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Creator Tobias Edvardsen spoke to us at Bilbao International Game Conference about the upcoming Rushaug: Feline Warfare, a new side-scrolling shooter with a very specific angle, which Edvardsen describes as "Metal Gear Solid with cats".
"Hi Gamereactor friends, this is the Bilbao International Games Conference and this is crazy because, you know, two interviews I've done, two are from the Nordics and that's always nice being Gamereactor."
"So I'm here joined by Tobias, thank you so much for joining us.
I'm taking a look at Rushaug, which I'm allergic to cats, but otherwise it looks very nice and you guys are releasing next year.
So what can you tell me about the main concept here?
You're gonna fight through a lot of enemies, you're gonna shoot your way."
"It reminds me a little bit of My Friend Pedro.
I don't know if that's an inspiration.
So what can you tell me about the main concept?
So the main concept is basically cats with nuclear weapons, political ideologies and a space program."
"So that's like the elevator pitch, basically.
Okay, it's a side-strolling shooter and then you have the nuclear weapons added to it, right?
Yes, like a very convoluted story.
It's kind of like Metal Gear Solid with cats, you can imagine."
"It's like a satire on human conflict for the last hundred years just played out by cats and to kind of just show the obscurity of it, you know?
So it's like cats with nationalism and racism towards each other, like the fur colors and the textures, all of that.
So it kind of takes itself seriously but at the same time it's very satirical."
"It's like tongue-in-cheek humor.
What can you tell me about the structure of the game?
I see there are big maps that you have to explore.
Is there any Metroidvania element to it or you just rush through them?
Yeah, there's certainly a Metroidvania element to it."
"So it's like segmented.
So you have eight missions in total and they are pretty big but it's not like one huge Metroidvania map.
Each mission has usually a base, like an outpost, which is complex so you have to go back and forth.
So there is a Metroidvania element to it but it's segmented."
"So the environments are segmented by missions.
What is Rushaug? Is he the protagonist? Is he the area?
Yes, he's the protagonist. He's the main character.
What can you tell me about them?
Well, he's part of a special force unit called the Sayari Task Force."
"So he and his team are like... You choose between four characters but he's kind of like the mascot, the poster boy, so to speak.
How many cat puns are you putting into the text? Is it going to be catastrophic, etc.?
Yeah, something along that line. There's enough. I don't have the count.
I don't want to make it too silly but there for sure are."
"One of the places you go is Katvador, which is based on Cuba.
You have Kat-zakhstan, Purr-is, Detroit, those kind of names.
I've also been traveling a lot, which has been an inspiration for a lot of these destinations.
So I've been to the Middle East, to Jordan, which is an inspiration for Desertia, which doesn't have a cat pun in it but still."
"That's going to be for the sequel because I don't have time to incorporate it now.
But I'm going to make a map based on Tarragona, Cat-alonia.
Oh really? With some Roman influence there?
Oh yes, like the Roman amphitheater there and a lot of the scenery that I fell in love with being there."
"How did you work on it, being a solo developer? For how long?
How did you structure your work and how did you come to this position, to this place?
It's been a long road. It's been 13 years in development.
It started as a pet project, like a hobby, passion project."
"It still is, of course, but now I'm taking a way more professional approach.
I'm working on it full time.
I also have a very severe, life-threatening lung disease, which is why I have the ability to do this.
It's like a silver lining because I receive welfare for my disease."
"That's how I finance it, so I don't have to focus on doing a job on the side.
I can commit all my time to this project.
And you're now ready to release, pretty much, in March?
It's right at the end of the tunnel now."
"It looks realistic to put it out in March, but I have delayed multiple times.
But now I would say it's pretty realistic, compared to earlier.
And you're not only releasing on Steam, but also on the three console platforms.
How did you work on that? Did you get any help porting the game?
Or is it gonna release on those consoles in March as well, or later on?
The consoles are gonna be released later on."
"So, it's Steam first, for March.
It's not ported yet. It's a service I've already been in touch with Clickteam, which is the developers of the framework I'm using, the game engine.
And they have a professional service offering porting."
"So, that's how I'm gonna do that.
And I'm also partnered with PlayStation, Nintendo, and Microsoft Xbox, too.
So, it's already been confirmed, established that it's coming out on those consoles.
The porting process is on its own, after Steam."
"So, my plan is to take feedback from Steam, from the PC release, work on that, and maybe iron over any flaws before the port.
Because once it's out on Steam, there's probably, hopefully, gonna come a lot of feedback which I can work on."
"So, then I can do that before I do the porting.
And after 13 years working on this, what's up next?
After the porting?
After porting, yeah."
"Well, first off, it's gonna be a break.
Because I'm pretty burned out.
You can travel a little bit more?
Yeah, that would be very nice."
"That would be tempting.
And once I kind of cool down, worked on my burnout, then the sequel is in the plans.
Thank you so much for your time, Tobias."
"I'm looking forward to playing Rushaug.
And enjoy the show.
Thank you. Thank you very much."
