Recently we reviewed an independent game called Devil’s Tuning Fork by DePaul Game Elites, a group of students who study game development in Chicago’s DePaul University. We then schemed, conspired and used all of our clout to get an interview with two of the developers, Jason Pecho and Matt Lazar, to further discuss the game.

Avault: Thank you for agreeing to talk to us!

Jason Pecho (Jay): Not a problem at all.

Avault: You know, our readers are very interested in DTF; the review was and still is one of our most popular articles since it was published.

Jay: That’s great to hear.

Matt Lazar: Great.

Avault: To start us off, could you please introduce yourselves and tell us what you do for the DePaul Game Elites?

Jay: My name is Jason Pecho. I am the project lead on Devil’s Tuning Fork for the DePaul Game Elites. I also acted as the tech lead for the project.

Matt: My name is Matt Lazar and I was the producer on the project.

Avault: It’s very nice to meet you. So let’s talk about how you got started. What lead to the formation of your studio? We know you are in DePaul’s game development program, but how exactly did your small group come together?

Jay: The project started off over the summer. Five faculty advisers from DePaul wanted to put together a student team to enter a game into the Independent Game Festival student showcase. So we got the team together in that way. Our goal from the very onset has been to compete in the IGF Student Showcase. There was an application process that we all went through for our respective disciplines. So the team was picked by the advisers.

Avault: Then you guys are in fact the elites, not just in name.

Jay: Haha, indeed. Without the amazing talent of our team members, the result, our latest release of the game, none of that would have been possible. The team really did put its blood, sweat and tears into the game.

Avault: What about DTF itself? Whose idea was it?

Jay: After the team was selected, we started the concept phase. I believe the original idea that was then iterated on came from one of the artists on the team during “concept bootcamp.” Her name is Ashley Ruhl. But once the idea was selected to move forward, it became a collective effort in expanding that idea and making it work in a game. The original idea was about seeing sound so you could reach through walls and open doors and what not. It has come a long way since then.

Matt: Our chief goal was to create a new experience. From there we spent two weeks brainstorming ideas that we thought could be innovative. Ashley’s idea was the most interesting and we found it could set us apart.

Avault: It is a novel concept; I don’t think there was anything of that nature available before. What made you decide to use a 3D engine, though? Most independent games usually use something less complicated. Also, is it an original one that you wrote yourself?

Jay: Well as far as the engine is concerned, that was written by one of our advisers, Joe Linhoff. His engine is used primarily for educational purposes. It’s a light OpenGL-based engine that handles a few things under the hood. We decided to go with an engine that was already made because we only had 6 months from the time we first met each other (the dev team) until we had to submit the game for the IGF. We decided a 3D engine would be good because we wanted a first-person experience. All of the research we did into the mechanic made it seem like the experience was best actualized in the first person.

Avault: So how is the game doing in the IGF so far?

Matt: We submitted our game into the festival student showcase on Nov. 15th. The judging process to select who will be the 10 finalists happened between Nov. 16th and Dec. 11th. They announce the finalist on Jan 11th. So we do not know how we have fared, but we are just happy to [be] associated with so many talented developers and titles submitted this year. There are many games that look great.

Avault: We wish you the best of luck then! So, how does the team feel about the game being done? Surely there is a lot of relief and excitement, but what we are really asking is whether you intend to come back to it and do a few more builds? Maybe expand it a bit?

Jay: That is definitely in the cards. Since Dec. 4th, our latest build, we have essentially stopped work on the game. The final push for the IGF took a lot out of us. So we took some time off to relax and enjoy the holidays. The team is definitely very happy with what we have accomplished with this game. We have plans to continue development of the game whether or not we are nominated for the IGF. There are plans for expansion in the works. A few more planning meetings need to take place before work continues, but we’re not done with this game yet.

Avault: What about the future of DePaul Game Elites? Do you plan on sticking together for long time? Should we expect a DTF2 from you? Or perhaps a completely new game?

Matt: The DePaul Game Elites is going to continue forward. We are regrouping and planning to develop the game till June. We hope to push DTF to the best game we can do it [during] that span.

Avault: Now, this is going to be a bit of a general question, but as students what do you think about the state of game development education? Up until recently, most people were entering the industry by chance. You, on the other hand, are actively working towards it. Do you feel you are being taught things that are useful? Or is chance still a major force in becoming a game developer? Do you recommend getting this degree?

Matt: DePaul Game Elites was set up to teach us about game development by actually allowing us to go through the process of taking an idea from concept to submission. In retrospect we learned so much.

Jay: I can’t comment on the way it was being done before, but from a coding perspective it seems like people would get CS degrees and then potentially join the game industry. But like you said, now there are degrees focusing in it. I believe that what we are being taught is very useful. There is a major difference in coding, say, a finance program, and a game. If our goal is to code games, then we should be coding games, not writing calculator programs. What it comes down to, though, is problem solving, and our focus is games. In that respect, DePaul is doing a great job preparing us for that. More recently, they have brought industry professionals in to teach. So we don’t have just anybody teaching us. We are being taught to make games by people who have had experience in making games. The fact that DePaul put together a program like this is phenomenal, DGE that is. We are getting experience akin to actually working in the game industry. I would highly recommend this degree to anyone looking to go into game development.

Avault: Sounds like it’s a very much worthwhile endeavor! Hopefully this information will be helpful to those of our readers who aspire to make games one day.

Jay: I hope it is.