«Previous post | Next post»

Not so long ago we had the chance to do a Q and A interview with Unicube Studios (Sonny Meek and Dean Foster in this case) about their post-apocalyptic disaster management game “Sheltered” (the game is out now via early access on Steam,”Sheltered” can also be downloaded as a preview build on the Xbox One). And this is what Unicube had to say to us.

Robin TGG
What is it that makes “Sheltered” any different from any other post-apocalyptic game on the market?

Dean:
With Sheltered, we took an alternative approach to the “Lone survivor” stereotype that’s so often used in this genre. You actually play as a family, and that’s a very important part of our game. It brings a sense of emotion to the game, and makes for compelling stories.

“Sheltered” is a “survival of the fittest” kind of game.

Robin TGG
Which games, books and movies have been the biggest sources for inspiration when you created “Sheltered”, and why?

Dean & Sonny:
We’re both fond of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone, and the main inspiration for this game came from a particular episode called “The Shelter”, in which a friendly neighbourhood gathering turns sour after they hear the three-minute warning on the radio. Only one of them has had the foresight to build a shelter, and arguments between the neighbours ensues after they all want in. We loved the episode, and it has a pretty dark twist at the end.

Sonny:
I’m also fond of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and some of the earlier Fallout games (the second one in particular)

Robin TGG
Since Sheltered launched on Steam back in August the game has received a lot of positive feedback, which parts of the game are it that the players love the most? And which parts of Sheltered do you like the most?

Dean & Sonny:
Cannibalism is probably the most talked about feature. Things can get fairly dire sometimes. Our favourite parts of the game are the interactions with other survivors in the wasteland. They can often lead to some tense situations.

“Fallout Shelter” became a huge hit when Bethesda released the game for iOS and Android back in June this year.

Robin TGG
Could you give me five reasons why anyone should leave “Fallout Shelter” for “Sheltered”? (since it´s a really addicting mobile game after all).

Dean:
It’s about family, rather than strangers.

Sonny:
I like to thing the artwork is charming compared with Fallout Shelter’s.

Dean:
Our game is more unforgiving, truer to hardcore survival.

Sonny:
Sheltered has a lot more complicated mechanics that give it high replay value.

Dean:
Our game has locations outside of the shelter to explore, and has a greater sense of depth.

Robin TGG
Based on what I´ve been told by some of your players, “Sheltered” runs really well on most computers (even rather old ones). Did the development team aim for low system specs from the very start? Or was that something that just happened during the development process?

Sonny:
Because it’s primarily a 2D game, performance is generally quite good (even on older hardware, as you mentioned). We’re also always quite conscious of our resources when adding new features to the game, making sure performance stays well within certain limits.

Team 17´s games label is meant to help indie developers with their games (pr, marketing, advice etc.).

Robin TGG
How did the corporation with Team 17 come by? Did they reach out to you, or did you reach out to them? And how has your collaboration worked out so far?

Dean & Sonny:
We were approached by them during our initial Kickstarter campaign. It was quite a surprise, to be honest. We were just two guys with basic retail jobs, giving everything we had to making a small game. I guess they saw the potential in it, and before you know it we’re working in-house and getting great support. Team17 have been amazing for us the entire way. We couldn’t have done it without them.

How long will you be able to survive in “Sheltered”?

Robin TGG
Do you have an in-house record for how long you have been able to survive in “Sheltered”? And who holds the high score among the players?

Sonny:
I’ve managed over 100 days, though to be honest, when you’re developing a game you’re usually in and out of it all day every day, so I don’t really get a chance to sit and play for hours on end to see how far I could push it.

Dean:
I’ve managed about the same as Sonny, but my girlfriend has a seriously high amount of hours clocked on the game, and can put me to shame. She’s thoroughly addicted.

Robin TGG
I have noticed that the quote “Family comes first” is something, which has become something of a slogan for “Sheltered”, and it´s rather fitting too. As the game is all about surviving and taking care of your loved ones. So my question would be this, why do you think that there are so many post-apocalyptic games, movies, TV-series and books right now?

Dean & Sonny:
The genre is being widely adopted, yes. The good thing about the apocalypse, is it’s a broad term. It could be nuclear, environmental, a plague or some other disaster. It makes for an enthralling and often dark setting. We’re intrigued by it, as are others, and making a game in this kind of environment allows you to creatively run wild!

There are plenty of post-apocalyptic games on the market right now, but “Sheltered” tries to stand out from the crowd.

Robin TGG
For how long have you guys worked on Sheltered? And how many transformation phases has the game undergone since day 1? For example, has “Sheltered” always been a post-apocalyptic game?

Dean & Sonny:
It has always been post-apocalyptic, yes. Our original idea was an aftermath of a nuclear war, but we’re less fond of that notion these days. We don’t like to talk about what has happened in the Sheltered universe, preferring an ambiguous disaster that allows people to make up their own story. We’ve been working on it for almost a year and a half now.

Robin TGG
What plans does Unicube have for the future? (new games etc). And what awaits the players of “Sheltered” in the future?

Dean & Sonny:
We’re always working on the game, balancing it, making it better, adding new features. There’s plenty left to do, so this is our main focus for now. It certainly won’t be the only game we make though, so watch this space!