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An interview with The Final Station developers

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Q: Can you tell us something about yourself?
A: My name is Oleg, for 10 years I have worked as a web designer, and 6 of them I tried to get into the gaming industry. This time it seems it worked.

Q: You are not creating games by yourself, what can you tell us about the team at “Do My Best, Games”?
A: “Do My Best” is just a name for me and my friend Andrey Rumak, it’s only two of us. But of course we are also working with several freelancers (sound, music, promo art).

Q: You are getting published by tinyBuild, but is having a publisher worth it?
A: I can tell, that if we didn’t get the publisher, our game would never have been finished. So yeah:)

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Q: As I can understand, The Final Station is a hybrid of two genres, train simulator and 2D platformer. Can you tell more about it? (I will more than likely add some follow up questions based your answers)
A: Yeah, our hero moves through the world by train, and from time to time he stops at stations. So stations are a large levels (villages, towns, factories) where the hero fights with enemies, looking for supplies and survivors. And when he is in his way to the next station, he needs to control train, configure reactors and of course he has to take care of passengers (heal and feed them).

Q: So you have chosen a post-apocalyptic setting with “zombies”, aren’t you afraid that this genre is a bit crowded and you might have a hard time to differentiate yourself?
A: We’re trying to go away from the word “zombie” a little, but actually I’m ok with it, for me main thing that a game was good.

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Q: There is one potentially controversial question I would like to ask. Based on the trailer, all survivors seems to be white, are you going to include a more diverse cast in your game?
A: —

Q:You might know that our readers are gamers, but they are also Linux users. So they would probably like to know, what is your motivation to port your game to Linux?
A: It’s quite simple, Unity supports export for Linux and Mac, so it didn’t take much time to make it. Also the more people playing our game, the better for us:)

Q: Do you anticipate any problems that may occur during the porting process?
A: I don’t think there will be any big problems, but if they will, I will be glad of any help from Linux community. Thanks!

Q: Will you release your game with day one Linux support or will be there a some delay before the Linux version will be shipped?
A: Right now I can’t tell you, sorry, but I wish it will be day one support.

Q: In the past publishers weren’t interested in Linux ports, so how did you manage to convince tinyBuild of this idea?
A: Their last project Punch Club included the Linux and Mac ports, as well as many previous games. I believe this is a common thing to get additional part of the audience. I can’t imagine any publisher saying something like “No! Anything but Linux!”.

Q: Do you think that Steam support (Steam Machines and Desktop) has helped Linux gain more acceptance as a gaming platform?
A: I think yes, but unfortunately I'm not expert in this theme.

Q: Will The Final Station support the Steam Controller and/or other gamepads?
A: Right now we’re testing the gamepad control, so I think Steam Controller will work as well.



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35 comments
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Mountain Man Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: ricki42
Quoting: Mountain ManMy respect for the developer actually went up a notch when I saw that because, to be frank, it was a stupid question and deserved to be ignored. I mean, seriously, why would you even think to ask a question like that? Who really cares if all the sprites in the game have tan colored faces?
Why was it stupid?
Because the question is entirely predicated on the fallacy of political correctness. What does it really matter if all the sprites in the game have faces that are one color instead of another?
ricki42 Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: ungutknutLike someone is automatically a racist just because he doesn't include the token black guy.
No one is saying that not having people of colour means the devs are racist. The question was simply "are there plans for a more diverse cast?" That doesn't mean anyone is racist, it just means this stood out to sobkas. Simple answer would have been: "no plans".

Quoting: ungutknut
QuoteTIL that being non-white is analogous to being a cripple or a cat. Wow.
You're aware that this was satiric, right?
They were using analogies to ridicule the question about diversity. These analogies were supposed to make the question about non-white characters look as absurd as asking about cats and cripples. I'm baffled that you can't see how this would be hurtful to anyone not white.

Quoting: Mountain ManBecause the question is entirely predicated on the fallacy of political correctness.
Political correctness isn't a fallacy, it's [[...] a term primarily used as a pejorative to describe language, policies, or measures which are intended not to offend or disadvantage any particular group of people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness). You calling something PC doesn't invalidate it. It's just a lazy way of dismissing somebody else's concerns.

Quoting: Mountain ManWhat does it really matter if all the sprites in the game have faces that are one color instead of another?
You don't get to decide what matters to other people. If it doesn't matter to you, that's OK, but don't tell other people they can't mention it just because you don't care.
sonic Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: ricki42
Quoting: ungutknutYou're aware that this was satiric, right?
They were using analogies to ridicule the question about diversity. These analogies were supposed to make the question about non-white characters look as absurd as asking about cats and cripples. I'm baffled that you can't see how this would be hurtful to anyone not white.

If I hurt someone, I am sorry. I just wanted to express the view that the question is absurd. We can also ask a question some Web pages (including GOL), why we have only yellow smilleys and not black & white.
Mountain Man Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: ricki42
Quoting: Mountain ManBecause the question is entirely predicated on the fallacy of political correctness.
Political correctness isn't a fallacy, it's [[...] a term primarily used as a pejorative to describe language, policies, or measures which are intended not to offend or disadvantage any particular group of people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness). You calling something PC doesn't invalidate it. It's just a lazy way of dismissing somebody else's concerns.
You've got it the wrong way around. Political correctness is primarily used as a tool to silence dissenting opinions. Case in point:

"Obama is the worst president in American history."
"You're only saying that because he's black!"
( "Oh no, that person thinks I'm racist! I better stop criticizing Obama." )

It gets us focusing on the wrong things. Like the color used for sprites in a game.

Quoting: ricki42
Quoting: Mountain ManWhat does it really matter if all the sprites in the game have faces that are one color instead of another?
You don't get to decide what matters to other people. If it doesn't matter to you, that's OK, but don't tell other people they can't mention it just because you don't care.
You didn't answer the question. What does it really matter if all the sprites in the game have faces that are one color instead of another?


Last edited by Mountain Man on 17 March 2016 at 2:37 pm UTC
ungutknut Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: ricki42No one is saying that not having people of colour means the devs are racist.
Why then should someone ask such a question? To ask for more diversity usually implies worries about exclusion. In this case exclusion of black people --> racism.

Quoting: ricki42These analogies were supposed to make the question about non-white characters look as absurd as asking about cats and cripples.
IMHO that's the case here. The level of absurdity is almost the same as asking for cats and cripples.

Quoting: sonicWe can also ask a question some Web pages (including GOL), why we have only yellow smilleys and not black & white.
Ooh... you better not open up that jar ^^. There's tons of discussions about that. Ever since smileys had no sex and no race - but people with good intentions are over-complicating and over-interpreting stuff and screaming for diversity which eventually polarizes opinions more instead of finding a consensus.

Quoting: Mountain ManIt gets us focusing on the wrong things.
Good point.
Mountain Man Mar 17, 2016
I really liked this exchange:
QuoteQ:You might know that our readers are gamers, but they are also Linux users. So they would probably like to know, what is your motivation to port your game to Linux?
A: It’s quite simple, Unity supports export for Linux and Mac, so it didn’t take much time to make it. Also the more people playing our game, the better for us
It shows that supporting Linux is not difficult, time consuming, or costly as long as you use the right development tools and aim for cross platform support from the beginning. I really wish other developers would realize this. Maybe Vulkan will finally be the wake-up call?


Last edited by Mountain Man on 17 March 2016 at 7:38 pm UTC
Purple Library Guy Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: Mountain Man
Quoting: ricki42
Quoting: Mountain ManBecause the question is entirely predicated on the fallacy of political correctness.
Political correctness isn't a fallacy, it's [[...] a term primarily used as a pejorative to describe language, policies, or measures which are intended not to offend or disadvantage any particular group of people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness). You calling something PC doesn't invalidate it. It's just a lazy way of dismissing somebody else's concerns.
You've got it the wrong way around. Political correctness is primarily used as a tool to silence dissenting opinions.

And yet, if we look at the pattern in this case, what we have is someone asking a question and being told to shut up on the basis that the question is "politically correct". I have seen this many times. So just which dissenting opinions are being silenced, here?

The logic I'm seeing is largely implicit rather than stated, but basically seems to be something like "There is no such thing as racism, so whatever people are wondering if it might in some way be racist isn't, so anyone questioning things that might be related to possible racism should shut up and never mention the subject again."
There are two problems with that
1. There very much is such a thing as racism, and it has not gone away.
2. If there actually weren't such a thing as racism, or if it really were effectively nonexistent in whatever context the question was raised, people wouldn't have to get so butthurt about it and feel such a need to stampede to shut down the conversation. But they do. Makes me wonder what everyone's so goddamn defensive about.

Now, consider. There are more nonwhite people in the world than white ones. And yet, for instance, one of the people commenting here and considering the question total political correctness assumed that the only possible alternative to having all whites would be to have "the token black guy". Um . . .
So tell me honestly--would it weird any of you out if the game just happened, without any particular explanation, to have all black and brown people on the train, including the main character? Betcha it would. Betcha there'd be people whining like crazy about how that, too, was political correctness gone wild or "reverse racism" or something--few would be assuming that it just happened to be that way. It would obviously be some kind of deliberate political statement, and one you would not appreciate. So then, if all whites is just how things happen to be but all blacks would be "politically correct bull****", what kind of situation are we in? A racist situation, even if nobody involved was thinking "I wanna screw over those &%#! blacks".


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 17 March 2016 at 4:55 pm UTC
Samsai Mar 17, 2016
I also didn't like that identity politics question because in my opinion it sort of drove the developer into a corner. Seriously, how do you answer that question honestly without causing at least a small PR disaster? If you say you don't have plans then some people will spin a racism story because your game isn't diverse enough. I only see one way to answer the question and that is to say "yes" which in my eyes makes you obliged to then increase the diversity even if it's not part of your original vision. And if a question can only be answered in a certain way, what's the point of asking?
Liam Dawe Mar 17, 2016
Quoting: SamsaiI also didn't like that identity politics question because in my opinion it sort of drove the developer into a corner. Seriously, how do you answer that question honestly without causing at least a small PR disaster? If you say you don't have plans then some people will spin a racism story because your game isn't diverse enough. I only see one way to answer the question and that is to say "yes" which in my eyes makes you obliged to then increase the diversity even if it's not part of your original vision. And if a question can only be answered in a certain way, what's the point of asking?

I agree, and as a rule going forward any interviews will steer away from such questions. I didn't personally have the time to double check Sobkas article properly before it went live.

We don't want to back developers into a corner over issues like this. Especially in some 2D pixelated indie game.

Apologies if anyone has been annoyed by this. Apologies to the developer too.
dubigrasu Mar 17, 2016
It looks like the action takes place somewhere in Russia (?) so I'm not surprised about the lack of other races characters.


Last edited by dubigrasu on 17 March 2016 at 10:29 pm UTC
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