An Interview with Saulo Camarotti

Kyle Gaddo talks with Saulo Camarotti, Producer and Founder of Behold Studios, on inspirations and goals with Chroma Squad, Kickstarter, and a bit about their past and future.

Kyle: Hello, Saulo! Thank you for being here with us to answer some questions about Chroma Squad, Behold Studios, and more! Let's start nice and simple—what were some of the inspirations behind Chroma Squad and how do you feel they are reflected throughout the game?

Saulo: Chroma Squad is an homage to our childhoods. Here in Brazil, in the 90s, we had a tv channel that broadcasted many of those Japanese superhero shows, like Changeman, Flashman, Kamen Rider, Bioman, and others. Since we announced the game and even after its launch, we've realized that many other young-hearted adults felt the same as we do, in every place around the world. But it is not just a Tokusatsu game, it is a game about managing a TV show, so we added the possibility to create your own show, rather than just watch one.

Kyle: Why the decision for a tactical RPG and not any other type of game?

Saulo: Before Chroma Squad, we were searching for an idea for a game that would retrieve the essence of an RPG, so we did Knights of Pen and Paper. After that, we've decided to take the next step: adding tactical elements to this RPG.

Kyle: Chroma Squad is a clever game full of tongue-in-cheek jokes and references from all over the world. Was your goal always to make a charismatic game or did this just happen over time?

Saulo: It's the team's nature: create charismatic games. We like to have fun all the time, party all the time for no reason, laugh at our problems—basically being Brazilian. Our games are reflections of our personalities and dreams.

http://i.imgur.com/FoWsKJo....

Kyle: What sort of expectations did you have using Kickstarter as a funding platform? Do you feel that crowdfunding made your project more or less difficult in the long run?

Saulo: The first idea was to create financial stability. But when creating the campaign we realized that we had a better thing to do with the KS: create a community behind the game. Of course, we have a lot of difficulties because of the KS. When we first created the campaign, we didn't know for sure how the game would be. During the project we wanted to change and improve a lot of things, but because of the KS promises we had to keep most of the things.

Kyle: How has the community helped improve Chroma Squad over time? Any special individuals outside of your team to thank out there?

Saulo: We had tons of help from the community. A lot of good-hearted people joined our forums to discuss ideas, improvements, and find bugs. It was an awesome experience to create the game with them.

Kyle: How has the reception been to Chroma Squad since launching earlier this year?

Saulo: We're really impressed! 97% positive reviews on Steam! We didn't expect that amount of good reviews. We're very happy with that, and that's why we're still working on the game, to improve it even further.

Kyle: What sort of long term goals for Chroma Squad are in place? Sequel plans? DLC plans? More?

Saulo: The current plan is to port it to consoles and tablets. We're already working on that. We have some things to improve on the touch and joystick input, but they're coming along pretty well. We're very excited with those new versions of the game.

Kyle: Can you tell us a little more about the Chroma Squad comic book and its distribution plans?

Saulo: We've just partnered with a very good team of comic artists. Our plan is to have it done by mid-summer.

Kyle: I recall that you got into a bit of trouble with Saban Entertainment, the owners of the entertainment powerhouse Power Rangers. Can you tell us a little bit about what transpired?

Saulo: Chroma Squad was indeed inspired by Power Rangers, and many other tokustasu shows, but they have the right to get worried. But after they played the game, they realized that the game shouldn't be changed and it got released as it is.

http://i.imgur.com/lihlSXS....

Kyle: What are some of the challenges that being a small team has posed over the years? I recall that Behold Studios is comprised of only seven people.

Saulo: The hard thing is to stay focused and never stop working. Tons of ideas come to the team every time, but we need to stay focused in the project that we started, and finish it with joy.

Kyle: Can you tell us a little bit about Behold Studios' history and past projects? I know you had a great deal of success with Knights of Pen & Paper!

Saulo: [Knights of Pen & Paper] was our biggest hit, with almost 30 international nominations and prizes, with our 1.5 million downloads on mobile and Steam. But we created a bunch of other games as well, especially in game jams - games created in 48 or 72 hours. Like: Monster Jam, The Story of Choices, Bit Bit Machine, and some others. But most of these games were launched free, just for the pleasure of making people happy. :)

Kyle: Is Behold already working on something for after Chroma Squad? There have to be a few ideas kicking around among your team.

Saulo: Yeah! We have a secret project coming along. 2016 is the year!

Kyle: What lessons have you learned as a game developer that have helped you on your journey of creation?

Saulo: Every time that we've decided something based on money and "how can we sell more?" it took us to the wrong place. Every time that we decided to create a better game, to improve the player experience or to make a game that we're proud of, we gained prizes, money and everything else. So, make good decisions!

Kyle: Do you have any advice for aspiring developers out there in the world?

Saulo: Make a lot of games! It is very hard to translate an idea to the paper, as it is very hard to develop a game that we imagine. Make a lot of games to improve this ability of creating games. :) You can start right now, with the computer that you have in your house.

Kyle: If you were part of a powerful sentai, what would your color, weapon, team specialization, and ability be? Who would your teammates be (feel free to go wild with these)?

Saulo: Hahahah! I really like the red. Not because everyone likes the red, but the fact that i need to be the red sometimes of our studio, to take responsibility for the group and make tough decisions. My teammates are my dev team, they're family to me. :D

http://i.imgur.com/9wpDbZL....

Kyle: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!

Day 27 | Behold Studios