Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites have facilitated the dreams of many independent developers. There are numerous stories of well-established names like Koji Igarashi getting a new brand off the ground via Kickstarter, but just as many — if not more — stories about development studios such as Team Cherry coming out of nowhere and blowing up with the success of Hollow Knight. Toasty: Ashes of Dusk is currently working through a Kickstarter campaign that promises to put the Zelda-like title into a comfortable position for its production.
Game ZXC spoke to developer Pocket Llama's director Justin "Dooper" East about what prospective fans can expect from Toasty, especially with its funding off Kickstarter. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: To start off, tell me a bit about yourself.
A: My name is Justin, AKA Dooper. I’m the director of Toasty: Ashes of Dusk. I do a bit of everything, so it’s hard to really nail down what I do. I’m a full-time software engineer by day and low-poly Llama VTuber/streamer by night. I enjoy eating, breathing oxygen, and getting enough sleep — even though that never happens.
Q: I understand there are just six people working at Pocket Llama. How did you all come together? Is Toasty your first project as a group?
Q: It started off as just two people, then three people, then five people, then three, then six. On top of that, there's also the team from our publisher, Top Hat Studios, working on things such as the PR, marketing, and ports. All of our team is made up of friends and mutual friends we had with others. For example, we needed a composer and a friend of mine suggested their friend. We liked what they had, so we brought them on board.
Toasty is the first game project we’ve worked on together. Some of us have worked on other projects, like Brian Farrar and I with content creation, but nothing as big as Toasty.
Q: The Kickstarter page lists a few of Toasty's inspirations, but how did you settle on this idea? With how many indie Zelda-like RPGs are in development, what's your elevator pitch on how it stands apart?
A: We settled on this idea because we wanted to scratch that itch. There are many Zelda-like RPGs out there, but there are a lot of mechanics in our inspirations that are often overlooked with indie games. Like for example; in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening there’s a whole trade system that ties into the game’s story, on top of having some really fun moments. You meet an alligator who’s sick and tired of bananas. So you trade him dog food for some bananas that you give to a monkey. That monkey constructs a bridge! Does this segment play into the main plot of the game? No, but it’s part of the adventure and makes the game that much more fun. What we want to do with Toasty is take what made those classic games memorable to us and create something unique.
Q: One idea prominent in your marketing is segments from different genres, like the turn-based RPG fight, or the dating sim stretch goal. Did these stem from other ideas you all were interested in, or was Toasty always intended to be a mashup?
A: Originally we had so many ideas for Toasty and what we wanted to add, but we needed to be realistic and avoid feature creep. Would this fit in the game? Is this even achievable? Before we continue with this decision do we have the resources to do it? In the end we decided on these different genre moments because if the game can get weird, why can’t the genre? I guess you can say from the get-go it was always intended to be a mashup.
Q: These segments also appear to tie into items, like the hammer being used by The Judge or Knabsack being used by a bear. Is this how bosses are portrayed in Toasty or is there something else going on here?
A: Very observant! Yes, many of the items you get in the game are tied to specific bosses and dungeons. The Trash Masher, that gavel you see The Judge using in the turn-based battle, is too big for Marshall to use as anything else but a hammer! This is a play off The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the ball and chain. The items used by the bosses kinda tell the player, “Hey, after you beat me up you can use it like this.”
Q: The marshmallow forms also stand out to me as reminiscent of the Mario & Luigi RPGs. How did you balance these abilities and items? Is the game linear or are there opportunities to go out-of-order?
A: Dang, you’re on top of it. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was an inspiration for the Hero’s Marshmallow Abilities. We went with the classic game formula for items and abilities. Think like this: You’re in the beginning area of the game, and you see a bunch of trash cans blocking another path. Well you know you can’t go that way, so you move on. You eventually get the Trash Masher! "It can be used to destro-" Oh! I remember seeing areas I can use this! We want to encourage the player to explore and backtrack, but also keep it fun.
As of right now the abilities and items you get are only obtainable in order, but you never know!
Q: How difficult has it been to essentially create multiple games within this one title through your small team? Have you looked to outside help, or is this something you'd like to work on with your Kickstarter funding?
A: It has been very difficult. Game development is in no way easy, especially for what we want to achieve with Toasty. Our current programmer Faulty Functions is incredible and just a powerhouse of talent, before we go forward with anything we discuss it with them to see if they can handle it. They’re also one of the ones suggesting over-the-top things to add to the game! Post-Kickstarter we may look into an additional programmer to assist with development just to keep Faulty’s sanity intact.
Q: The prequel comic you've created strikes me as an interesting way to establish your narrative. Was that put together after the project was underway? Or was it part of an earlier project?
A: Gallant Dawn was made after we started development on the game. We thought it would be fun to paint the world a bit before the game came out. Ivy Jade Weaver and Brian both come from a comic background, so it was something within our scope.
Q: There are also physical goods on your Kickstarter, like keychains and plushies. How important do you feel it is to create a "mascot" like Marshall who can help sell a game? What have peoples' responses been so far?
A: You know, when we created Marshall we weren’t thinking of a mascot or anything. One day I drew up a knight and I couldn’t draw a head. I laughed and said it looked like a marshmallow, then it kinda just went from there. The responses to Marshall’s design have been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s really given the team so much hype.
Q: Talk to me about Toasty's aesthetic and humor, it seems you're going for an almost satirical tone that I've seen other outlets describe as similar to Earthbound.
A: Earthbound and Mother 3 are big inspirations for Toasty. We’re all a bunch of jokesters and think we’re funny, so we try to convey that with our game.
Q: Your Kickstarter is ongoing and continues to hit new stretch goals. How does the team feel about the reactions?
A: Honestly we weren’t expecting so much love for our game, and we’re just incredibly happy that goals are being hit and people are excited! It’s hard for me to really explain because I’m getting emotional just talking about it. I can’t thank our fans enough.
Q: Was the push for crowdfunding mostly about income to keep working, or was gaining new fans a driving force? How much would you say that attention has grown since the campaign started?
A: Oh, absolutely to get some money into the production. My team is incredible, and I want them to be paid for their hard work. I love them. I thought maybe we’d get some new eyes, but didn’t expect hitting the goal in under three hours! Toasty has really grown since we started the campaign, and I’m just blown away by it all.
Q: How did Top Hat get involved? Did you come in with the desire to get this game on as many platforms as possible or was that serendipity?
A: I have some mutual friends with Top Hat Studios and reached out. After quite a few discussions, we decided that they had our best interests in mind. No regrets. They’re a good bunch of dorks.
Our initial plan was to just get it on PC. A console release and even a physical release was just a dream to us. On top of all that, they also designed how the Kickstarter campaign needed to work, optimized a bunch of stuff, and did loads of PR and advertising for it. Now look where we are. It’s all still processing.
Q: With this Kickstarter going through the end of April, what are your plans after? Do you have a schedule worked out, or will you be deciding the full scope later?
A: Once the campaign ends we’re going to celebrate and just take a few days to process the previous 30 days. We’re still processing that the game got funded in less than three hours, and here we are days later blowing passed stretch goals. After that we’re going to take all the goals we hit into consideration and come up with a roadmap. We’re very organized and like our lists.
Q: What are you most excited for people to see as this project comes to fruition?
A: The story. Hands down the story. We have a story to tell, and I’m looking forward to people experiencing it. There’s been a lot of heart put into this game and it’s become a part of us, so seeing people enjoy the fruits of our labor will be the absolute greatest.
Q: Is there anything else you want to add?
A: Game development is hard. Really hard. But it’s not impossible! I made the original build of Toasty learning from YouTube and online courses. You don’t have to be well knowledgeable in programming either! If you want to make a game, go out there and make that game. We all have a story to tell, and life is about finding what medium we will use to tell it.
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Toasty: Ashes of Dusk is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Its Kickstarter lasts until April 28, 2022.
Source: Kickstarter
