Tom Majewski, Daniel Miszkiel, and Max Strzelecki feel that there are too many good indie games in Poland that simply aren’t being made. But rather than simply lament the issue and complain about, they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands.
“I previously worked as a game designer for three years with Bloober Team and Nimbi Studios,” Max says. “Tom was a producer at Nimbi Studios and Daniel was a CEO for Tap It Games. We decided to join forces and create one ultimate indie game development studio – One More Level! We’ve brought with us many experienced game developers who worked with us at our previous companies.”
The trio hopes to find developers and help them release their products through their new company while simultaneously working on their own projects, effectively combining the functions of publisher and developer.
Why One More Level?
Although they considered other names, they settled on One More Level as the name for their company because “the phrase describes us perfectly. We want to make our games and our work one more level better than the others.” They also want to make the kind of games that make players say “I am going to sleep now, but…just one more level.”
On July 3, One More Level officially opened their doors, and they already have big plans in motion for their first year. They’re hoping to finish production on their breakout title Warlocks as well as release a mobile title, ZOMBIEBUCKET. They’re also prototyping and developing a new, bigger project scheduled for late-2015, although they’re mum about the details.
Warlocks: Combining Brawlers, Wizards, and Pixels
Warlocks is where all their energy is focused at the moment. They’re currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the title - their first time crowd-funding. Max explains that it can be hard to make players aware of such projects or get press coverage, and they’ve been working almost 24-7 to make sure the word gets out and the project gets funded.
The concept of Warlocks came from OML designer Dushan Chaciej, who wanted to combine the brawler concept in Risk of Rain with mighty wizards, while the idea to use pixel art graphics came from artist and animator Wojtek Wilk. When Wojtek showed Dushan some potential designs for the game it all “worked right from the start.”
They hope to have the game available for the PC and Wii U, but a lot depends on their Kickstarter campaign. “If we reach our second stretch goal, we will also bring Warlocks to PS4 and PS Vita,” Max says. “Maybe even Xbox One one day.”
While they’re hoping to make money with Warlocks and attract business, Max notes “it would be amazing” to have the gaming community discuss characters and tactics in their games, provide feedback, and motivate them to further upgrade the game.
As for the long-term future of Warlocks and OML as a whole, Max says they have other projects in the works but hope to support Warlocks with DLCs or other content. However, he notes, “like always, it depends on you – players!”
Warlocks Kickstarter ends October 2nd. You can find out more here. To stay up to date with One More Level and their games, check out their Facebook page.
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