzy is the ability to sort and sell your trinkets.  Low on cash?  Just sell a trinket you are not using for some quick coin.  Have ten Debuff Stones?  Sell off a few.  Want to unequip all your trinkets to see what you have or better equip your characters?  That can be done as well.  And you can quickly sort items by those that are class restricted first or keep everything sorted based on their rarity.  The only con is that the trinkets do not sort next to each other.  For example, if you sort everything based on rarity, all your Stun Stones will not necessarily be sorted next to each other, making the process of looking for trinkets to equip or sell a bit more tedious than it really has to be.

"The best way to deal with this thing is to crack it on its head."

"But, Sir, I can't tell if I'm looking at its ass or its face."

"I feel the same about you.  Now get swinging!"

CONCLUSION:

Fiends and Frenzy not only brought in balance changes, but it introduced new character classes, new bosses, and new ways to stress out.  Red Hook Studios hit it out of the park with this new content, reeling in old and new players alike.  With more content slated to come in the near future, Darkest Dungeon's future looks bright.  Still haven't checked out Darkest Dungeon, do so now!  You will not be disappointed.

Keep an eye out next week as P&P sat down with Red Hook Studios for an interview on Darkest Dungeon and the studio’s future in the gaming world.

Writer: Glitchiee – Twitter / Twitch

Editor: Hank – Twitter / Twitch

Video Game Review: Hand of Fate

Since she had such a marvelous guest review of Darkest Dungeon, Glitchiee returns this time to put Hand of Fate through the ringer.  So take it away Glitchiee:

Hand of Fate deals you cards that hold delicious food, armor, and vampires…but where does that leave all the combat?

STORY:

The player is sat across from a mysterious dealer that continually provokes you throughout the game.  Have you lost your memory?  Is this card game going to get you killed?  Can you understand the dealer's words as he talks underneath a handkerchief?  These and other questions arise as you play through the game trying to acquire the mysterious dealer's items.  Food carts, platforming death mazes, luck, and a clunky combat system ensues.

"Abradna cabrshea sha."

"Yeah, you're going to have to repeat that. I can't understand a word coming out 

of your mouth with that scarf wrapped around your head."

"Bi sauegd abrashhh cabrabra."

"You know what?  Forget it.  Let's just play 'Go Fish' or something."

GAMEPLAY/THOUGHTS:

Hand of Fate is comprised of two different play styles.  There is the card game section and then there is the combat section.  And having the two mixed in a pixelated cocktail is a concept most gamers have yet to come across.  It brings a fresh take on most card games that are currently floating around in the gaming world.

Let's start with the card section of gameplay.  This is by far the best part of the game, due to smooth animations, fantastic voice over, and overall concept.  The player builds a deck of cards consisting of various combat equipment and encounters.  These can range from swords, rat cleavers, fancy rings, goblins stealing your stuff, a funky carnival, and lava golems.  The cards you select are shuffled in with other encounter, heath, and gold cards, and then are laid out in various patterns.  And you use the token representing your character to move around the dealer's table, selecting which cards it will jump to.  Some layouts are much more difficult than others, causing you to move unnecessarily, which in turn will cost you precious food.  And when you run out of food, well…you start losing health per each move, which can result in you starving to death.  If you happen to survive at the end of each board, you will either hit stairs, a forest, or a ship to take you across the sea to more encounters.  And after each encounter you become closer to facing that level's boss.

Now, not only do encounters give you items or have hilarious text or force you into combat, but there is also a chance mechanic.  Typically there are four cards you can choose from with various chances of success.  These get shuffled and you have to pick what you think is the right card in order to succeed.  This is where luck plays a huge role in the game, just like any other card game.  So if you're the type of person that buys their lottery tickets already ripped up, you might have a tough time in this area, because if you choose unwisely and fail, you can starve, lose health, face more enemies than you can handle, or even get cursed.

 

"You want me to what?  Nope.  I'm fine staying right here.  If I get hungry, I'll just eat my mace." 

This then brings us to the not-so-successful combat portion of the game.  When you land on certain battle encounters, you are then whisked away from the card table and dropped into a randomized location filled with goblins, ugly rats, death-dealing mazes, humongous Minotaurs and bosses.  It's in these combat areas that your equipment cards turn into actual weapons and armor, while the suit cards materialize into living breathing bloodthirsty enemies, allowing the clunky excitement to really begin.

While the combat makes it seem like the battling would be the highlight of the game…this is where you would be oh so very wrong.  The mechanics are awkward, the game slightly lags during fights, and there is no way to change your point of view.  Most of your time will be spent attempting to find out where enemies are and then repositioning your character so that you can actually be able to land a hit.  And if there are more than five baddies floating around, forget it.  Instant game over.  Now there may be rare instances where you have an awesome weapon, artifact, or something that'll actually let you survive, in which case, you'll probably get extremely giddy.  But don't get your hopes up.

With all that said, there are some fun parts in the combat sections.  The enemies will make hilarious noises, especially when you kill them.  And when you whack the last enemy to death, it makes a gong like sound.  You seriously have a gong sound announcing you are the winner.  How amazing is that?  You can also kill enemies by reflecting their projectiles back at them, adding depth to your defense and if performed correctly, is even more amazing than a gong sound.  Which in turn will make you scream at the PC like a maniacal villain, "mwhahahahaha idiot, you thought you had me but I got you with your own throwing knife."  Truly epic indeed.

"Hmm...sitting across from a shady dealer wanting to play some random card game HE invented

 sounds like fun.  Deal me in.  And why can't I see your face all of a sudden?"

CONCLUSION:

The massive difference between the amazing gameplay in the card section and the absolute horrendous gameplay mechanics in the combat section is the only reason why gamers won't be singing Hand of Fate's praises.  Imagine attempting to defeat a boss with the awkward combat mechanics and during the battle, trying to compensate for lag.  It's terrible.  So it's extremely possible to be stuck on the very first board with absolutely no way to advance.  On top of that, where is the story?  Oh wait, that's right…there really is none.  The dealer seems just as confused about the plot as the main character.  Maybe if there was a reason to keep playing, you'd be a little more invested in the game.

So if the battle mechanics were cleaned up or they added a story to keep you playing, Hand of Fate's score would drastically improve.  But with a great idea and fantastic card game, it's a shame Hand of Fate has to fall short in the combat area.  If that part of the game was just pushed a little further, or cleaned up a smidgen, then Hand of Fate would rock your world.

EDIT (4-25-15): The latest update for Hand of Fate introduced playable Fates. These Fates allow the player to pick their difficulty, from apprentice to warlord. Each Fate comes with its own encounter card series, so not only can you replay the game on another difficulty, but a new encounter comes with the deal. Even though game controllers still seem to be glitched, being able to play on easy mode makes the game—especially the fighting—much better. 

3 out of 5 Stars (minus a star for both combat mechanics and missing story)

Reviewer: Glitchiee – Twitter / Twitch

Editor: Hank – Twitter / Twitch

Video Game Review: Darkest Dungeon

Ladies and gentlemen.  Boys and girls.  And the random Circus Clown that stumbled in here after a long day of honking noses and jumping out of tiny vehicles.  Gather round, because P&P has accidentally found a guest writer to help diversify all the stupidity that happens in these reviews.  And here's the craziest part: it's a girl.  Now most of you might not know what that is and that's fine…because neither does P&P.  So to enlighten us on the feminine ways of gaming, arrives the lovely Glitchiee.  She's a fellow Twitch broadcaster, writer, video game junkie, food-connoisseur, geek, nerd, cosplayer, and might…just might have a background in professional Pokémon.  So what does all this mean for P&P?  Well, basically, that I get to sit back and goof off, while someone else does all the work.  So without further ado, take it away Glitchiee:

EARLY ACCESS WARNING:

Darkest Dungeon is currently in Steam Early Access.  This means that the full game has not yet been completed.  Player feedback is still important as the developers, Red Hook, are making changes, improving mechanics, creating other dungeons, and are also adding more characters for players to select.  And as such this review will only reflect what is currently available in game. 

STORY:

You’re a rich land owner that loses his fortune because your idiot caretaker spends all the family’s money by digging through your beautiful mansion to uncover supernatural mysteries.  Apparently the local bar and brothel were not distracting enough.  In the process of spending all your money, the caretaker unleashes forces beyond his control that take over the mansion and destroy the nearby village.  As the player, you're tasked with having to go home and fix the mess.  Giant disgusting hags, booger skeletons, silly traps, and all the stress you can swallow ensues.

"You touch it."

"No you touch it."

"Listen, I don't even know what the noodles that thing is."

"The noodles...?"

"Yeah, I've been trying not to curse so much and...Oh forget it, let's just stab this f*cking thing in the face."

THOUGHTS:

Darkest Dungeon may seem like an easy 2D side-scroller, but the reality is that the game can and probably will make you pull your hair out with its difficultly.  On the surface, all you have to do is crawl through dungeons and kill monsters, but in reality the game is so much deeper than that.

The object of the game is to build the best four-person team to stop the evil supernatural forces, and there are a number of various characters available that the player can choose from.  These characters can range from a healing Vestal to a gun slinging Highwayman.  And each character comes with four abilities (out of the eight available) that can only be performed from certain positions in the team.  So creating the right mix of healing, ranged, and melee abilities are one of the keys to victory.

While scrounging around in the various areas of the mansion you have to keep alert.  Being able to surprise monsters/enemies definitely gives you an advantage in battle, though silly spiders can still dodge while surprised.  Various monsters can inflict Bleed or Blight damage, which over time, slowly drains your character's health.  And not only can these monsters inflict effects, but various traps, trees, locked cabinets…or just about anything else found in game can too.  So while this may seem unfair, relax, because player characters can also inflict the same devastating abilities.  And if you stack them up correctly, well…you don’t even have to hit the monsters for them to die.

"So where do you guys want to go?  I'm thinking either the brothel...or the brothel."

But the game's biggest difficulty comes in the form of stress.  This mechanic is not only one of the most important aspects of the game, but also the most unique.  It's what makes Darkest Dungeon what it is, and as you venture along the decrepit halls of your once glorious mansion, your light begins to dim.  So you better be burning torches to keep the light high, otherwise your characters will get stressed and your enemies will gain crazy bonuses.  Also, if a character should get critically hit they get stressed even more.  And what happens when they reach maximum stress?  They either become heroic, reducing their stress level and achieving a great ability, or they become afflicted with things like selfishness and abusiveness.  And all afflictions will affect how they interact while moving through the dungeons as well as how they fight.

So how do you reduce the stress?  Well, you can always have a Jester on the back line every time you set out on a quest.  But what if you don’t have a banjo playing, sickle wielding Jester on your roster?  Or your characters are so stressed they won’t even go into the darkness?  That's when you have to send them to the Tavern or the Abbey.  What better way to relieve stress than with a stiff drink or whipping oneself?  But this presents a problem: it makes the character unplayable for the next quest, which in turn, makes it necessary to have multiple characters that you are comfortable with on your team.

"What'll have?"

"A round of your most expensive drink for my friends and I."

"You got it.  Four piss warm beers coming up."

Now that seems pretty tough already, right?  Your team can lose health or get stressed or just go frigging crazy.  But here's the kicker: on top of all that are quirks.  These can be a mix of good or bad, ranging from being obsessed with alcohol (hilarious) to receiving extra healing benefits when camping.  And when adventuring you can even contract some new quirks such as rabies or syphilis (also hilarious).  Each of these quirks will do different things from buffing accuracy to reducing stress resist, giving them a massive impact on how characters interact with their surroundings.  In addition, quirks can also impact what ways a character can relieve stress, adding another layer of difficulty.

Now, to keep things fresh and addicting, there are three levels of difficulty for each dungeon available.  So when characters reach level 3 they will no longer go on easy quests.  And when they hit level 5 they will no longer go on medium quests.  This in and of itself can make things tricky as level difficulties are also randomized.  In addition to that, each difficulty introduces new and tougher enemies, along with quests that can have three different lengths: short, medium, and long.  So while you’re dealing with enemies that want to eat your face, or team members that just want to visit the brothel, and not to mention various quirks and afflictions...don't forget the different objectives needed for leveling up your team like destroying shrines, gathering food, exploring the majority of rooms and completing every room battle.

"Ahh...someone get these moist, sticky things off of me!"

"Anyone else up for the bar or brothel?"

"Guys, I'm serious...guys!?!"

CONCLUSION:

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging, unique, and extremely addictive game.  Combining various character abilities with quirks that play off each other and properly managing stress are the keys to continuing your pixelated adventure.  So while you may never see a game over screen, you probably will have all your characters killed in just one battle, forcing you to start training replacements from the beginning.

Even though Darkest Dungeon is in its early access stages, it's still highly recommended for players that love a challenge.  With very few flaws (too small an inventory and no turn listing) and no noticeable bugs, you'll quickly realize there are countless hours to be had in Darkest Dungeon.  And since the game is still not fully released, you get to look forward to even more content in the future.

4.5 out of 5 Stars (minus a ¼ star for small inventory and a ¼ star for no turn listing)

Reviewer: Glitchiee

Editor: Hank