Farmergnome, a down-to-earth guy by the name of Paul, is a veteran indie game maker who started as a hobbyist but is currently a full-time developer. His fearlessly creative game designs and stunning, unusual art have earned him quite a few fans (and a little bit of money). Paul’s a hard worker, and his passion and skill are an inspiration to others. He’s sold games and he’s won awards for competition entries. In fact, he took first place in two different TIG Source competitions, once for the chilling, Vietnam War-themed Edmund, and again for the atmospheric survival adventure Under the Garden.
Farmergnome’s latest projects are Under the Ocean, which is currently in Early Access on Steam, and Fistful of Gun: For a Few Gun More, which is approaching completion and will probably end up on Steam soon, as well. Both of these new titles began life as free games. Under the Ocean is an epic reimagining of Under the Garden, and Fistful of Gun: For a Few Gun More is the successor to co-op shooter Fistful of Gun.
Using the power of Skype, Farmergnome and I had several engaging chats, which I’ve edited together into the following interview-type-thing. My own dialogue appears in bold.
Thanks for doing this, Paul! So, Skype tells me that you live in Brisbane, Australia, is that right?
Not currently. I live in Kapiti in New Zealand. It’s just north of Wellington. I am Australian born though, and did live in Brisbane for about 20 something years.
How does New Zealand suit you?
Well, its cheaper than Australia, and the country is nice. It’s a bit remote but that’s the price of making games I guess. I kind of do my best to keep my costs low.
Do you make your living solely from games right now?
Depends what you class as a living haha! I survive off them, but it isn’t pretty.
Living the dream, though, eh? How long have you been able to do it? Was there a particular game that made it possible?
Under the Ocean [a spiritual sequel to Under the Garden] is currently the earner, but really not any game in particular. Fistful of Gun will be dropping soon so hopefully that doesn’t bomb. Otherwise it’s back to real work.
What kind of work did you do before?
I was a waiter, cook, then a laborer, then I did websites for a bit. I kind of just take any job I can. I’m not fussy, whatever pays the bills. But I imagine if I had to go back to work, I’d do something as far away from games as possible so I wont burn out on the idea of making indie games. I’ve worked at a few AAA studios before and the whole experience was soul crushing.
That seems to be the general consensus from ex-AAA indies. Hopefully between Under the Ocean and Fistful of Gun, you won’t have to find something else, though. So, Fistful of Gun: for a Few Gun More is your next commercial release?
It is indeed.
So it’s a sequel/expansion of your freeware game Fistful of Gun. What’s new?
Well the freeware game was the alpha. So whats different, lots of content, lots of modes. I’ve taken the 3 player at once roster and expanded it out to 11 characters and they are all unique like the freeware version. I’m hoping to have it finished before my kid arrives, that way hopefully either me or Fistful can pay the bills. Preferably Fistful, but hey, life ain’t perfect.
</p>[Earlier, Paul told me that he is going to be a father around the end of the year.] And your time will probably get more precious for a while!</p>
It already is haha, juggling two big game projects maybe will prepare me for having a kid.
The focus of the game is still on co-op?
Yeah, it’s couch co-op, though I’ve added versus mode too. And I’m working on a story mode which will be co-op also. 9 player max co-op.
Sweet! 9 local?
Yep, 9 player local. There are 3 mouse controlled characters, 4 keyboard, 4 joypad. Under the Ocean will be 4 player soon, too. Local and internet. So it’s co-op crazy over here.
Yeah, I was just about to ask about that! You seem really interested in multiplayer lately. Fistful of Gun, Under the Ocean, RamBros, and Undercolor Agents all have important multiplayer components.
I think it’s just a recent fetish, it will pass I hope. It makes the games too damn long to make!
Is multiplayer more difficult to nail than single player?
Just more going on, more things to consider, both gameplay and technically. But in certain aspects, more fun also.
Is A Few Gun More enjoyable by a lone (and lonely) player? Does it scale with the number of players?
It does scale, though it’s sort of designed around a sweet spot of 2-4 players. But the extra players are just there for those odd situations where you have more than 4 people around and want to play something together. The way you control the Fistful cast has always been a bit odd as far as control methods. Also, I have expanded on that so people who don’t have a pile of joypads aren’t left out. Keyboard and mouse characters still play a major part.
What is the multiplayer element like in Ocean? Is it all co-op? Vs.? Local or network?
Both local and online/network. Alpha 9 really just changes everything about the game. We have gone from 2-D to 3-D, single player to multiplayer.
A major leap!
Made a lot of people angry.
Really?
For sure. And a lot of people happy. Read the steam forums for it. It divides people. This will definitely be the last early alpha game I do.
Because of all the negativity?
Well, its not so much that. I don’t think people understand how many changes we go through before something comes out as finished. Hell, Fistful of Gun started as a zombie game. Most of my projects have major changes in the early days, it’s just how it goes. The end user doesn’t understand this. They like what they know and have very little trust for my judgement, which is sad. You think after 20 something games I would be somewhat okay at making them! But people treat you like every release is your first.
It does make you wonder. Why question the developer’s vision? If someone just wants a game made by a committee, there are plenty of AAA games out there. Crowdfunding and early access seems to give some people a sense of proprietorship over the game. But surely there are plenty of supporters?
The supporters far outweigh the negative nancies, but it’s the negativity that weighs you down. Games should never be designed by a committee, but that’s what it feels like somewhat. End of the day, you just need to have faith in your vision and focus on it, ignoring what people might say.
Same for any creative enterprise. That’s why I love indie games, one major reason , anyway: they are the vision of a single creator, or a small group at most.
Yeah, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. I’d like to keep my vision solo as long as I can. The world needs more solo creators, it makes some truly wonderful things.
Absolutely. That being said, would you engage in a collaboration if the right project came along?
I think collabs are fine so long as there is a somewhat focused vision. Most of my games are solo jobs though, because I make some pretty dumb decisions. Like how many people would have thought, yeah I’m going to make a game about Steven Seagal conducting SWAT raids on terrorists? Not many, I imagine.
I love that game [Steven Seagal: Hard to SWAT].
I remember my roommate staring blankly at me when I told him the idea. Like, what are you on?
Most of your time these days is spent on Under the Ocean alpha 9, the big update?
Yeah, its huge.
You didn’t do the last Ludum Dare, did you?
I haven’t done the last two now due to UTO and Fistful. I kind of have to be a responsible adult this year, finish some projects before I start more.
The exciting life a professional indie game developer!
“Professional”, lol. I currently am wearing my pajamas, so I am not sure how professional that is.
Technically true, though! And you’re not the only one [wearing pajamas during the interview]. Do you find any time to play games?
Haven’t touched them this year. I play indie games when people ask me to give feedback and stuff. But when I’m done here, Dark Souls 2. And probably some Towerfall.
What are your all-time favorite videogames? And was there any one in particular that really inspired you to make your own?
Metal Slug, Final Fantasy 6 and 7, Deus Ex, Zelda 2, Mario 64, Ultima Online, and a handful more.
What was your introduction to the wild and woolly world of indie games?
Oh good question, now you will make me think. Probably some of Derek Yu’s earlier games. But I do remember being quite interested in the idea of indie games all the way back to Dexterity forum’s days, when the shareware model was a thing.
Which is really similar to early access, in a way. Like it’s looped back.
Yeah, well the difference is one is a finished product, the other not so much. Games are much bigger than they were in those days though, so the early access model makes sense.
So tell me more about the big alpha 9 update. There’s 3-D, there’s multiplayer…
Haha, you should be asking what hasn’t changed rather than what has. Everything has changed, right down to the character models and sticks on the ground. Entire art overhaul, class system, missions, seamless island rather than screen-locked, 3-D world, multiplayer, and too many little changes to list here.
And the jump to 3-D is for more than cosmetic reasons, right?
Yeah, primarily for gameplay. We felt the survival aspects were really being limited by the view. An island is a very real physical thing, people know what islands look like, having the island built in a 2-D cutaway just wasn’t doing the game justice, and also killing the survival feel.
How are you handling that potential troublemaker in 3-D games, the camera?
Hopefully well! The problem we have even moreso is the camera is shared between 4 players when playing locally.
Oh! On a single screen?
Yep, splitscreen sucks ass.
Haha, I always thought so. Killed multiplayer on the N64 for me. Goldeneye.
Yeah, Goldeneye was good, but it was just so hard to concentrate on your little square.
And that was 1st person. With a 3rd person view, screen real estate is taken up by the characters. So I can see single-screen making sense. And it’s got to be better for couch co-op. Any versus play in Ocean?
Entirely co-op. Ties with the idea of the game better.
Cool. After alpha 9, how much of the game would you estimate is “complete”?
No idea, its so content light at the moment, we plan to do a lot more missions. I’d say it’s 40% done.
How long do we have to wait until alpha 9 hits?
Hopefully not too much longer. It’s actually pretty playable now. It can’t be more than a month or two. But stranger things have happened.
I’ll keep my eye on my Steam updates! How about Fistful of Gun?
I’ve still got to finish up story mode, but arcade and versus are pretty polished right now.
How about your shooter, RamBros - is there any active development on that? It looks so cool so far.
Haven’t touched it since last year to be honest. Got kind of focused on UTO. Mostly to do with finances.
Yeah, how many projects can you juggle at once! Might you get back to it later?
Depends on life really, I’d like to but there is only so much time in the day.
God, I know what you mean. Ok, let me make sure I get this clear about Under the Ocean. It now takes place on one giant island, “seamless” as you say, with no load times and nothing to interrupt the gameplay?
Not anymore. Except underground sections, they load on a different layer, but you enter a tunnel there, so it’s not that noticeable. Which is a huge change from alpha 8, which had a scene change every 30 meters or so.
How big is the island?
In game terms, a few kilometers. But it really only depends on the load-in time, since it’s all random.
So everything is randomized - along certain guidelines I presume - the landscape, the creatures, the caves, etc?
Yep, it’s randomized with an editor, we lay down random elements that make sense. Kinda a blend between both worlds. Like, we place down the right random elements rather than just spamming it all together.
So it looks organic.
Mostly for the challenges to make sense. Nothing is worse than a random world that just hampers gameplay.
Well the screens I’ve seen look pretty awesome. what kind of challenges will players face in Under the Ocean?
It’s almost entirely natural encounters. We have setup a mission system for alpha 9, so there’s a “quest” of sorts, an overarching goal. In alpha 9, it will be moving across a island which the players will discover is infested with wolves. But each mission will introduce new goals and enemies as the alpha reaches closer to beta with each update. But it’s not so much about the over arching goal as the smaller challenges. Weather and diseases plays a huge part in the game. Standing in the rain will make you cold, staying cold for too long will give you something more serious, as it does somewhat in real life. Though it has been gamified, it retains some of that real life survival feel. Getting yourself injured, you will have to deal with cuts, infections, hunger, thirst, the whole lot. Some of the other challenges are finding resources to build, eat, drink, and thrive basically. All sort of wrapped in a gamey sort of playable Zelda-ish vibe. That, and you can do it with 3 friends!
It sounds really cool. Is the ultimate goal pure survival, or is there a way off the island… or would that be telling too much?
The overarching goal is mission dependent. So we will be introducing a wide range of them in the future, everything from crossing islands, to surviving a super storm, to sailing home. So its all on the cards if it does well.
Earlier, you touched on how much your games change from conception to release. If we mark the true beginning of Ocean’s development as the moment you started work on Under the Garden for the TIGSource competition… Well, it’s come a pretty long way! I’m not sure of the timeline, but was it originally conceived as a response to Minecraft and/or Terraria?
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Haha, Under the Garden dropped in 2010, so it predates Terraria. I didn’t really start UTO until about 2012 though. Thought it would be a fun project to kind of do a better version of. UTG was made in a few weeks for a TIGSource comp [A Game by Its Cover]. Got first for that one. And people kept asking me to make a bigger version. Just like Fistful is at the moment actually.
How long did it take you to make Fistful - the original?
I was doing it around so much else, but about 2 months-ish. Part time that is.
That wasn’t done for a contest or anything?
Nah, Fistful wasn’t. Just because I had to make it.
A passion project!
Do you like “spaghetti westerns”?
I love them so much haha!
But it started as a zombie game. Because I love zombies too. I decided against zombies because UTO has lots of survival elements and if I did a zombie game, it would have to have survival elements too. And I didn’t want to burn out.</p>
And there are 47 zombie survival games out there already.
Yeah, haha! Makes it harder to stand out.
Prior to Fistful, I believe, you did a couple of Ludum Dare entries that are particularly impressive for being such polished, good-looking, and fun game experiences created in so little time, Undercolor Agents and Happy Little Murder Friends.
Yeah. Soul Jar and Steven Seagal: Hard to SWAT also. They are all solo 48-hour games. So that’s why they are buggy as. Haha!
How the hell did you make them so fast? I mean these are 4 enjoyable, cohesive game experiences. What’s your advice to jammers?
Fuck sleep. Honestly, I know everyone says get lots of sleep, but I just don’t sleep through it. Trick your body not to sleep, and at the 24 hour mark stop adding features, and polish. I usually aim to have the whole game done in 24 hours minus music and just slam together some random music at the end.
So at 24 hours, stop adding features and start polishing?
Yup. The first 24 hours is the hard part, just getting it all right for polish.
Once, on your blog, you mentioned the possibility of further polishing Undercolor Agents and bundling it with Fistful. Still a possibility? They actually fit together nicely, both being co-op games that support 8 or 9 people playing at once.
Probably unlikely at this stage. Though I really do still like UCA. I just don’t have the time at the moment.
It’s probably unlikely we’ll see an expansion of Steven Seagal: Hard to SWAT, your turn-based hostage-rescuing shooter, but damn, it’s a good game! How’d you come up with that? Are you a Seagal fan, either ironically or earnestly? The gameplay is so much fun, smashing through the building and deploying your team.
I think it is a bit of both, honestly. I like the ridiculousness of Seagal, even in real life. He’s just a exciting human to watch. I have a fascination with the slightly bizarre. As for where the idea came from, it’s based in reality when Seagal and some law enforcement raided a house with a tank. I always thought it would make a hilarious premise for an action game.
The art in your games is quite beautiful and also quite distinct. I know you have a series of video tutorials in progress about your process, but could you give me a capsule overview? You have a somewhat nontraditional pixeling and drawing technique.
Lots of people say that. I guess my art has sort of evolved over the years. It took quite a while to find my style, I guess you could call it. To be honest, there isn’t a set in stone way I work, but I do have some tutorials on my site for the basics, yeah.
You use Photoshop, as well as Graphics Gale? And you use a tablet and pen?
Yep, though always a mouse for pixel art aside from concepting the look of the game. Fistful is pretty much entirely Graphics Gale and mouse, and Under the Ocean is almost the opposite.
Watching your livestream of development, you pixel so quickly! That’s just mouse?
I always concept something down before I start pixeling. And more than likely it’s sped up, so I am not super human.
No, I swear, watching the livestream, it seemed so fast! Probably just a pro at work.
Oh yeah, the livestream stuff isn’t sped up. I’ve been doing it quite awhile now, it’s like breathing at this point, haha!
Well I don’t want to leave off without asking you about the first game of yours I played, what seems like long ago, Edmund. A dark little game, it’s one of those few games that taught me how indie games can go so many places “mainstream” games don’t dare. Like Under the Garden, it was made for a TIG Source competition, right? What was the inspiration for that and how long did it take to make? And what do you think of it now?
Edmund ha, I have similar feelings about Edmund as I do all my competition games. I wish I had more time. I always regret mechanical decisions with competition games, mostly because of the speed in which they are slammed out. For Edmund, my biggest regret in hindsight is that I didn’t have time to link the two stories. I was planning to make them kind of interact between each other, but due to time and my full-time job being a bit mental at the time, I had to settle for less. Kind of the reality of making games as a hobby rather than something more serious, I guess.
So, if you have any time between raising a baby and working on Under the Ocean, can we eventually expect some more small, free games from you?
I hope so, or I might just lose the plot! In all honesty, it depends what I’m doing for a job then. Really depends how this whole go pro indie thing turns out.
Well it would be great to see both commercial and free games from you. I’ll be buying Fistful of Gun when it comes out, and I have Under the Ocean on Steam, so I’ll be looking forward to that alpha 9 update! And who knows, maybe when the next Ludum Dare rolls around, you’ll just happen to have 48 hours free!
Haha, to be honest I skipped the last two out of professional duty. To finish my big projects before I start more. But I do hope I can get into the next LD.
Thanks so much, Paul! And good luck with the games - and the baby!
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