For those who have not heard of "DARCO - Reign of Elements," here's what you're missing out on. Set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world, overrun with mechanical beasts and mythical dragons, you will be tasked with surviving in this beautiful setting. You'll have to fend off attacking beasts, other players, craft, scavenge, build/upgrade your tower, and manage your food and thirst.

As a multiplayer online survival game, you will be able to play solo or team-up with your friends. You'll never be completely alone though, as you will be given a pet dragon to accompany you on your journey.

As you travel between gigantic floating ships boasting vast and incredible biomes you will encounter unique beasts, beautiful scenery and lots of action!

Now that you're up to speed with "DARCO - Reign Of Elements," let's get into this great interview with TP-Studios CEO Tobias Schroeder.

Interview

BN: What's your background? How'd you get into the gaming industry and what drove you to create 'DARCO'?

Schroeder: "The idea of DARCO came to life in the beginning of 2016. I had a lot of projects and ideas before, which all failed, so I wanted to try something completely new for me. The Unreal Engine was free of charge for hobbyists, so I started playing around with it and learning by doing. My first idea was to make a remake of "Shadowman" -- a game originally for the N64.

I started negotiating with Valiant Comics to get a license for this project and they were quite interested. Ultimately they declined though since in that time we were a team of two hobbyists, without any prior experience."

"I wasn't ready to give up that easily, though, and as a passionate gamer, started to think what was missing on the Survival market.

Eventually this three topics stayed with us: Survival, Steampunk and Dragons. As our team grew and therefore the skill level changed we swapped our initial idea to what DARCO is now."

BN: Where'd you meet your development team, and what are the team's strengths?

Schroeder: "I did most of the recruitment of our crew by finding and interviewing people who contacted me over social media, like Facebook, the job center and other platforms.

Only three of the current members found their way into the company by being suggested by other members."

"Our strengths are, that we are a young and independent team. Each of us has a creative mind and a lot of ambition, which makes the huge project "DARCO" possible in the first place. What binds us together is the idea of establishing the gaming industry in Dresden, since there is even missing a proper active gaming scene."

BN: What are some unique features about 'DARCO'?

Schroeder: "What differs us from other survival games are a few things. First of all, it's the Steampunk element. There is no survival game, that we know of, which takes place in a postapocalyptic steampunk setting. Therefore, it is the world in its whole as we create it.

Huge flying ships with a living environment on top of it. Another singularity are our creatures -- their design and their animations. We created a mechanical walrus with a helmet from WW1, which moves around like a tank, and a pinguin which attacks you by jumping at you like a bullet. We are creating individual attacks, depending on creature and number of enemies, which makes our fighting system very complex for a multiplayer survival game. What is also unique for this genre is your companion. You have a baby dragon from the start on, who grows as you level up, who fights with you and finally is your main way of transportation. It is a friend, a partner, that you are given."

BN: Are you classically trained, or self taught?

What do you think adds to 'DARCO'?

Schroeder: We are a very good mix of career changers and professionals, with both a lot and little experience. We have artists from the SAE Institute and the Semper School, programmers from the Technical University of Dresden and with professional job training. But we have also hobbyist, who taught themselves and are working the first time in this profession. This is what makes our team so great in working together, professionals meet hobbyist and therefore offer a lot of perspectives."

BN: What's your personal favorite thing about 'DARCO' that you're most looking forward to? A unique ability, world, etc?

Schroeder: "The most exciting part for me are the fights against the steampunk creatures and I'm looking forward to fighting the bosses."

Follow for more

Mechanical walrus' with helmets and flying dragons, what's not to be excited about?

You can find "DARCO - Reign of Elements" on Kickstarter, Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to add them to your wishlist on Steam. Keep an eye out and give them a follow or share. Good people doing good work. Creativity is a tricky thing to find but this small group of developers with a vision offers hope!
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