Tampa Games, the Barcelona studio responsible for a Mole Mail that gave very good feelings here since its launch in 2021, it has been working in Goa and The Five Pirates of Mara for a time, a 3D platform that maintains the spirit of the team within the universe within the universe Summer in Mara, with Chi big collaborating in his artistic section. Although in this case they did not bring stand, the developers have peeked through the city of Bilbao on the occasion of the Big Conference during the last weekend, to finish closing the event season that requires the promotion of GOA, although this time With somewhat less pressure.
In the indie [Indiedevday] it was much more intense because we were all day with the demo, explaining, pointing feedback… Here we have come to relax, to see people again, explained Oscar Mastered, 3D artist in Tampa Games. «Normally there are three reasons to go to an event: one is whether you have a game to make promotion; Another is if you have any business meeting; And finally to have a good time, which is the main reason, especially in Bilbao, which in addition to the Big Conference event are the indie Burger, and it is the perfect excuse to meet other developers, added Angel Beltrán, producer and programmer of the study.
The Tampa team was already at the end of October for the aforementioned indiedevday of Barcelona, where many people had the opportunity to try a demo from Goa (and has already appeared by the occasional festival of demos) that gave the game the award of the award of the award of the award of the award of the award of the Best platforms of the event and, as they tell us, is relatively close to their departure, although the launch calendar is especially stony. «It is practically done, although there is always a lack of things, such as passing the approval of the platforms, things of organization or work in the ports, but let’s say that the Core is whole and can be played from beginning to end. This is the great moment to feel that we have been off, just before coming to Bilbao, so we can enjoy the trip without thinking about what is missing ». Beltrán commented.
The producer explains that his intention is to repeat the Mail Mole strategy so that the launch is simultaneous (or almost) on all platforms, even added to a physical version that is still in negotiations, although they also do not help complications at the marketing level that It entails launching the game at the end of the year, especially after October. Facing next year, January is more or less difficult because people come from Christmas and all this, so we are already looking from February or March, but there is still no date.
From the announcement of Goa, there has been talk of him as a spiritual sequel or even Spin-Off of Summer in Mara, but for the study this goes further: «With the arrival of Chi big, which is responsible for the narrative and the universe together To the tasks in the playable of Tampa and under coders a perfect mixture is created because the deficiencies of one and the other are compensated. So, on the one hand, it is the evolution of what we would have liked to do ». For this, of course, this great collaboration has been necessary between different national studies, although Tampa and Under coders, the study founded by David Jaumandreu, had already worked together in Mail Mole. We already have the joke to call ourselves Talpacoders because the future goes through continuing to collaborate together, Beltrán said. «With Chi big very well: from the first day they contacted us with this idea, we saw it very clear and all the reasons why we thought it could go well, they have gone well. In addition, they have a lot of muscle on the issue of marketing, so they supplied other deficiencies of Tampa ».
The crossover of Spanish studies, in fact, has also served them mainly to be able to do with much more variety, and this is explained by Roger Sale, Level Designer of Goa, telling us that there are very, very different levels because they do not have for Nothing Mail Mole’s gameplay ». To achieve that variety there are many new ideas that in Mail Mole did not have the opportunity to introduce due to lack of time or resources, something that Chi big has helped a lot to contribute its own narrative and universe, with much more contextualized levels. If you have played Summer in Mara you know the world and the characters and, at the playable level, we have achieved a more refined product that is even more reputable, adds Albert Nieves, level designer. «The point is that in Mail Mole there were no secondary levels. There were non-mandatory levels because of how progression you could skip some levels, but they were all main. And here, the concept of optional levels that are for those who want to explore the world and complete everything »is created.
Tampa Games has learned a lot since the launch of Mail Mole, both at the gameplay level and in the marketing of the game, and has helped them be aware of their own design philosophy. In the playable the greatest learning goes through the way of structuring levels or worlds, how to play with progression, knowing how to present new elements without overwhelming too much and that the game was progressively more interesting, a base with which they already had the Development of Goa and The Five Pirates of Mara to take it beyond. Goa plays a lot with variety and surprise, says the producer. «Surprise more at many levels because it plays more with exploration, with reaching a new world that is very shocking at the visual level. We played much more with the narrative, which in Mail Mole was more a procedure, and in Goa there is a much clearer connection between the pirate of each world and the mechanics of that world itself ».
«At the promotion level, which I think is really where a jump is seen, I am very present a phrase by Mauricio García (The Game Kitchen) that says that taking out a game is like climbing level and that until you do not do it not You are aware of many things. You can think that you arrive prepared to a launch, and then it passes you even above the emotional level ». In this sense, the Tampa team has also known things about its identity as a study, such as the Speed runs, with some leaderboards that did not reach Mail Mole up to two weeks after the launch due to the great demand of the community. Now we would not consider that GOA left without classification tables, says Beltrán. «This, with the game already published, listen more to the community and the press to know what works better and what is not to be able to transfer it to Goa, gives us a much safer starting point on which to start building, then start building, added to everything Chi big brings at art, universe and narrative level ».
It seems clear that there are many ideas that remained in the inkwell after Mail Mole, and everything indicates that there are a few more those that have the study in the bedroom after the development of GOA. «In fact, Mail Mole 2 in many things has become GOA. Obviously, Mail Mole remains a game that we are very proud and whose universe we would like to continue exploring. However, it seems clear that the platform is not the only aspect that wants to explore the Barcelona studio, since their last game has taught them the chances of focusing more on the narrative and creating their own universe. «We do not want it to be just an accompaniment, but also feed on mechanics. Mail Mole would be Mario 3D World, simply with platforms that float, and in the GOA it is much more Mario Odyssey, where the platforms are more contextualized in a world (that platform that enters and leaves a wall makes sense to make that and not only Be floating; if there has to be a platform on water, they may use a plaque that is from the civilization that used to be there). It is something that makes the game much more consistent ».
Finally, of course, the developers remind us of the enormous importance of saving the games in the Steam wishes list and the rest of the platforms, while grateful protection of their community and urge the public to continue supporting them
A Big Conference chronicle can be found in this link.
