Co-op and Cobblestone: The Gunmetal Gothic Interview
All images are from Gunmetal Gothic by Ynoham
Where do you turn when you feel like discovering something new?
Friends? Showcases? Steam? Twitter? Honestly, that’s the best reason to read Tactical Reload regularly. I’ve got you covered–learn about some obscure games and impress your friends.
Joking aside, I came across the subject of today’s interview when doing engine research early in my quest to make video games. I soaked up everything about Godot. What were its limitations? What were people already working on? What was the story behind that blue robot, monster thing? During this period, I stumbled onto one of the most exciting projects being developed in the engine right now–Gunmetal Gothic.
I reached out to its creator Ynoham (or Ryan, if you prefer) to spill the London Fog on his retro-inspired passion project.
For readers discovering your work for the first time–who are you and how would you describe Gunmetal Gothic?
I’m Ryan, aka ynoham, and I’m working on my personal passion project called Gunmetal Gothic, a retro-3D shooter-RPG that merges classic throwback aesthetics and gameplay with modernized controls and online co-op.
Is there a specific game or moment that made you interested in pursuing game dev?
Making maps in the StarCraft editor was a big one. Around the same time, making calculator games on my TI-83!
Why did you choose to make Gunmetal Gothic in Godot?
I had some concerns about the direction Unity was heading as a business (this was a year+ before the per-install licensing fiasco), had heard some buzz about Godot, gave it a try and it clicked for me immediately. It’s been great, and so is the peace of mind that comes from using a community-developed tool and liberating myself from the corporate tether!
I’m in love with the aesthetics of this project. What were your biggest inspirations for its look?
I’d been pursuing a 5th gen style for a long time, both because it’s visually interesting to me and as a way to keep asset development manageable. But I also wanted to create an experience that stood on its own, not just a tribute to a particular game or genre. I think a lot of people have observed the Bloodborne influence, which is definitely there, Resident Evil 4 as well, and I would also include basically everything Square did on the PS1, Final Fantasy and Vagrant Story in particular, and the N64 Castlevanias and even Zeldas!
What has been the most challenging skill you’ve had to learn as a solo developer, so far? What has been the most rewarding?
Speed is my biggest challenge (still have a long way to go on this one!) When you’re doing everything yourself, it’s not enough just to be able to do it, or even to do it well - you have to be able to do it well and fast, or you’ll never have a finished product.
I find network programming the most rewarding. It can be a pain sometimes, but controlling a character on one machine and seeing it properly replicated on another is always a thrill for me.
Do you have a favorite character build?
I think high-survivability builds are going to be interesting in this game. With enough HP/defense investment, you can reduce the interruption caused by enemy attacks, giving you an opportunity to improve your damage output through attacking more consistently! I hope to make this a viable build strategy, even for solo (and capable of filling the “tank” role in group play).
Without spoiling anything, do you have a favorite piece of the story or lore about the world you’d like to share?
I’m looking forward to showcasing the NPCs for the hub area, to give players something a little more personal to connect with. For as much as I’ve shown so far, all of the humans have been generic iterations of the player character, and one element of low-poly that I love so much is the potential for a great cast of characters. So expect at some point to see some more distinctive survivors of Vestige who will assist the Anchorite(s) in their mission!
Gunmetal Gothic can be tackled cooperatively with up to four players. How difficult has balancing been?
Pretty hard to do as one person! I set values mostly by formulas and spreadsheets to start with, which seem to be holding up pretty well, but I think an important breakthrough was recognizing the need for *more* enemies in multiplayer, not just stronger ones. I expect to be tweaking balance for a long time to come, with player feedback.
If you were in charge of designing the perfect fifth generation demo disc–what five (total) PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Saturn games would you include?
Final Fantasy VIII, Star Fox 64, Megaman Legends, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
What is a book, movie, video game, or album you feel everyone should experience?
I’m gonna throw out Deadly Premonition as a game that, while deeply flawed on paper (and probably skipped by many as a result) offers a memorable and worthwhile experience that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. It’s served as a reminder to me that the most important aspect of a game is the feeling it gives, something that can’t be quantified!
I want to thank Ryan again for answering my questions. Seriously, I get a spike of dopamine every time someone organically brings up Vagrant Story in one of these talks.
If you’re interested in keeping up with Gunmetal Gothic’s development, you should follow him on…
Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/ynoham.bsky.social)
Discord (discord.gg/vYgVAejVnG)
And Wishlist the game on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2248150/Gunmetal_Gothic/)
Are you deep in the development trenches of your own small or strange project? Reach out on our contact page, we’d love to learn more!