- New feature: Controller support.
- New feature: Added more checkpoints.
- New feature: Dismantle can now also be done from Autoforge.
- Bug fixes.

Hello, everyone.
It's KOU from Flyhigh Works (FHW).


"The Captain", a sci-fi adventure game now available on Steam.
We were able to interview Peter and Benny from the developer Sysiac Games.

This is part 2. Please feel free to check it out if you're interested. 



FHW
The Captain is an endearing character with a strong sense of humanity and love for his family, but why did you choose a "middle-aged good guy" as the main character instead of a young hero? We're curious to know since it's quite rare to have a middle-aged character as a game's protagonist in Japan.


Sysiac Games
For exactly that reason. It is not very common to have a balding older gentleman as your protagonist in a video game. And perhaps because both me and Benny can relate to his age and hair style. 

Concept art of the main character, Captain.




FHW
How long was the development period?
What was the most difficult part of the development process, and what was the most enjoyable?


Sysiac Games
We started working on this game at the end of 2015 and completed it in 2021. So 6 years development. It's just me and Benny on the team but it wouldn't have been possible without the great people over at Indie Fund who believed in us and helped us finance the game. I think the most difficult part might have been for just two people to complete such a big project. The most enjoyable part is the many laughs along the way.  

Concept art showing the depth of the developers' passion for The Captain.




FHW
Depending on the player's choices, the story's ending can be quite jarring. I think this makes the game more oriented to mature players. Did you decide to develop such a complex story line from the beginning?


Sysiac Games
It was always our goal to make a game where the story was more oriented towards an older audience. And by giving the player the choice on where to go and how to solve certain situations we knew the game would be complex to put together. With the design direction of letting the player face moral dilemmas we had to write some horrific endings.

The ending changes depending on the choices you make.
You can end up with hope, or with despair...




FHW
By supporting multiple languages, more players are enjoying the game around the world. Have you noticed any difference in the response from players in different countries?


Sysiac Games
Not that I am aware of. I have been watching a lot of streams of the game, including european, american as well as asian. Can’t say I noticed any particular difference. Some people hate when they reach a bad ending and reload directly while others go with the flow and smile about it.





FHW
The amount of detail paid to each planet, the spaceships and the aliens is astounding. How did you proceed with the art design?


Sysiac Games
Well in our case we have an idea of what the planet should be and then I just overthink the environment. Even if something is not important for the game it should be there for the world to make sense. So a station or planet can have an entire back story in my head that the game never touches on.

The settings are very elaborate and well thought out.
Each setting also has its own back story.



FHW
How was the music made? 


Sysiac Games
It's just me and Benny on this project and none of us are equipped to write music. But we both know what we want. So we bought the music from composers online.

Background music sets the mood for various locations effectively.



FHW
Thank you for your time! Any final words for the readers?


Sysiac Games
We hope you will enjoy the game as much as we enjoyed making it.


That's it for now!

What do you think about the interview questions that we asked Sysiac Games?


More information on games from Flyhigh Works are available to read up on Flyhigh Times.
Please feel free to check it out!

http://flyhightimes.jp

Hello, everyone.
It's KOU from Flyhigh Works (FHW).

"The Captain", a sci-fi adventure game now available on Steam.
We were able to interview Peter and Benny from the developer Sysiac Games.
Please enjoy the behind-the-scenes story of The Captain!


FHW
What made you decide to set the scene in space?


Sysiac Games
We have always been big fans of sci fi in general and perhaps Star Trek in particular. Space is an empty canvas, anything can happen there. 

Captain traveling through the vastness of space




FHW
The various "point and click ADV" and sundry puzzles set throughout the work are fun. Who came up with them?


Sysiac Games
It's a collaborative effort. We usually begin by writing the story and then you design the puzzles around that. We wanted to stay away from illogical / humorous problem solving. The goal is to get the player thinking about how a certain situation should be handled instead of trying to figure out what we as developers came up with.

There are many kinds of puzzles.




FHW
The conversations between the crew in "The Captain" are quite humorous. How did you work on character development? Please tell us about any difficulties you had with the script.


Sysiac Games
I think a light tone through a game with this pacing is prefered and the humor makes the conversation flow in a natural way. I believe the biggest problem we had with this was that we worked on the game for so long (6 years) that the Captain went through a personality transformation during the development. And it's hard to keep the main character true to a set type since the players can choose how to play him and what to say. 

Conversations can be had with many of the characters.




FHW
Making meditation and the spiritual world into a game stage was a unique idea. Did you have a particular reason to add this element? Please let us know.


Sysiac Games
We wanted to try something different. The concept of not giving any instructions and just letting the player observe for long periods of time gave a sense of focus that was fun to explore. We have noticed that either you love it or you hate it. 

Meditation in a mysterious place.




FHW
Were there any easter eggs from other sci-fi stories such as Star Wars and Star Trek? Please do share!



Sysiac Games
We have many references from many different sci-fi stories. The number 42 from Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, the exo-skeletons from Aliens, the uniform has its origin from Star Trek and many many more. I can’t remember them all. If you miss them doesn't matter. I guess it's a declaration of love for the genre.

Can be enjoyed by science fiction fans and non-fans alike.





That's it for now!
What do you think about the interview questions that we asked Sysiac Games?



More information on games from Flyhigh Works are available to read up on Flyhigh Times.
Please feel free to check it out!

http://flyhightimes.jp

- Steam cards added.
- Steam integration and achievements.
- Bug fixes.