We’re working on a review for Robozarro, so I got in touch with Frozen Flame Interactive to talk a bit about the game and its development. Come check it out!
PS4Blog: Good morning! Thank you for joining us at PS4Blog.net. Could you please help us get started by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?
Hi Antonio! My name is Matt Strnad, and I’m the lone developer at Frozen Flame Interactive! Robozarro is my first game. For Robozarro, I did the art, programming, writing, and gameplay design. A talented musician named Nicole Marie T wrote/produced the game’s soundtrack, and a fellow programmer helped me with some of the more advanced/technical aspects of Robozarro’s code. Before game development, I made short films, wrote music, produced video game podcasts, and spent thousands of hours battling Pokémon. I guess, all in all, I’ve been creating stuff for almost 20 years now!
PS4B: On that note, Robozarro is ready to go on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. How would you describe the game to someone who’s never played it before?
A friend of mine once described Robozarro as “Mega Man on acid,” hahaha. I’d simply describe it as a physics-based action/platforming game.
In my mind, Robozarro is kind of like Mega Man + Half-Life 2. I say Half-Life 2 because of the game’s physics engine and “Grab N’ Blast” weapon, which is kind of the game’s main hook. The Grab N’ Blast is comparable to Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun, which was admittedly a huge source of inspiration while making the game!
PS4B: How long did it take to develop the game? Were there any hurdles or challenges you had to overcome during development?
It took me around three years to develop the PC version of the game, and an additional six months for the console ports. In regards to hurdles… oh man, where to start?! I had to learn how to program, create pixel art, and make a video game! Every day presented a new challenge to overcome – it was crazy. Now that I have some game development experience, I could probably make the same game in about half the time, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!
PS4B: Are there any differences between the Steam version of Robozarro and the one for consoles?
There are some slight differences between the PC and console versions, yeah. For one, the console versions support multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese), whereas the PC version is only available in English. Please Note: I’m not sure if all languages are accessible in all countries/territories, or if the game’s publisher (EastAsiaSoft) had to restrict certain languages in some territories in order for the game to pass certification.
Additionally, there are some slight graphical differences in the console version of the game compared to PC, but they’re very minor. Lastly, the PC version of the game has mouse/keyboard support as well as a controls/button remapping feature, which unfortunately could not make it into the console version of the game. However, because of this, we took a good look at the game’s console controls and took the time to improve them compared to the launch build of Robozarro on PC.
PS4B: How long would it take someone to play the game from start to finish?
A first blind run would probably take 4-5 hours. Once you know the game and what it has to offer, you can probably do a two 2 hour speedrun. Beating the game unlocks Time Trials Mode where you race against the clock to beat each area as fast as possible, and if you beat all areas without checkpoints, you will gain an ultimate weapon for your efforts. And for an extra challenge, see if you can complete each area without dying!
PS4B: And now it’s time for us to go. Is there something else you’d like to add before we end this one?
Ultimately, I hope people enjoy the game and get a kick out of the characters, story, and physics gameplay. It’s my first game, and I tried to make something unique, despite the game’s retro-roots. I’ve been told that because of the physics-based movement in the game, it can take players a little while to get comfortable with the controls. I’ve also been told the game is challenging at first, but that once you learn how to weaponize the environment (after acquiring the Grab N’ Blast in the storyline), the game really opens up and becomes quite fun!
