It's the small details that developers take the time to painstakingly insert that can bring a game from average to truly great. One Hades fan noticed an intricate detail about how interactive the writing for the Greek mythology-themed game truly is, and his reaction led to an interesting explanation from Supergiant Games writer Greg Kasavin.
Hades has been enjoying high sales numbers, especially for an indie game, after leaving early access not too long ago. As of just a few days ago, Hades has sold 1 million copies in addition to garnering critical acclaim. After two years in early access and the shorter amount of time that it's been available, fans have spent a lot of time hunting for and appreciating the small details that make the game so enjoyable to them.
Mike Mahardy, a prominent figure in the video games industry, pointed out a detail he noticed in his save file: one of the bosses, Megaera, insulted the player for using his advantages from Zagreus' mirror, claiming that was the only reason Zagreus defeated her. This piqued Mahardy's curiosity, so when he cleared the upgrades and defeated Megaera again, she acknowledged his in-game actions. Hades' character interactions have been critically lauded, and this looks like just one of many small details that make the game so immersive to many players.
Greg Kasavin responded to this by saying there are actually three different versions of the conversation coded into the game depending on Zagreus' relationship with Megaera, and adds that the writers kept a mindset of noticing what characters would talk about and notice. This philosophy is what led to so many character interactions being coded in, and that the Hades early access was integral to seeing what players responded well to and what the devs should keep.
Kasavin acknowledges that this growing complexity in the game became difficult to handle when the subplots expanded, and it was at times hard to manage. Sometimes complex in-game details can bloat the development time, but they're often what draw players to the game again and again.
Part of the reason Hades is so replayable is that little details like this make each save different depending on actions the player took and how they interacted with the world and NPCs around them. Kasavin and the rest of his team's philosophy also incentivizes players to replay the game, because they want to see all of the available relationships and dialogue they can get.
Hades is available now for PC and Switch.
Source: Greg Kasavin/Twitter