XBLA & XBLIG Ratings

Today we have Justin Kellogg Xbox Live Indie Game developer talking with us about his recently release game Abaddon. The initial reviews of Abaddon have all been good so I though we should find out more about it.

Question: How did the idea for Abaddon come about?

One night I had trouble sleeping, and for whatever reason, memories of playing Subspace (a top-down space shooter MMO) popped into my head. I remember enjoying huge battles between dozens of ships, and the intense game play.  One thing, I thought was missing from Subspace was there were no larger, capital ships in the game.  I thought it would be really fun to have a Subspace like game with battles involving ships ranging from all sizes.  I started programming a prototype that very night.
Another top-down shooter game called Escape Velocity also influenced my design. It had many RPG-like qualities and the ability to dock and upgrade your ship, and I also wanted to include some of those elements into Abaddon.



Question: Could you describe Abaddon for anyone who hasn’t seen it?

Abaddon is a dual-stick, top-down shooter with RPG and tower defense elements.  The real stand-out feature of the game is the focus on the online multi-player aspects.    There are 3 unique game modes each with very different objectives.  Battles usually involve around 20-100 enemies in the scene, and no two game sessions are ever the same.

Question: How large was the team that created Abaddon and how long did it take to develop?

The team involved one programmer (me), one musician (Justin Hannant), and one artist (Franck Dutertre).  I also had two of my close friends, Alex Herlan and Kevin Mauldin, work on the website and trailer videos.



Question: When you first set out to make Abaddon was it always planned to be part shooter and part tower defense?

Nope.  Abaddon definitely went through quite a few design changes before I came up with it's current iteration.  I think pretty close to the beginning I wanted there to be an object that the player had to defend.  I always liked games that involved defending something.   At first the object to defend was a planet, but then I changed it to a ship, then it turned into a ship that had turrets, and finally I thought it would be cool if the turrets were upgradeable.



Question: Abaddon supports 8 player Live matches. Was it difficult to include support for playing over Xbox Live?

It definitely took some time to work out the kinks.  I wanted to support join-in-progress and host migration so people don't have to wait when they are wanting to play the game online.  It was definitely worth it though.  I was able to play the game with strangers from all around the world.  It really is a treat to hear people say they like the game not knowing they are playing with the developer.



Question: Looking back on Abaddon what are the things that you are most proud of?

I'm first of all just proud that I finally finished the game.  I kept redoing various parts of it because I was never completely satisfied. Part of me felt that I might never finish the game.  But I finally came up with a build that I felt was ready for the public.  I'm also proud that I got see multiple severs of people playing Abaddon online. I hope that continues!



Question: Was there anything you were hoping to get into Abaddon that did not make it?

Most definitely.  There is nearly an endless list of things I'd like to add to Abaddon.  The main thing that is missing, in my opinion, is a story mode, which I'm happy to announce will be coming to a future version of Abaddon!



Question: Now that Abaddon has released are you planning another Indie game?

I will probably work on updating Abaddon for awhile before working on another game.  I plan to submit Abaddon to the Dream Build Play competition in March, and I think there is much work to be done.  I also think a sequel to the game may be in order since now I have a more solid design in my head.



Question: Can you give us some tips or strategies for Abaddon?

First of all, I suggest players go through the tutorial and read everything the commander says.  He gives a lot of important information that players seem to miss.  Also, when repairing Abaddon, wait until it's nearly destroyed before repairing it.  If you repair it to quickly, you will waste a lot of money because the cost to repair doubles each time.  Lastly, if you are having trouble defeating a level, remember that there are hundreds of different combinations of ship upgrades, abilities, and weapon upgrades.  Try to switch up your strategy if the one you're using isn't working.



Question: If you could change or enhance one thing about Xbox Live Indie Games as a platform what would it be?

It would be to remove the 8 minute limit on the trial versions of games.  People really can't get a taste of what Abaddon is truly like in 8 minutes because it has so much depth and so many things to learn.