[AMA]: Backfirewall_ | We are Naraven Games & All in! Games, developer and publisher of a first-person tragicomic adventure set inside a smartphone, out now on PC and consoles. Ask Us Anything!

Submitted by All_in_Games_Crew t3_10p67nj in gaming

We are Naraven Games & All in! Games, developer, and publisher of Backfirewall_, which is out today on PC and consoles!

https://preview.redd.it/f3269luja7fa1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=6d40998a0b99522c6c8c2d1b2bd1e990a1f6dde3

Backfirewall_ is a first-person tragicomic adventure set inside a smartphone. You are the update assistant. Solve wacky puzzles to counter the update and save the previous operating system from deletion. The fate of the System is in your hands!

If you don’t know the game yet, check out the Launch Trailer:
https://youtu.be/7t6a1ujxFcE

Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1920100/Backfirewall/

PlayStation:
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10005435

Xbox:
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/backfirewall/9PHHP2VZLFMJ

We’d love to answer any questions you have about the game!

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Comments

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kindalaly t1_j6ii31l wrote

Love the vibe ! What are the inspirations for this game ?

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6iqduj wrote

Hi! Narratively speaking we draw a lot of inspiration from Pixar and Dreamworks movies (mostly the humour and the compelling characters). Toy Story and Inside Out would be the major ones.
For the gameplay however, it's games like The Magic Circle and their weird mechanics that inspired us the most :)

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Evil_Crab t1_j6ldpf9 wrote

Just finished the game. It's wonderful! Totally got The Magic Circle vibes.

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flameepf t1_j6iralm wrote

How long is it and is there replayability to the game!

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6isgkx wrote

It's about 4-5h long however some testers played more than 10h! If you're interested in all the little hidden stuff, there's a lot to discover. There's replayability if you want to nail the ending better (but I'm not going to spoil why)

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Motolover57 t1_j6irfbb wrote

I've loved the concept of this game ever since I first saw it. Are you considering adding co-op / multiplayer to it later on in the future (I can already see my friends and I goofing around on it)?

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6is30n wrote

Unfortunately not, the game has been thought as a single-player adventure from the start.

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Rizenstrom t1_j6inxlj wrote

Not a very interesting question but is it compatible with other aspect ratios like 21:9? Is it steam deck compatible?

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6iwmnl wrote

There's an exhaustive review about steam deck compatibility on the website of Steam Deck HQ.
Regarding the 21:9 ratio, we had some problems at first, but they shouldn't be anymore.

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Gunegune t1_j6itzf9 wrote

Congratulations on the release! From a narrative standpoint, how were the computer science references balanced so as to avoid becoming too "inside baseball" and possibly losing the interest of players?

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6iuits wrote

That was surprisingly tricky! We first went head first and bloated the game with tons of references and tech jokes and nerdish easter eggs, but when the first playtesting rounds came back, we were forced to kill almost half of them... Because players got frustrated very quickly.
TL;DR: test a lot and NOT only on your game dev friends

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WalrusDelicious9429 t1_j6it386 wrote

ok, seriously now. Would you update or not? :)

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6itoix wrote

Yes but only on Mondays and Fridays

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WalrusDelicious9429 t1_j6ivhqp wrote

oh and since it's Monday :P

I meant where your sympathy lies, is it on the old but familiar side or the new but unknown side. If you had to choose. In the context of the game, of course

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Julia_naravengames t1_j6iwy5q wrote

Me personally: always with the old but familiar.
The game's point: go Marie Kondo and update at all times because people die if you don't

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AthArvA786738 t1_j6iks5k wrote

#Backfirewall #StopTheUpdate #IndieGame #Gaming

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TheMightyLimee t1_j6j0k5v wrote

First of all, I am having a blast with the game so far ! My question is: how did you balance the puzzles' difficulty ? Did you have to remove or modify a lot of them because they were too hard / confusing / easy ?

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takkuso t1_j6jrv3m wrote

Congrats on the release! Had this on my wishlist for a while. How big is your group, and how many iterations of your core gameplay did you go through before landing on your final game?

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SoloMarko t1_j6kedqg wrote

Does it have anything about all the spyware that needs to get access to all my contacts and pictures, and texts, and internet history?

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ThreeStoogesFan t1_j6ikwf7 wrote

How do you take off your pants? Do you drop trou, step out; do you unfasten, then proceed to step on the cuff/hem and raise your leg out; do you grab the bottom cuff with your hands and pull; do you sit?

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