Earthfall Interview: Tactical Combat Against Deadly Aliens

Earthfall is a game about battling all kinds of deadly aliens in co-operation with teammates. There are multiple campaigns to play through and players will slowly be able to unravel the story behind the game. As for combat itself, players will have a variety of tools at their disposal such as using advanced 3D printers to print weapons, using defense construction to gain a tactical advantage, and more.

To learn more about the game, Gamingbolt reached out to Holospark’s Collin Moore with the following questions.

"Our goal wasn’t for players to build huge structures, but to tactically deploy defenses that are the key to survival while playing Earthfall, especially in the heat of the battle."

Does the game have a fully fleshed out single-player campaign or is the focus primarily on co-op gameplay?

We think of them as one in the same. Our primary focus was making great missions that involve teamwork where each levels provides another clue on what is going on in the story of the game. Each level is fleshed out in a way that you will have fun if you play co-op with friends or a lonewolf.

What can you tell us about the different alien types in the game?

We have seven major types of aliens. Some of them are intended to swarm you from multiple directions, requiring your group to cover each others back, while others will hunt stragglers and take them down unless they’re saved by another member of your group. There are still others that are big combat monsters, where you all have to use the battlefield, concentrate fire, and try to take them down.

Defense construction is something we’ve seen in games like Fortnite. Will this feature function similarly in this game or will there be some fundamental differences?

Our goal wasn’t for players to build huge structures, but to tactically deploy defenses that are the key to survival while playing Earthfall, especially in the heat of the battle. Those extra couple seconds to heal yourself, a teammate or to reload can be life or death, which we really feel it adds to the game and separates us from other titles.

Were there any particular challenges you faced during the game’s development?

Keeping focus was a huge challenge early in development. Being a new studio, we had tons of ideas of what type of game we were going to make. When we started making progress on a co-op experience, it was hard to say no to “wouldn’t it be cool if” after a playtest if it didn’t fit.

What were some of the inspirations behind this game?

We have tons of influences from movies Alien and Aliens, Independence Day, Starship Troopers, but Left 4 Dead, is our biggest influence. We’re huge fans of the series, with some of us having put hundreds of hours into it, but it’s been almost a decade since the last game was released. We loved co-op games and felt that someone needed to make a version using modern technology like Unreal Engine 4 and add in features that have become standard such as ADS (aim down sights) into a great co-op experience.

"For a co-op shooter, we actually have a very extensive story about what the aliens are doing, why they’re here, and what they are."

When is the game set to leave Early Access?

We’ll be launching in late Spring with the full release on Steam, PS4, and Xbox One.

How important has player feedback been in getting the game to its current state?

Feedback has been key throughout development, both active and passive. We read every comment on our Steam forums and look at what we can do to address a problem or take a suggestion from the community. We have also monitored the data from playthroughs to see where users are getting stuck, dying at a higher frequency, what guns they are using and what they aren’t. It has been immensely helpful having the communities input on the game and helping it get the game to its current state.

What can you tell us about the story of the game?

The story of Earthfall is of an alien infestation on Earth. Communications have been disrupted, alien creatures are swarming the countryside attacking people, and a few brave souls have stepped up to try and take the fight to the aliens and preserve what’s left of humanity.

For a co-op shooter, we actually have a very extensive story about what the aliens are doing, why they’re here, and what they are. We also have a Lore system that players can unlock that will explain what’s happened up till now, how some of our technologies work, and some insight into what it’s like trying to stay alive while being hunted by the aliens.

We also reveal story in our gameplay. Some missions have environmental clues that explain and foreshadow things that will happen later in the game. Some missions, particularly the campaign finales, will have big reveals of what’s going on.

Earthfall is an action game, so you can ignore all of that, but if you keep your eyes open, you’ll learn some interesting things.

Can you tell us about the idea of printing weapons and how this feature works in the game?

3D printers become more sophisticated and fast every year, and our game is set a few decades in the future when they’re more ubiquitous and able to print a wide range of items. When you find a 3D printer in the game, you can turn it on and print any of the weapons it offers as many times as you want, making it a great rallying point.

Why 3D printers can print weapons, how they still function after the EMP that accompanies the first Earthfall, and why they have different items for different printers is something you can discover in our Lore system as you play the game!

What is your take on the recent trend of Games as a service model and the possible controversial monetization practices arising from it?

We have a number of people that have worked on MMOs and F2P games, and when it’s done right in a free-to-play can be a great experience for players. But for a title to really be a great experience as F2P it needs to be built from the ground up as a F2P title. With Earthfall our focus from the start was to make a great premium co-op game.

" Our focus right now is on the release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this Spring, but we LOVE Switch and we feel Earthfall would be a great game on it!"

The current generation of consoles will probably end in the next couple of years. What is your biggest expectation from the next PlayStation and Xbox?

With Sony and Microsoft expanding the line with PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, we might just see continual evolution in the line rather than completely new boxes and architecture. We can see both follow a similar formula that Apple has with cell phones.

Any chance of a Switch version of the game?

Our focus right now is on the release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this Spring, but we LOVE Switch and we feel Earthfall would be a great game on it! If Switch fans want Earthfall they should make their voices heard to us and Nintendo!

Is there anything more you’d like to tell our readers?

We are very excited for the upcoming release of Earthfall. Over the last couple weeks watching people play at PAX East and EGX Rezzed and people starting to stream on Twitch and Mixer having fun playing together! We feel that Earthfall scratches that itch that co-op itch that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. After two years, it is exciting to see it all come together!

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