Interviews// Space Hulk

SPOnG: The game looks very impressive, was all of the art done internally?

Thomas Lund: We have a team of 12 people in total and yes, the game was developed entirely by us, including all of the art, coding and sound. We're driven by the fact that we're fans of the board game and we want to bring the experience of that game to as many people as possible.

SPOnG: Space Hulk has the Blood Angels chapter of space marines, are there any plans to make campaigns featuring other chapters?

Thomas Lund: Yes, the game we're showing here features the Blood Angels as they are all named heroes from the board game, which totals 12 marines from that game. We're then going to allow the player to create custom marines that they can kit out. As you play the game you gain purity seals, which you can then attach to the marine's armour.

To answer your question directly, once we get past this first version we're going to be working on new campaigns and additional chapters. We took this approach rather than, 'here's a set of figures and paint whatever you want', because the art is really focused on the Blood Angel, so taking one of those models and painting it gray doesn't make a good Space Hulk game right? You need to have all of the insignia, seals and so on. We want to approach the delivery of the other chapters with the same level of detail, which means we need to do them right. We want to cater to the fans who absolutely love Space Hulk and give them all of the adornment sets. Different chapters have different traits, it's not just a straight colour swap.

So the way we'll be releasing these will be via expansions that will have new campaigns and their own back-stories.

SPOnG: So Space Hulk comes with the story of the Blood Angels exploring this hulk of a ship that has been set adrift and is now infested?

Thomas Lund: Yes. We have one story that comes with the game that is entirely Blood Angel chapter related. When we release a Death Wing expansion, we will make a story around that, that is chapter-specific, so that we cater both visually and story-wise and level design wise to that chapter. Some of the weaponry is different for each chapter, so we have to address that. Essentially we want to do it RIGHT! That is the mantra of the team working on this game.

SPOnG: Is there going to be a level editor so that people can create their own nightmarish experiences in this hulk?

Thomas Lund: Yes there will be, but it won't come out in this first wave. It will be released in an update very soon after the game is launched. People will be able to build levels with logic around it and share it up onto the internet. There will be staff picks and most-played levels and recently-uploaded levels so that we can have a community going around the game.

SPOnG: Space Hulk has always had that claustrophobic atmosphere as well as being somewhat difficult. How approachable are you making the game to those who are unfamiliar with the board game?

Thomas Lund: We do have people testing the game who are unfamiliar with the original board game and they do complain that it is too hard. What we found is that people are assuming space marines can hit gene-stealers, yet this is a very dangerous thing to do as they can tear through armour. This forces the player to take things slowly and carefully by watching their flanks and checking corners.

We had one player who compared it to the puzzle game Sokoban, as he was treating Space Hulk like a puzzle. In his head he had to replay the missions a few times before he could complete them. He found this to be extremely intriguing, challenging and reward all at the same time when he managed to unlock the puzzle.

SPOnG: Thank you very much for your time!