Summary
The Last Spellhas enjoyed a successful run throughout its Early Access and post-launch period, and there’s no surprise as to why: obliterating hordes of zombies with carefully customized character builds under a persistent roguelike progression system is an utterly captivating formula. Recently, that formula was further expanded upon with the release of the game’s first DLC, Dwarves of Runenberg, which introduced some all-new mechanics, a new map, and playable dwarves.
Game Rant recently sat down withThe Last Spelldesigner and producer Benjamin Coquelle and Manon Bertin, producer of the Dwarves of Runenberg DLC to chat about the team’s process when developing this unique turn-based strategyindie game. In particular, they offered a set of “do’s and don’ts” that help guide their decision-making regarding game mechanics and player guidance.
The Last Spell Always Looked For Deeper Mechanics To Try
AlthoughThe Last Spellmay look like a straightforward zombie slaying strategy game on the surface with players swiftly deleting clumps of zombies each turn, the underlying systems are impressively deep and on par with thecrunchiest turn-based RPGs. With dozens of effects like the DoT-spreading Contagion and a classless character-build system where weapons determine available skills, it’s clear that Ishtar Games looked at each of the game’s systems and considered ways to make them more interesting for the discerning strategy gamer. Coquelle says this approach to developing the game’s systems is central to all the studio’s projects.
I think a “do” that works for us is to always think of some deeper mechanic that a player can experiment with. That was a pillar forThe Last Spell, and I think it’s a pillar for all our games where you’re able to experiment with our mechanics.
In “dos,” I think it’s important to be iterative. We developedThe Last Spellover time through beta and Early Access. We didn’t start with a complete recipe. When we began working, we tested a lot of things and kept iterating over time, and that’s how we gotThe Last Spellas it is now.
Of course, with so many systems and mechanics at play, Bertin says it was important to be iterative when developing theLast Spell. It’s no coincidence that many of thebest indie gameshave received countless patches and updates throughout their runs, and the work certainly pays off. Each update ofThe Last Spellhas made the game more balanced, more strategically interesting, and better reflective of its player base.
The Last Spell Avoided Handholding
When discussing the “don’ts” regardingThe Last Spell’s development, Coquelle revealed that the team was reluctant to overly guide playerswith incessant handholdingand tutorials. After all, the entire point of strategy games is for players to enjoy the satisfaction of a well-laid plan coming to fruition, and having a strategy game that offers too much in the way of hints or guidance would interfere with that core element.
As for “don’ts,” maybe something that is not very common in AAA games is that we don’t like to hold the player’s hand and tell them everything, we want them to explore and experiment. Our tutorials are very basic, but we do one important thing: we show everything. A mechanic is explained 100% in the tooltips.
But we will never tell the player, “Oh, you, you have to do that.” We prefer to show them that this mechanic works like that. You interpret and find a way to use it, rather than being told what to do. I think one of our “dos” is to always explain everything in tooltips. If you are wondering or asking yourself how something works in the game, you can just hover over something and it will explain to you how it works.
Instead, Ishtar Games ensured that none of the game’s systems are hidden from players. Much unlikeHelldivers 2’s game mechanicsthat have called for players to conduct scientific experiments to determine how things work, virtually every system and feature in TheLast Spellis clearly explained through tooltips. It may not be an easy game to master, butThe Last Spellgives players every tool they need to survive for at least a few nights of brutal roguelike zombie bashing.
The Last Spellis available on PC, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.
