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Last week, Mark Leung’s: Revenge of the Bitch game was featured as Indie Game of the Week on GOE. This week, we talk to game developer Mark Leung himself about the game and everything else he does.
GOE: First of all: is revenge of a bitch based on a true story?
No, not at all. I’m still in touch with my ex-girlfriends and none of them wants to murder me.
GOE: Why did you decide to go indie?
Because I wouldn’t be able to make my own game if I worked for another firm. Duh!
GOE: What do you think the (big, commercial) games industry is still missing?
Parody. We have Weird Al for music, Onion News for news, Scary Movie for film, but we don’t see big commercial parody games. It’s true that game play is king and that you can’t compromise it, but parody can work on story-based games, like RPGs and FPS’ campaign modes.
Deep and well-balanced JRPGs. Gone are the days where JRPGs allow deep customization of characters. It’s shallow how new abilities would cause old ones become obsolete, so combat remains shallow throughout the game. Game designers need to spend more time balancing these single-player games like they do in MMORPGs.
GOE: What is your aspiration? Where to you dream to reach eventually?
To build a game empire focused on parody and mean-spirited games. Think Naughty Bear, but with playable mechanics.
GOE: Who does the Uglysoft team consist of?
Don’t be fooled by the long end credits in the game. We actually averaged at 7 people including me most of the time. We’ve had artists and programmers come and leave. Staff turnover is a big problem because the game industry is pretty obsolete here in Hong Kong. This is precisely the reason why I am the game designer – I wouldn’t leave my own company! Currently, we have 1 artist, 3 programmers and myself. We’ll be expanding soon when production for the iOS port commences.
The Uglysoft Team
GOE: What kind of project are you / going to work on / want to work on?
See http://markleung.com/forum/vote-our-future-projects
Once the iOS game is on track, we’ll be making one casual game or commence Episode 2, depending on the reception for Episode 1.
I also have some ideas for a Jesus Christ RPG and a parody World of Warcraft (a single-player game simulating multiplayer), but these ideas are huge and way too ambitious for now so they’ll have to wait.
GOE: What do you think Indie game makers have over commercial game studios?
Experimentalism – it’s not something commercial game studios are willing to bet on because it doesn’t make sense or is worth the risk to go niche. Indie game makers have little to nothing to lose, and as a result we get to see more diverse game mechanics on the indie side.
GOE: If you could change ANYTHING in the games industry (because you’re like, a magical undefeatable being), what would it be?
Ban cloned and unoriginal games and fill the void with classics.
GOE: What is it that you do exactly in Uglysoft, what is your role?
I’m in charge of art direction, game design, interface design, character stat design, recruitment, trailers, sound effects, music direction, voice design, film design, story, quest design, animation design, monster design, monster placements, map design, treasure placements. I also have a hand in every little detail of the game. I have almost moved or resized every plant and invisible wall in the game, including battle scenes, and voiced nearly 1/3 of the monsters. I wrote the damage formulas: the formula for physical attack is 1.2*(attack^1.45)/(defense^0.5) before randomization within a 10% leeway.
GOE: Is it hard being an indie? Do you ever get demotivated by the difference in opportunity that is there for indie companies, and those of big, commercial studios?
No. In fact I’m trying to leverage the fact that I’m indie to make something this crazy.
Some friends told me politely that I’m going to fail miserably, that the presentation with cosplayed characters is too experimental, that the odds are against me, and that I’m going to get my ass sued and get my game banned everywhere (because my game uses the real world map with country names completely rearranged to my liking). That encouraged me.
GOE: How do you survive as an indie? Do you mostly create your own games, or get hired as well? If you have external clients, how do you get them?
I was lucky to get ‘seed funding’ from my grandparents. Though I do feel slightly guilty because I actually pitched to my Christian grandparents that I’m making a ‘religious game’ – they had no idea I’m mocking religions with my game. Let’s hope they never find out.
I wouldn’t mind working with clients to enrich my team and boost my company profile. More work is always welcomed, provided the new projects are financially sustainable by themselves.
GOE: How do you market your work without a million-dollar marketing budget?
By talking to good people like you!
GOE: What’s the favourite thing you ever made?
I’m most proud of having created the playable class of Combat Skating. I used to be a competitive figure skater who practiced at crowded hours, so friends always made fun of how dangerous I was. This game presented me with the perfect opportunity to re-imagine figure skating as a deadly martial art. The logical choice is to combine figure skating with Taekwondo, a Korean martial art with an emphasis in kicking techniques. It was a really bold experiment and so I planned and directed every single animation associated with the class frame-by-frame. It actually worked out quite well in the game.
In terms of game mechanics, I needed a second melee combat class dealing less predictable damage to multiple targets, and aesthetically speaking, Combat Skating was the answer to it. As evident in my design for Elsie’s attire, it is actually a hybrid of a Taekwondo gi and a figure skating dress – and the animation lives up to it.
Founder of Game Thingie (gamethingie.com), she currently works as a game journalist to learn about the industry and get into game development after attaining her MscBA.