Hello, everyone!

If you’re itching for an Overtale update, you can now read the full interview between OvertaleRPG founder/project lead Adam Chapman and @Timely .TV! You can access it through this link ; https://www.instagram.com/timely.tv/. Alternatively, the full interview has also been posted here for your viewing enjoyment!

QUESTION 1 ) For the people who have never heard of Overtale, tell them a bit about the project.

Overtale is an Undertale fan game that has been in development since November 2015, founded and directed by myself and developed by a team of over 50 dedicated, hard-working fans. Greenlit by Toby Fox, the project aims to deliver an original, compelling narrative set 15 years following the events of the first game. It is set to feature many elements from Undertale, such as the Routes system, Bullet Board dodging mechanic and ACT/SPARE system, whilst additionally introducing entirely new characters and mechanics. Rather than continuing the trend of 2D pixel art graphics, Overtale’s visual aesthetic follows a simple but clean 3D cel-shaded style inspired by games such as Journey and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. For more information, please be sure to check out our first Developer Diary video, which goes a little more in-depth into the basics of Overtale’s production and story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogCvhYDUqt8).

QUESTION 2 ) We currently know nothing about Lucas! Is there anything you can tell us about him? Maybe a bit about Tony and Sierra?

Lucas Howard is, quite evidently, a new character to the Undertale universe. A companion of Asriel, he claims to be a music production student from a local university looking to help solve the mystery of increasing monster aggression. However, it quickly becomes clear that more is going on about him than Asriel first assumes - he will play a very large role in Overtale’s narrative. In quite comedic fashion, many people who saw Lucas in the Overtale banner art for the first time have immediately assumed he’s Frisk! Furthermore, others have deduced from his name that he is the Lucas from Mother 3 - obviously, neither of these points are the case. Lucas is a new character, and all of us on the OvertaleRPG team think that the fans are going to love him and his personality once they get a chance to see him in action.

Tony Roman is the third party member. A character who has been out of touch with the world for a good measure of time, Tony adores anything and everything to do with 70’s/80’s pop culture, such as the disco craze and classic detective/cop shows. His skeleton design and outfit were inspired by his backstory and personality rather than any sort of relation to Sans or Papyrus - the exact purpose behind that will become evident to players as they progress through the story and learn more about this wacky and ‘cultured’ smooth-talker.

Sierra is the fourth party member, an elemental monster comprised of unusual electrostatic energy. She is the apprentice and general assistant of Dr. Alphys, spending a good majority of her time either making cups of coffee or running down to the corner store to pick up more printer ink. Through the early events of Overtale, she will eventually join Asriel and company on their journey, providing her useful mechanical skills and the aid of her home-customised lab assistant drone, GiGi.

QUESTION 3 ) When can we expect a demo or trailer?

The team is currently working very hard on the closed alpha demo, which showcases basic gameplay, dialogue, voice acting, music and visual aesthetic. Our initial target for this demo’s release, which is open to only 50 people who were successful in playtesting applications, back in March 2016. However, due to delays as a result of our team being entirely comprised of part-time volunteers, we’ve sadly had to delay the demo until Summer this year. A specific date is unfortunately unclear until we are more confident of the demo’s near-completion. Please understand that this is to ensure that playtesters are delivered the most refined and enjoyable experience possible - we’re working very hard to make Overtale the most polished work of art it can be!

A trailer is something that the team have been discussing for some time, but we aim to leave until much later into the game’s development unless plans change. This is because we’d likely need to commission an animator or two to work on such a trailer - Overtale has no funding outside of my personal wallet due to Toby Fox forbidding us and all other Undertale-related projects from running crowdfunding campaigns such as Kickstarter. I’m an 18 year-old student running a part-time job and heading off to University later this year; it’s going to take me a while to be able to afford such commissions! Nonetheless, we’ll be certain to update everyone on our Twitter and GameJolt feeds as soon as more is known and confirmed.

QUESTION 4 ) What inspired you to begin this project?

To put it simply, I’ve always wanted to develop a video game. In fact, it’s difficult to find many gamers who don’t dream of crafting their own ideal game! My first console was a GameBoy Advance, given to me by my parents at six years old. Over the years, I’ve been privileged enough to be able to sample a huge variety of games across a wide range of systems and build an appreciation for their art form.

At 17 years old, I began a course in Media Studies. Whilst my course was focused more on the codes and conventions of the media in general and cinematography, it allowed me to develop the necessary skills to deconstruct and analyse, in great depth, almost every minute element of a video game to discern significance, messages they convey and how they contribute to the wider media context. I began to notice such analytical detail almost subconsciously whilst playing games, applying the theories of intertextuality, postmodernism, bricolage and more to develop my understanding of how these wonderful works of art were pieced together.

Back in 2015, after playing Undertale, I realised how beautifully intelligent it was in it’s design. Not only was it obvious that it was burning with love and passion from it’s developer, but I also noticed how remarkably postmodern it was - it constantly flouted my inbuilt expectations of how an RPG should play, teasing with player expectations of systems such as levelling, killing enemies, EXP, ferrying/fast travel, inns and so much more! The story, for all it’s simplicity, was also very powerful and conveyed many deep messages to players.

Up until then, I’d developed very little at all. I’d attempted turning some banterous Dungeons & Dragons sessions between myself and my friends into an RPG Maker VX Ace project, but that project died out within my first two weeks of working on it. However, reading over the Dreemurr-Reborn webcomic by artist Fatz filled my mind with so many ideas, so many “what if?” scenarios regarding Undertale’s universe, that I began jotting them down. Eventually, I found that I had written an intriguingly coherent alternate storyline suitable for a sequel to Undertale. In what was comparable to childlike excitement, I ended up going onto the then newly-formed Undertale-related Facebook groups, asking for volunteers skilled in various roles such as concept art, C# programming, 3D modelling, rigging, animation, etc.

With a team of roughly 12 people, I wrote a Game Design Document, set up various application accounts on sites such as Trello and DropBox, ensured everyone was on the same page and began doing my job as the new director of OvertaleRPG. Over time, we made a lot of progress together and I began working in public relations - for example, opening the OvertaleRPG YouTube channel/Twitter feed, setting up our GameJolt page, responding to emails/comments and recruiting new team members. By December 2015, we had over 50 team members.

tl;dr - I began learning how amazing games and media were in general. Undertale’s design utterly blew me away and finally convinced me to get off my ass and begin developing a serious video game project with my own team. It’s proven to me that the old saying is true - if you work hard enough, you can achieve almost anything.

QUESTION 5 ) When do you plan on showing gameplay?

The first gameplay will likely either be from fan videos showcasing themselves playing the closed alpha demo, or from our official OvertaleRPG channel shortly beforehand. Either way, it’ll likely be Summer this year!

QUESTION 6 ) According to the GameJolt rating, there’s gambling in Overtale. Is this true?

This is true, but not to the extent of gambling machines or poker in a nightclub. It’s more family-friendly in nature, much like the Thundersnail minigame in Undertale.

QUESTION 7 ) Could you tell us a little more about yourself, aside from your amazing biscuits and sword skills?

As I’ve stated before, I’m an 18 year-old student from the United Kingdom, currently studying History, Media Studies and English Language. I’m also a bit of a Biology nut, but sadly I didn’t do well enough in my exams for it last year to make it a viable option for further study. I’ve got plans to head to University later this year to study for BSc Psychology. My ambition is to join the police force.

In my spare time, I practice HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) swordsmanship. Think of it like fencing, only more historically accurate and with medieval weaponry as opposed to sabres or rapiers! Whilst HEMA encompasses forms of combat such as wrestling, dagger, polearm and sword-and-buckler, I prefer to train mainly with a longsword.

I also practice falconry - that’s the flying and care of birds of prey, such as falcons and hawks. The main two birds I fly are Minty, a gyrfalcon, and Bobby, a barn owl with a unique tendency to sit on people’s heads. I’m not entirely sure where that behaviour came from, but it’s nonetheless amusing to friends who are seeing him for the first time!

Beyond that, I’m either studying, reading, playing video games or developing Overtale! I love rock climbing, swimming and cycling, but sadly don’t get as much time to do these activities as I’d like, which is a shame. Much of my time goes to public relations work on Overtale, such as responding to emails and comments. I’m the one behind the Youtube, Twitter and GameJolt accounts, and it can be pretty time consuming answering the same question from twenty different people! Some of the most infamous offenders here include “Will W.D. Gaster be in Overtale?”, “Why is Asriel not a flower again?” and “Why is Frisk there?! Why does he have a beard?! Why have you made him male?!”. Nonetheless, it’s a job I take much pride in doing, and it makes me very happy seeing how much people are enjoying our work.

I often get asked what my favourite video game is. It’s pretty tough to single out any, but I’d have to say either Final Fantasy IX / XIV: A Realm Reborn, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater or Persona 3/4.

QUESTION 8 ) How long can we expect the demo to be?

Roughly 20 - 30 minutes, if you chat with a couple of the NPCs and fulfil a certain favour for a certain somebody.

QUESTION 9 ) Will you release builds of Overtale every once in while?

It’s very hard to say at this point, but I can say that we’re planning to release at least a few builds to the public before the game’s full release. I’d wager we’d be able to release a new build anywhere between one to three times every year, most likely two.

QUESTION 10 ) Would you be able to give us a synopsis of the story?

Overtale follows a timeline inspired by the Dreemurr-Reborn comics, in which Frisk sacrificed themself to allow Asriel a second chance at life through the presence of a SOUL. Set 15 years into the future from the events of Undertale, Asriel finds himself drawn into the investigation of increasingly severe waves of unnatural monster aggression. In an effort to defuse the rising problems and keep the peace within already slightly shaky human-monster relations, Asriel joins with Lucas Howard, Tony Roman and Sierra to root out the cause and restore order to the surface.

However, as Asriel quickly discovers, this entire situation may be much more complicated than he could ever have imagined.

I can’t really say much more than that without giving away any spoilers, haha! Please do rest assured that our dedicated Writer Team are constantly working very hard on dialogue and the already-written overarching narrative, scrutinising, critiquing and fixing various bits and bobs to ensure great storytelling techniques, narrative consistency and a compelling, engaging plot.

		
			   - The OVERTALE Dev Team :)