Inside the Minds of Indie Devs – An interview with Drakkar Dev, the team behind the fantasy/sci-fi adventure Mirage 7 – GTOGG
The world of game development is a world filled with unique tales and personal stories. And we’re not just talking about the wide range of endlessly creative projects that see the light of day on a daily basis, but also the brilliant minds that will these titles into existence. Our series of game developer interviews began with a simple goal in mind: to introduce you to some of the most wonderfully creative people of the industry, and to learn a bit about their personal experiences and perspectives while working in this field.
It’s shaping up to be an exciting journey, and we’d love to have you along for the ride — so, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Today, we’re bringing you a merging of two distinct genres: described as a “unique blend of fantasy and sci-fi”, Mirage 7 seems like a fantastical fairy tale adventure at first glance, but interestingly enough, the project features elements of sci-fi as well. We had a brief chat with Drakkar Dev, the Italian team bringing this fascinating project to life.
First things first: could you please introduce yourself for our readers?
We are Drakkar Dev, a small Italian game development company founded in 2010. We started with mobile games due to budget constraints, and their success allowed us to reach our initial goal: developing for PC and consoles.
Our latest published games are War Tech Fighters and Blackwind, both for PC and consoles.
Based on what we’ve played of Mirage 7, the game seems to combine mystical fantasy elements with sci-fi in a very interesting way. While the demo didn’t shed too much light on the latter, can we expect this duality – this blending of genres – to be consistently maintained throughout the narrative?
Absolutely, it’s a key element of Mirage 7. The demo only covers the first steps of Nadira (the main character) in her journey, as she’s still focused on surviving in the desert. The quest ahead of her is challenging, and sci-fi elements will gradually become more prominent, ultimately shaking up her life and the way she interprets the reality around her.
The ending will reveal the truth about every character in the game and will connect all the narrative elements that initially seem “out of place”, such as the game’s introduction.
What inspired you to get into game development?
We’ve always been gamers and people with a strong creative drive. Game development is, at the same time, the realization of a childhood dream and a demanding job that we want to pursue with full dedication.
What would you say has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face while working on your game?
We wanted Mirage 7 to feel more like a fascinating adventure than what people generally expect from an “action adventure” nowadays.
Mirage 7 has a deep and complex story based on an award-winning short story, Miraggio. Every game mechanic, every puzzle, had to integrate perfectly with the story and be part of it. This was by no means easy for the entire team, as it involved a level of variety and complexity (in assets and mechanics) that exceeded what we were used to. But we believe we’ve hit the mark in this regard. We really hope players notice and appreciate it.
What is the one thing that you believe every game developer should be aware of?
Based on our past experiences: you can’t please everyone. Inevitably, every choice you make during game development will appeal to some and infuriate others. Nowadays, the commercial success of a game depends less and less on its actual quality and more and more on its media exposure.
In your opinion, what is needed for a game to be recognized by the gaming public? What will make people pay attention to the project?
It depends. There are different opinions on this. Some would say originality is the most important thing. For us, it’s a mix of factors. Yes, you need originality, but above all the game must be enjoyable and fun to play — even if that means making things a bit less original. It’s the final experience that resonates with players. There may be a thousand “recipes” to achieve that, and with every new project, we are constantly searching for a solution that truly feels like ours.
Do you have any words for aspiring game developers?
Be prepared to face challenges you hadn’t even remotely considered!
There are many commercial and non-commercial aspects of game development that can be significantly demanding. We often say: “the easiest part of developing a game is developing the game.”
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your past self? Is there anything you’d do differently?
Build your own development framework to be as generic as possible and applicable to any game genre. It will pave the way forward when you truly need it.
Finally, could you tell our readers where they can follow you and your work if they’d like to stay up to date with any future developments?
Our website: drakkardev.com Facebook page: facebook.com/drakkardev Twitter/X: @drakkardev Discord: https://discord.gg/X5Xr8vbX
Make sure to check out our previous indie dev interviews as well:
