Alisais a retro-flavored survival horror title reminiscent of games from the 90s era, like some of the earlyResident Eviltitles and theClocktowerseries, with a Victorian-era steampunk setting andAlice in Wonderlandinspirations on top. Though it was initially released on Steam in 2021 after a successful Kickstarter campaign,console support forAlisain the form of stretch goals allowing for the extra time and money needed to do so were later achieved. Also during that time, various updates and items like new endings and enemies were added that resulted in theAlisa:Developer’s Cutversion, which was recently released across various consoles and includes all its previous content.
Game Rant had the chance to chat with Casper Croes,Alisa’s main designer and programmer/artist, about its recent port to consoles and some of the issues it faced in the process, as well as the design decisions regarding its"demake" graphical art style, and the fact that his self-named studio actually consists of more than Croes himself.The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The Process of Porting Alisa: Developer’s Cut for Console
Q: As this is the console port version of Alisa, is it often easier for developers in your spot to work on the PC first and port afterward, or does it depend on other factors?
Casper Croes:I think it’s easier to develop and publishgames for PCthan for console. The port was handled by Top Hat Studios because they have more experience with quality console porting. I didn’t want to spend more years on getting them out there by myself.
Q: Can you discuss the process of porting generally a bit, and any notable differences or hurdles encountered during it?
Croes:As far as I know from talking with the porting team, the biggest problem was that Alisa was originally created withUnity 5, which is already quite an ancient version of Unity. It had to jump through a couple of engine upgrades and fixes to get the game stable before the actual porting process could start.
Q: What is it like being a solo developer in the current landscape?
Croes:Solo development is a slow process but very rewarding! You have to keep your focus on one project at a time, otherwise you’ll never release anything. A single project can take years to develop. By the time you get your game finished, other developers might have already created what you were working on. So it can be tough sometimes. It’s better to have a unique style that can stick out. And don’t make the mistake I made,creating a game that is too ambitiousfor your skill level. Unless you don’t mind spending 5 or 6 years developing it. I learned a lot, though.
Q. Was there any audience feedback for Alisa’s previous/original version that surprised or influenced you the most in terms of updating/adjusting elements for the port?
Croes:That would mostly be the bug reports. But I also get quite some great andfunny ideas from the Discord community; things I was able to add or fix in patches or future games.
Q: What were any of the biggest additions that you enjoyed working on the most or are particularly proud?
Croes:That would probably be the new endings– it was very fun to make them!
Q: Any anecdotes about some of the strangest/funniest/most interesting issues or bugs that possibly cropped up during porting, or was it overall a smooth transition?
Croes:The controls were programmed really awfully. It just worked on PC. I think it was a real pain for the porting team to convert it to a usable control system [for consoles.]
Alisa’s ‘Demake’ Origins and Designs
Q: Alisais rendered in aPS1 era “demake” graphic style. Can you discuss why you went with this style beyond capturing the feel of titles from the time? What’s the most appealing aspect of utilizing this look and design?
Croes:For me, it’s appealing because, even though it looks clean, [there’s] barely any dirt or debris in those scenes, it has a very dead or uncanny atmosphere. Even the games I used to play when I was a kid that had those pre-rendered backgrounds that were meant to be family friendly had a very spooky atmosphere. So it fits really well with horror. And I love low-poly, so aclassic survival horror style gamewas perfect for me to create.
Q: What are your thoughts on the recent rise of retro indie survival horror titles like Alisa in general?
Croes:I love all types of genres, and it was a coincidence that I created Alisa, actually. I wasn’t following any trends, just making what I thought would be cool. The projects I worked on before Alisa were all retro sci-fi FPS (before theboomer shootersgot their revival.) Since there are so many new survival horror games, I’m going to do things differently when I touch the genre again. [It’s] always better to take a risk and make something unique.
Alisa’s Other Influences, and Being Made By More Than a ‘Solo’ Studio
Q: What were some of your other favorite games/media from the 90s era that Alisa is channeling?
Croes:Nothing specifically actually. I combined a lot of elements from modern games to createsomething different from the standard survival horror game, while still emulating an old game.
Q: Anything else specific not mentioned elsewhere that you’d like to add or elaborate on?
Croes:I’d like to say that even though I did most of all the programming and all the 3-D graphics, my wife Arisa, who created the music and provided the voice of Alisa, also did a lot of designing and improving on it, for our other game, Phenix Corrupta, and in our future games! My name as the brand might be a bit misleading, but we make the games together with [our] combined brainpower.
[END]
Alisa: Developer’s Cutis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
