I've been glued to my screen recently, playing "POSTWORLD" as part of their free alpha version. You're thrown into a post-apocalyptic world with murderous bandits, countless weapons and modifications, and a great world map that could be described as a callback to "Fallout." I can't shut up about this game, and what better way to feed my curiosity about "POSTWORLD" than to have a chat with creator Peter Leontev and ask him some questions about their development process, team, and the game.

Interview

BN: What was it like learning UE4 without experience?

Leontev: "Oh man, that was quite a ride! We needed to set up all the pipelines (from concept to in-game mechanics/model/etc.) and this just happened every time we tried something new. Gore -- new pipeline, level design -- new pipeline, interfaces -- new pipeline. Not yet finished, though! Recently we made a pipeline for dialogue and making quests in order to implement our non-linear plot for 3 factions."

BN: Did you seem to pick it (UE4) up quicker since it was a passion?

Leontev: "Yeah, that is definitely true! Some of us just tired from making similar mobile games, others just want to make a big game so quick learning is indeed the key here. Also, you need to really like what you are doing otherwise result is not guaranteed."

BN: How have you been supported by the community?

Leontev: "We made a few closed tests of our game to get feedback about combat, shooting, overall view of the game. I mean this is not some kind of material support (money). You know when you are making something you need to be sure people find it cool and so in turn that motivates you as a Developer to work even harder!"

BN: Did you do fundraisers or anything?

Interesting that in today's internet-based world you're first resort wasn't Indiegogo or Kickstarter for full funding.

Leontev: "You cannot count for any crowdfunding money until you are somehow known among players or you made well known games. You better have plan B even if you do."

BN: You mentioned that in the beginning many of the creators were spread apart and communication was probably difficult.

How did you meet your team and how have you strengthened since the beginning?

Leontev: "Oh, that is really some time ago. At that time we were only launching the development. We used Skype + Trello for collaboration but it hadn't worked properly due to different reasons (people don't like Skype or Trello, people forget to mark what they made, etc.). This process half-ended in February 2017 when we decided to go full-time development no matter what. And this is half-ended because, actually, not everyone is working full-time on "POSTWORLD" -- only 4 people (1 level-designer, 1 artist and 2 programmers). The rest of team is actively helping us but that is all. Now we are 3 people living in the same apartment and last one is remote full-time.

Yeah, we are some kind of crazy try hard."

More about 'POSTWORLD'

BN: What are your plans for the future (new games, add-ons) and would you go straight to Indiegogo or Kickstarter for your next project?

Leontev: "Firstly, we will release "POSTWORLD" on Steam EA Autumn 2018. No exceptions. We have some money and we will loan a bit more to finish the game."

"Secondly, we want to make a few DLCs related exclusively to game plot like expand some faction quests and add new, interesting locations. Originally we had plans for 4th faction (Military men) so this is one of the ideas for future DLCs. New game? Oh yeah! We made some painful mistakes and we want to fix them in future projects!"

"Lastly, It depends on amount of money we would have at that moment.

It is better when you have enough of it at the beginning of course. However if next game trailer skyrocket YouTube people, then why not?"

BN: What's your personal favorite thing about "POSTWORLD"? I'm personally looking forward to the combat prosthese, that's a very cool and unique feature I'm interested in playing.

Leontev: "Mine is just number of features our indie game has. You know we have melee, guns, shields, explosives, modular gear, combat prosthese, hardcore inventory, skill tree, modular weapon, travelling, manually crafted and procedurally generated levels, non-linear plot, 3 factions, complex dialogue system, enemy squad AI and more! You know, I am just happy that we are going to give people the game where they can try all these things! Would you name Indie shooter game where you can do all this stuff?"
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