Recently, Game Rant had the chance to chat with Four Quarters, the developer of the hit new game Loop Hero. During the interview, Aleksandr Goreslavets, also known as "blinch," shared some valuable insight about the game's development, production, and future. Blinch refers to himself as "game composer, sound designer and partly game designer" for the project and played a large role in the development of Loop Hero. A unique game like this requires unique minds to create, so it was a thrill to get the chance to hear firsthand everything that went into the making of this game.
For those that may have missed it, Loop Hero officially released on March 4th, and fans have been enraptured with its unique premise ever since. Players watch as a hero walks down a path surrounded by nothingness, and it's up to them to populate the world around the hero. This determines not only how difficult each loop will be, but also the quality of its rewards, putting game balance in the hands of the players. This is the heart of Loop Hero's gameplay, but its art style and story are also a huge draw for many players. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: For our readers that aren't fully up to speed, could you briefly explain Loop Hero and how it works?
FQ: It’s still a tricky question for us, because we don’t have a short explanation, even trailers don’t help much! But, very simply, Loop Hero is about a little hero walking in circles, while the player creates everything around him - both dangers and rewards - in the right balance so the hero can become stronger and defeat the challenges that await them.
Q: There's so much to unpack when it comes to Loop Hero: The deep story, the unique art style, innovative game play mechanics, and more. Where did the core idea of Loop Hero begin?
FQ: The core idea was pretty simple; what if we put a little dude on a circular road that would automatically fight his battles, but the player creates the world around him and the enemies he will face? Everything else came later.
Q: And if you had to say what your inspirations for the game were, what would it be? Given that there aren't many games that blend these concepts together in this way, I assume there's more than one?
FQ: There wasn’t a specific game that inspired us. Initially, our thoughts revolved around the topic of a “Zero-Player-Game," which quickly grew into an entirely new genre, and turned into Loop Hero! Of course, action-RPGs influenced our item-building system, but we didn’t have any specific game in mind when we were making it.
Q: Loop Hero's story seems fairly standard from the surface, but dig a little deeper and there's some really thought-provoking stuff there. What was your writing philosophy when coming up with the story?
FQ: The main story was written by our artist Deceiver. In the beginning, we had basic gameplay and the plot was then written according to the principle of "answers to questions asked by the game." Why we only have a road and nothing else is probably because the end of the world happened. Why does the hero create the world around him even though he is just an ordinary person? Well, let's say he "remembers" these lands. This is how the basis of our plot was created, and based on that, we added interesting features and stories.
Q: Very early on in my time with Loop Hero, I encountered Vampires for the first time. The dialogue that followed was intriguing because it hinted at what the world of Loop Hero was like before it was swallowed by the void. How much world building did you do for a world that was doomed to be engulfed in darkness, and how much of that will players get to see in the game?
FQ: This is one of my favorite moments in the story. We tried not to pay much attention to the world of the past. Although the hero "remembers" the world, he is more concerned about its future. Meanwhile, in order to reveal the world and its inhabitants, we have added dozens of small stories that you can read in the encyclopedia. We put a lot of effort into these stories, and we hope players who like to read will appreciate them.
Q: Another thing that has drawn the attention of many is the game's art style, what convinced you to go in this retro direction, and how did you manage to nail it so well?
FQ: It's pretty simple - we had no other choice! We weren't trying to make a retro game, or make players feel nostalgic, we just love pixel-art very much, and make all of our games in this style.
Q: In your time playing Loop Hero, what's been your favorite experience?
FQ: Our favorite moment during the game is when it goes well without any problems! But as players, it’s when you feel that you have found the right balance, and your hero can handle any problem, but then you change one item, everything breaks down and you need to make a new build. A very sticky process.
Q: Along a similar line, is there anything in particular in the game that you're excited for others to experience?
FQ: I really love when the Lich portal is spawned on stream and people hear the music for the first time. The reaction of streamers and chat is priceless.
Q: What sort of post-launch support do you have planned? Will there be more content added to the game?
FQ: Since the release we have been working on fixing bugs, most likely the next few days we will do the same. We aim to make the game work flawlessly for all players. Right now we are working on a "quality of life" patch that will add the handy features that players are asking for.
After that we already have plans of what to add to the game, so stay tuned!
Q: What advice would you give to players just starting out with Loop Hero?
FQ: Please read the descriptions of all cards and abilities of enemies. It's very useful!
Q: As someone who tends to shy away from idle games, Loop Hero seems altogether different. It's idle, but engaging. How did you set about accomplishing this?
FQ: The fact is that it's not an idle game at all, you just control the adventure, not the hero.. We just had an idea about a little man, and we tried our best to make an interesting game, first of all for ourselves.
Q: Each expedition in Loop Hero is different from the last thanks to a randomly generated loop and the way the player decides to reimagine the world, but the town is the one stable thing. How does the gameplay change as players get further into finishing the town upgrades?
FQ: It changes dramatically. Building up the camp doesn't just provide new bonuses and cards. New buildings open up entire new hero mechanics and classes, and unlocks opportunities that will influence your tactics on expeditions.
Q: Can you tell us anything about your future plans now that Loop Hero is finally released? What are you working on?
FQ: We will add new content, and we have a lot of plans for that. During development, we put a lot of our ideas off to post-release, so now is the time to work on it.
Q: Finally, is there anything you'd like to share with our readers?
FQ: Thanks for your support and excitement for the game!
[End.]
Loop Hero is available now on PC.