I had the nice pleasure to do a Q and A interview with Ink Stains Games a couple of days ago, about their upcoming Spaghetti Western hand-drawn Top-down shooter/stealth game “12 is Better Than 6” (show the game some love on Kickstarter!) And this is what the development team had to say to us.
Robin TGG
Would you be so kind and tell us a bit about Ink Stains Games? How did you get started as an indie developer? And what are the team’s background?
Ink Stains Games
We are a small studio from Saint-Petersburg (Russia). As other developers of computer games, with whom we socialized in childhood, we were interested in creating modes and user maps for already existed games. Our consolidation happened in the university on the basis of common interests, views and preferences. After graduation from the university we decided to devote our lives to gamedev.
Robin TGG
And for those who doesn´t know what “12 Is Better Than 6” is all about, could you give us an introduction of the game? And what can the players can expect from “12 Is Better Than 6”?
Ink Stains Games
12 is better than 6 – top-down shooter for those, who like hardcore gameplay. Main points are atmosphere, style and realistic usage of weapon . Bullets harm you deathly – it’s almost impossible to stay alive after the first one catches you. I think it’s for you if: you like original, stylish art, hardcore gameplay, atmosphere, cool soundtrack and breathtaking story.
Robin TGG
How did you guys even come up with the idea for ”12 are better than 6”? Because, in my opinion, the game is like a mix of “Hotline Miami,” “Gun Smoke” and pretty much every Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western movie there is.
Ink Stains Games
The idea came up into the head of our painter. Often he was spending time, sitting in a cafe and was drawing small people in top-down perspective. One day he created a scene of crossfire where main character wore sombrero. Sure, our game looks like those you have said about. Tuco from “The good the bad and the ugly” with Clint Eastwood became a prototype of our character.
Robin TGG
Are there any specific reason behind your choice to make the main character Mexican? (maybe your fans of Danny Trejo like I am?)
Ink Stains Games
As we’ve told before Tuco from “The good the bad and the ugly” with Clint Eastwood became a prototype of our character. Though if our game is movie, Danny Trejo would be a perfect fit for the role of main personage. If you know Danny, tell him about our game. We have a dream, that he would take a part in shooting in a video about our game…wearing a hat of the main character.
Robin TGG
Did you decide at an early stage that “12 is Better Than 6” should be a top-down Wester shooter with hand-drawn graphics? Or were that something which happened over time?
Ink Stains Games
It was decided on a stage of the developing of concept. We liked the idea and it was settled forever. But to be honest – global map is made in isometry.
Robin TGG
“12 is Better Than 6” became a big success story on Steam Greenlight just recently (3,000 votes in just four days!), thus the Greenlit status. What do you think about your odds to reach your £15,000 on goal on Kickstarter?
Ink Stains Games
Steam has an enormous native traffic, so we did not have to do anything for highlighting the game. On Kickstarter the situation was another, we were not popular abroad the CIS. Slow start is a result of this fact. But we are not going to give up, we still have chances. Hard work and smart promotion can fix it. Our pages on Facebook and Twitter are growing every day very fast and we are glad to gather new users.
Robin TGG
Due to the fact that I have played through the whole Alpha demo of “12 is Better Than 6,” I couldn´t help to notice that the game is full of political incorrectness.
Ink Stains Games
Wild West is a wild place with a wild temper. All these things happened long time ago, when the abolition of slavery had happened just recently. So it’s not surprised that those morals don’t match modern rate of political correctness and humanism.
Robin TGG
You got foul language, racist slurs and stereotypes and tons of violence. So my question for you would be this, were you guys never afraid of receiving repercussions and boycott threats because of this? All of this actually made me think about the latest episode of South Park (“Stunning and Brave,” EP1, season 19), which received tons of critique and rants all over the world.
Ink Stains Games
At the first, we should remember that it’s an entertaining product. We don’t have any intention to develop someone’s moral. The game is not about it. Mass media is not about it at all. So good example of the entertaining product is South Park, which you have mentioned. A game about noble intelligents wouldn’t be popular, it can’t reach the entertaining aims . And of course we don’t want to offend anyone or insult, and by the way we would be “gringos” for our main character – foreigners.
Robin TGG
I really enjoyed the alpha demo of “12 are Better Than 6” a whole lot. So I´m quite curious to know what the full game will offer in terms of features, in-game content and gameplay time. I would also like to ask if it´s true that the game is set for a release in March next year for Windows, MAC and Linux?
Ink Stains Games
Much more content, fractions, mechanics, weapons, big locations will appear in the game. Also we created a system of perks. There will be a lot of weapon of close-in-fighting. And more political incorrectness for sure;). We plan 6 hours of gameplay. And yes, the game will be released on all platforms. Also, if we get approval from Sony we will try to launch it on consoles, including Vita.
Robin TGG
For me, it was a really pleasant surprise that the “12 is Better Than 6” soundtrack sounded so darn good. That´s also why I would like to ask if you could tell us a little more about the soundtrack? And will one be able to buy the music in the near future?
Ink Stains Games
Thank you! We have two independent collectives working on the soundtrack for the game. Later, OST will be spreaded as a music album on Steam and in music e-shops.
Robin TGG
As for my last question. “If” the Kickstarter campaign becomes a success story, then what´s your plans for the future? And is there any chance at all that “12 is Better Than 6” will get released to other formats? (PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, mobile).
Ink Stains Games
PS4, Xbox One, mobile(Android,iOS, Win Phone) are in our plans. It all depends on possessors of the platforms if we talk about PS4, Xbox One and adaptation of control for mobile versions. However we will do our best to cover all platforms.
A big thank you to Ink Stains Games for taking their time to do an Q and A interview with us. We wish them the best of luck with “12 is Better Than 6” on Kickstarter.
Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
More by Robin Ek:
Tags: 12 is Better Than 6, 12 is Better Than 6 interview, Hotline Miami, Ink Stains Games, Spaghetti Western