Interview With Igor Simic CEO of Demagog Studio

Otakus & Geeks have a chat with Igor Simic CEO and Creative Director at Demagog Studio. Igor discusses their latest game Highwwater.

1. What were some of the inspirations behind Highwater?

Igor Simic: Studio Ghibli animated films were also an influence with non-preachy ecological themes, where catastrophes are simultaneously horrific and beautiful. Then in the gaming world there were titles like Kentucky Route Zero that managed to create beautiful vibes, so that was an important game from an art direction and cutscene standpoint. In terms of the combination of road trip and turn-based combat, Overland was a helpful encouragement. Personally, I was a fan of Mutant Year Zero, which is obviously a much more complex, big budget game, but we had that also in the back of our minds. Finally, Homer’s Odyssey and the Argonauts, but in a contemporary setting, were an inspiration for the road-movie by boat story.

2. Can you tell us a little about how you came up with the concept of a post-apocalyptic world that has been flooded?

Igor Simic: The premise of the game is: The elites are getting ready to evacuate to Mars amid the Ecological Catastrophe. You live in a dangerous flood zone and are contemplating immigration to the elite, walled-off city of Alphaville. With a group of friends, a week before the departure of the Mars-bound rocket, you venture on a boat trip to Alphaville, eventually deciding to sneak into the rocket. This simply came about because Elon Musk wants to live on Mars, so I just took that to an absurd conclusion juxtaposed with our own real-life experiences with floods in Serbia, Germany and the US.

3. Highwater features an adventure game play with tactical rpg elements. What was the game plan to use tactical turn based as opposed to the standard turn based combat that we see in other RPGs?

Igor Simic: Our turn-based system is basically a kind of puzzle meets chess. The reasoning was to use environmental elements since the main character is essentially the world. Additionally, the combat requires thinking about the setting with its ruins, broken down cars, vending machines, oil barrels, giant road signs, which all create a slapstick battle since the whole game is a kind of apocalyptic comedy. Even the weapons you might find, such as a fishing rod, add to this vision. That said, we do have plans for a new turn-based game that includes more RPG elements with an evolution of characters over time.

4. Playing this game on the Nintendo Switch lite the game ran and looked amazing. Was it a challenge to port to the switch?

Igor Simic: We had nothing to do with the porting, thanks to an external partner through Rogue Games.

5. What would you say was one of the major challenges of bringing this game to life?

Igor Simic: Just the grueling work of iterating, testing and reworking on a tight schedule. We had the unfortunate situation that we’ve developed two games simultaneously, The Cub and Highwater, so it wasn’t easy.

6. Narratively I love this separation of the haves of Alphaville and the haves nots? Was creating a world divided by class and status the goal for the story?

Igor Simic: Partly. But it’s also blurred, because the haves sometimes help you and sometimes attack you. Those who are poor, like your little group of friends led by Nikos, sometimes come to your aid and sometimes undermine you because they are trying to survive just like you. The divide is primarily between Alphaville, the Silicon Valley-inspired city and the outer flood zone, which is basically a moat around the high-tech city.

Highwater is available now for consoles.