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I think it´s safe to say that there Bugbyte Ltd has been through a lot since they started their indie games studio in March, 2012. So I got really thrilled when I found out that I would get a chance to interview Bugbyte´s Aksel Junkkila, because I remember when I read the story behind Bugbyte´s “Battlestation: Harbinger” on reddit about one month ago. Well, Let´s just say that I got quite inspired by the team’s hard work, vision and dedication to become successful. Thus comments such as this:

“Almost 2 years went into creating the game. Full-time, 1 week summer break and 1 week at Christmas. Weekends free. 3 man team, 1 programmer and 1 graphic artist working together. I do the marketing and take care of business :)” – Bugbyte Ltd

Any ways, I hope that you guys and girls will enjoy my Q and A interview with Aksel =) Please enjoy!

Say hello to the BugByte LTD team.

Jonas TGG
What thoughts went through your mind when you guys “almost” went bankrupt?

Aksel Bugbyte
The hope inside of me never died. I just kept telling myself that it is enough if we get just a small chance with the release of Battlestation: Harbinger. Just a couple of months more of time, maybe we can do something with that.

That is how it had been for a longer time, we were always running out of money, up until that point we had always found something to keep us going. I had the hope that the release of Harbinger would give us some more time, that we could figure out something after that.

Little did I know back then, even when the game had just released, that Battlestation: Harbinger would become quite successful for us in the end. Battlestation Harbinger interview, Battlestation Harbinger, Bugbyte Ltd, Indie games, Finland

Jonas TGG
How did you manage to turn a flop into a success?

Aksel Bugbyte
Battlestation: Harbinger was never a flop, it was just released way too early. Unfinished. I think this is the main reason why we were able to bounce back, this and a lot of visibility. The game had potential, the community was growing and we listened to them. I don’t think we would have managed to bounce back if Harbinger wouldn’t have appealed enough even in its rough state.

“Battlestation: Harbinger” is a pretty good turn-based sci-fi space exploration game.

Jonas TGG
I have noticed that there has started to pop up a lot of Finnish indie studios and games as of lately. So my question to you would be the following. Has something special happened the Finnish gaming scene in recent years?

Aksel Bugbyte
Well, there has been a rush to the industry primarily due to Rovio and now more recently Supercell. I think the same phenomenon is a bit all over the world. It’s a cool idea to be a game developer and the news with millions of dollars of sales make young men and women interested to be a part of that.

Jonas TGG
You are one of the very few Finnish game studios that have made a sci-fi space exploration game. So what was it that made you decided to do a sci-fi game?

Aksel Bugbyte
We tried developing cute dog character games first. We spent 2 years doing that, even more. It didn’t work. It wasn’t us. So after my brother had developed a prototype tower defense game, that later went on to become Battlestation: First Contact, we decided to roll with it and go against the tides of the industry. To be special.

Rovio´s “Angry Birds” most definitely put Finland on the world Gaming map, but for me. It was Remedy Entertainment´s “Max Payne” that made me love Finland as a Gaming nation.

Jonas TGG
Are sci-fi games, movies, books and such popular in Finland?

Aksel Bugbyte
Probably not more so than anywhere else.

Jonas TGG
I bet that you have received quite a lot of feedback and reviews from fans and the game media by now. So how has the response been so far? Mostly negative, positive or mixed?

Aksel Bugbyte
I would say the game is around a 7/10 according to media. According to players it’s more like a 8 or a 9 out of 10. We have a 86% positive on Steam right now and 4.6/5 on mobile. So that’s really good. We have a community that is vocal and passionate, and it is growing all the time.

905 backers pledged $18,254 to “Battlestation: Harbinger Extended Edition” Kickstarter campaign.

Jonas TGG
What are your views on Kickstarter and Steam? (Good Vs bad).

Aksel Bugbyte
Kickstarter and Steam are both fantastic. My only gripe with Kickstarter are the creators that do not keep their promises. They make it harder for all of us. I’m not saying no failures should be allowed at all, but there have been clearly way too much.

Steam is super also, but the amount of new games coming in is scary. I hope Steam can filter out the good ones from the bad, so that players get to play good games and developers that create good games can make a living.

Jonas TGG
What is your advice to other indie developers out there when it comes to avoiding any crowd founding flops?

Aksel Bugbyte
I think the biggest thing to miss is how important community is regarding crowdfunding. It is the same mistake we’ve made in the past. Build a community first, create a crowdfunding campaign when you have an e-mail list of at least a 1000 or so. Only a lucky few manage to create a campaign and have it become some kind of Internet phenom. It’s just about luck then, to a large extent.

Kickstarter simply ain´t for “everyone”.

Jonas TGG
As guy who really likes to follow deep and built-up story lines in games. I want to ask if there will be one in ”Battlestation Harbinger”? And what kind of story line will there be? I mean, is it going to be a story which you (the player) follow strictly like a line through the whole game? Or will it be a free and roaming one? Another thing, will the story line play out around that epic voice from the trailer?

Aksel Bugbyte
The story isn’t a strength in Battlestation: Harbinger. We have stories, but they are there to give background to the different races and such. It’s a roguelite game where you play randomly changed maps over and over, so the strength comes from game mechanics and the fun with those.

Jonas TGG
I have a question about finding new technology in the game. You see. I’m a big fan of X-com series. And in that game series, you could take alien technology then make it your own. And as I read about your game, you’ll be up against three different races among many other threats. So will you be able to do the same as in Xcom with their technology? And are all other races your enemy or will you be capable of making allies?

Aksel Bugbyte
You can find alien tech, but there is no research. You can ugprade and choose what kind of a fleet you want to build. Is it a short-range burst everything to hell type of fleet? Or a long-range missile battery fleet? This paired with some great star map strategy is the essence of Battlestation: Harbinger.

Just like in “X-Com 2” (or any other title in the “X-Com” series), you can find alien technology in “Battlestation”. However, in “Battlestation” you can´t research any alien technology.

Jonas TGG
I’m having a hard time figuring out how the game will work both as a turned based game and real-time game. I mean, will you be able to decide which play style you want? Or will there be diffident battle sequences depending on what situation you are in?

Aksel Bugbyte
The star map is turn-based, just like a board game. The battles are real-time, just like starcraft. That’s how it works!

Jonas TGG
Are you guys going to any Gaming conventions this year? If so, which events do you plan to visit?

Bugbyte aims to visit the Slush event in Helsinki, Finland this year (November 30th, to December 1st).

Aksel Bugbyte
Slush is something I have in mind, we are planning a new game and might have something cool to show then.

Jonas TGG
What´s your take on the mobile games market? On a personal level, quite a few indie developers have told me that it´s a real slaughter-house…(bad games are being injected into the mobile games market on a daily basis now).

Aksel Bugbyte
It is a slaughter-house. You have to have the whole package to even stand a chance, from game mechanics to graphics to marketing. I have to say luck plays a big part, when there are so many of us developers and the game idea is the most important thing. If the game idea isn’t appealing then no amount of marketing effort will save that. When the game idea is good enough and the execution is good enough, that is when success awaits at the end of the development cycle.

Jonas TGG
What are Bugbyte´s plans for the future?

Aksel Bugbyte
We’re planning a new game right now and improving Battlestation: Harbinger. You will see some great things from Bugbyte, you will see our next game become a real hit 🙂