Intervju

The Whims of the Gods – Glavni dizajner i producent Łukasz Janczuk proveo nas je kroz igru

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Poland has become a major hub for the gaming industry. It’s not uncommon to see games being released from Polish developers, which isn’t surprising given the presence of major studios like CD PROJEKT. However, our focus is on indie games and the fresh ideas they bring to the scene. That’s exactly where The Whims of the Gods from Juggler Games comes in, a unique city-building game that introduces a co-op feature to a genre traditionally centered around single-player strategy. To top it off, it also incorporates auto-battler mechanics.

The game’s Lead Designer and Producer, Łukasz Janczuk, gave us a closer look at what to expect. He shared details about the game’s features, how it aims to challenge your strategic thinking, and, most importantly, when you’ll be able to play it. A new playtest is launching soon, just ahead of the Steam Next Fest in February, where the demo will officially debut.

In the meantime, don’t forget to wishlist Whims of the Gods on Steam to stay updated!

Could you share a bit about yourself, your role, the size of the current team working on the game, and how long it has been in development?

Hi, my name is Łukasz Jańczuk, and I’m the Lead Designer and Producer for Whims of the Gods. The game has been in development for almost three years. We are a small studio, and the size of the team changed over time, but overall, almost 20 people worked on the game.

What can we expect from The Whims of the Gods in terms of city-building mechanics? Will it feature all well-known elements?

The game is a nice mix of well-known city-builder mechanics with some nice twists added to make it interesting for genre veterans. The inclusion of co-op itself already creates a lot of problems and challenges for the player, so we decided that more familiar mechanics would work best. 

I believe the game’s primary attraction is its co-op multiplayer feature. What motivated you to include it, and could you provide a brief overview of how it will function?

There are very few city builders that offer co-op experience. And even in those games players build separate cities and cooperation is offered e.g. with resources exchange. We want to change it. In The Whims of the Gods, there is ONE city. Both players build it. So it is no longer: “You have too much wood. Can you share it with me?”. Now it’s more like: “We need more wood. Can you build a road here so we can transport resources faster from the forest? I’m cleaning right now”.

There are 3 key decisions players will have to make during the game that will define their responsibilities in city development. Those decisions create asymmetrical cooperation in our game. The players have the same goal – to create a strong prospering city. However, they will have different tools to do this. E.g. the first decision between plant farming and animal husbandry. If you pick plants you will get access to buildings, resources, and technology trees that will allow you to farm and process plant products. You still however need to cooperate with the second player that is taking care of animals so you can both succeed.

Religion plays a significant role in the game. How do deities and blessings affect city development and player strategies?

We designed this system as a means of exchange. There are often scenarios where a player lacks certain resources or needs to obtain something quickly. In many games, merchants or traders are implemented to assist players in such situations. However, this wasn’t an option for us, so we opted to use Gods as the answer. Players can engage in rituals and make offerings to receive something in exchange. Each God provides unique rewards but will demand different types of offerings in return. One might require food as an offering, while another might demand a human sacrifice. It’s up to the player to decide whether they are willing to pay the price.

The game features a mystical calendar that shapes upcoming events. How dynamic are these events, and can players significantly influence their outcomes?

The calendar will tell the players what problems are coming. Don’t look at them as story events. Those events are designed to offer some interesting challenges, e.g. there is an event that will make city residents refuse meat-based meals. This means that suddenly for the duration of the event all the work to ensure city survival is on the player taking care of plants. Because players know what’s coming they can start stockpiling plant-based food. Maybe even by stopping residents from eating plant-based food before the event to stockpile it faster.

How many buildings will there be in the game and what can you tell us about the technology in the game?

There are around 70 buildings in the game. You will get access to them through 6 technology trees. During one co-op game, each player will have access to 3 of those tech trees. Which are accessible for you depends on key decisions I mentioned earlier.

The auto-battler combat module is an unusual choice for a city-builder. What led to its inclusion, and how does it tie into the overall experience?

Introducing military conflict has always been a challenge in city-building games. On one side, the military is a significant part of the economy, and in both historical and fantasy contexts, cities are often vulnerable to military attacks. On the other side, city-building enthusiasts tend to dislike time-sensitive elements like RTS-style battles in their games. We believe that threats and conflicts are essential to adding engaging challenges to our game.

In auto-battlers, players make all the critical strategic choices before the battle begins. We wanted to incorporate this idea. The city is responsible for producing and maintaining units. Players analyze incoming threats and determine which units to deploy. All strategic planning is seamlessly integrated into the natural flow of city-building gameplay. The combat itself is brief, automated, and quickly reveals whether your preparations were sufficient or not.

The game looks beautiful, how did you choose the aesthetic style and what are the cultural influences, considering it’s clearly inspired by the Maya civilization?

This is a fantasy concept focused on the growth of a civilization, with visuals drawing inspiration from Mesoamerican art.

Considering the central theme of the game, which revolves around the unpredictable nature of the gods, we determined that the Mesoamerican cultural sphere aligns perfectly with our vision. These were societies that paid extraordinary tribute to their deities, featuring monumental sacred structures, innovative architectural designs, and intricate decorative patterns.

It’s a culture of striking contrasts, blending visually captivating, richly adorned, and colorful designs with fearsome representations of gods and their sacred or societal rituals. This provides a wide range of creative possibilities, from building modest straw-and-clay dwellings in the early stages to constructing grandiose temples.

The Whims of the Gods  is not a historical simulation. While the Aztec and Mayan cultures serve as an inspiration, their architectural styles and artistic elements are merely a foundation for unrestricted artistic interpretation. As the civilization evolves, we introduce additional elements that reflect the growing sophistication of the island society. In later stages, players will encounter mechanical, steampunk, and even science-fiction influences.

Can you share more about the volcano and other natural disasters? How do they influence gameplay and player decisions?

Volcano is your ultimate test in the game. The explosion is a constant threat to the city. You will have to find a way to deal with this threat. One way is to try to delay the volcano. To do this you can sacrifice resources in the temple. To have something to sacrifice you need a strong economy in your city. However, this is not a permanent solution and you will have to find one to win the game.

What’s your favorite part of the game, and why?

I love to optimize so I include options to do this in the game. Adding roads to make workers move faster. Building quality houses to get some more boost to the mood. Produce better food to better satisfy the appetites. All those little things that make the city work better.

How did the first playtesting go? Did you get any valuable feedback?

 We received fantastic feedback from the playtest! Players enjoyed the experience, which confirms that we’re heading in the right direction with our concepts. However, there’s still plenty of room for improvement based on their input. This includes enhancing the UI and adding more quality-of-life features, creating additional tutorials to clarify concepts that weren’t well explained, making adjustments to balance, and, naturally, addressing the many bugs that were reported.

Considering the studio is in Poland, what is your opinion on the gaming industry there?

The industry in Poland is pretty huge. We have some big studios and probably a hundred smaller ones. Thanks to this there is a nice pool of professionals we can work with. At the same time last year was rather harsh. The competition is huge. Some projects didn’t manage to get good sales. So we also suffered layoffs. It’s not easy right now but I’m looking forward to next year.

What has your experience been with Gamescom and PAX East? Was there anything that particularly stood out to you, and would you recommend attending these events? 

Both events are global in scope, reaching gamers from all around the world. This extends to digital platforms as well, as they showcase new trailers, are featured on Steam, and attract the attention of media outlets worldwide. In both cases, our presence at these events was reflected in the number of Steam wishlists. However, the most important aspect of Gamescom and PAX is the opportunity to interact with the many people who visit our booth and receive a wealth of positive feedback and constructive criticism. After all, it’s for you, dear players, that we are creating The Whims of the Gods.

What can we expect from you in 2025? Will the game be released this year, and on which platforms will it be available?

We have big plans for 2025. There will be a demo available for everyone during Steam Next Fest. We want to do some more playtests. And yes, we are also planning the release for this year. I can’t give you an exact date at the moment but it will be this year for sure.

Croatian translation coming soon!

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