Developer Deep Worlds is aiming high with the indie studio’s upcoming extraction shooter Beautiful Light. While we’ve already gotten some hands-on time with the game, we also managed to sit down with the devs to talk about the on-going project.
Deep Worlds took time off their busy schedule to chat with MP1st, and answering the questions is Eric Rajot, CEO of Deep Worlds.
Beautiful Light Interview With Deep Worlds:
Q: Can you introduce yourself to our readers and explain your role in the development of Beautiful Light?
A: Hello, my name is Eric ‘Aherys’ Rajot. I am the CEO of Deep Worlds and also the main developer behind Beautiful Light. I started this project alone 5 years ago, and for the past year, we have been a team of 15 people working on it. Before Deep Worlds, I was a professional player in Rainbow Six Siege and, even before that, a Gendarme.
Q: For a debut title from an indie studio, Beautiful Light seems like quite the challenge. What made you opt for this task, considering the requirements and the hefty competition in the extraction shooter genre, which isn’t exactly crowded but difficult to break into?
A: Beautiful Light is indeed been a big challenge, but we simply make the game that we would like to play. The difficulty is just a hurdle on the path. I wouldn’t say that breaking into the extraction genre is difficult. If I recall correctly, only one game has failed so far (The Cycle), and that wasn’t really due to it not being able to ‘break into’ the genre, but more because of player retention issues (cheaters). Marauders is doing fine, and Tarkov and Hunt are also in a sweet spot.
Q: What were your main influences for the look and feel of Beautiful Light? I’d say it definitely mixes Escape from Tarkov with S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but did you look up to these games, or was there something else serving as inspiration?
A: There are tons of inspirations for Beautiful Light. I can mention the entire S.C.P universe, S.C.P Secret Laboratory, Death Stranding, F.E.A.R, Metro, Evan Royalty’s short films, ‘Roadside Picnic’ by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (which inspired Stalker), and many more.
Q: Is the introduction of bots to fill player spots in the works, both Operators and Anomalies, or is this something you aren’t considering for now?
A: The game is split into two very separate parts : PMC, and Player Controlled Anomalies. We don’t plan them to be controlled by bots. However, we have AI anomalies (PvE) which are different types of anomalies than the ones controllable by players.
Q: What about PvE (non-PvP) modes focusing solely on player cooperation, is that under consideration?
A: We’ve considered it, but as you mentioned, the game is already quite a challenge to develop. There is no PvE mode planned. However, as seen in our playtests, you’ll be able to host servers on Beautiful Light (without progression). Some settings will allow you to customize the experience and set an access code for the server. So, even though the game is built for PvP, you can technically play solo or co-op.
Q: What are your thoughts on loot not making it into Beautiful Light? Is this completely out of the question for the future, and what has influenced you to choose this route?
A: Beautiful Light is what we like to call an objective-based extraction shooter. We believe loot-based extraction shooters are too bound to their economy, causing many mid-to-long-term problems to the game loop (essentially forcing wipes to keep the game interesting). We don’t believe this is as much of an issue for objective-based shooters. Objectives add a lot more replayability. However, BL will have some kind of loot, including loot from player bodies, map objectives, and quest-related items. We’ve also recently considered a fourth type of loot, but it’s still a topic of internal discussion. We don’t want players to focus solely on looting every crate on the map.
Q: The goal in the current game mode is to secure an artifact, which you mention “have different properties that can be exploited.” What do you mean by this, and can you describe how it affects gameplay?
A: This specific statement is lore related. However, artifacts will impact gameplay in many different ways depending on their properties. As you may have seen in our trailer, one of the artifacts fell and released an ElectroMagnetic Pulse. I won’t reveal much as it remains a heavily work in progress feature, but players will be able to exploit these properties to their advantage or be negatively affected.
Q: Players can opt to be part of a team of three out of a maximum of six teams or pick the Anomaly side. Can you describe what an Anomaly is their role in a match and maybe give a couple of examples of these?
A: A player-controlled anomaly is basically a monster you’re able to play in-raid while other players are trying to extract an artifact. To play anomaly, you’ll just have to select it before going into matchmaking, you’ll then invade an already started match. Anomalies have two objectives, kill all humans and eat them. Eating them will grant xp to level up the anomaly skill tree. For example, the first anomaly planned for Beautiful light is the Juggernaut, the dog shaped monster seen in our trailer. This anomaly is able to run on all surfaces, walls, ceilings and jumping from trees to trees (Like Alien VS predator). It is also capable of detecting players with high heart rate through walls and can emit screams to elevate the heart rate of nearby players.
Q: With potentially 18 Operators and 6 Anomalies in each match, the latter sporting different movement abilities, how challenging are you finding it to balance such diverse characters and playstyles?
A: Let’s be honest, this is and will be a hell to balance! Anomaly and player count is highly subject to change, especially with new anomalies introduced over time. But the fact anomalies will invade already started match will help us balance the spawn rate of anomalies depending on how many players are still alive, how many trio / duo / solo are on the map or even where they’re located on the map.
Q: You seem to interact a lot with the community and encourage their cooperation and ideas. How has this contributed to the state of the game? Any areas where player involvement was of significant importance so far?
A: Community and content creator playtests are crucial for us, as we don’t have an in-house QA team. Community members are our QA team, which we believe is better because they are our players. For example, we had issues with friendly visibility and teamkills. We initially thought this was due to players needing more time with the game. However, since Beautiful Light is faster-paced than many other games without friendly tags or outlines, we are experimenting with a feature to differentiate allies from enemies using a chemlight attached to allies’ clothing. This maintains immersion while helping identify friend from foe in intense combat.
Q: An Early Access release seems to be scheduled for late 2024, postponed from a previous Q1 2024 release, is this correct? How many maps do you plan on offering for EA and full launch, and can you give us some juicy details on a few of the environments?
A: Yes, the Early Access release is now scheduled for late 2024, though 2025 is also possible. We want to meet player expectations and our own before release. We aim for 3 maps at Early Access (though realistically maybe only 2) and 8 maps at full launch. The next two maps will feature Arctic and Pacific jungle environments.
Q: Do you plan to release Beautiful Light for platforms other than PC?
A: Yes, if Beautiful Light is successful on PC, we plan to release it on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Q: Anything else you would like to share with our readers?
A: Beautiful Light is the very first project of our Studio, Deep Worlds. It’s a dream project for many of us in the team and we hope to release something special. Don’t hesitate to join our Discord where we host (small) community playtests and answer any questions you might have.
Beautiful Light is set for release on PC sometime in 2024.