Blood West is an atmospheric first-person shooter where you play as an undead gunslinger brought back from the grave for a mysterious purpose by powers greater than your own. The game will be leaving Early Access at the end of the year and I got the chance to ask Oskar Kuźniak, Producer at Hyperstrange, about the upcoming launch and how they strike the balance between difficulty and fun. Here’s what they had to say.
There have been quite a few Wild West games that have come out recently, what, in your opinion, sets Blood West apart from the rest?
Kuźniak: Blood West is still a unique blend of first-person stealth, action, and immersive simulation set in a dark and strange, original universe with weird Western themes. Its uncompromising gameplay draws inspiration from series like Dark Souls, rewarding player exploration and featuring an unconventional storyline and distinctive characters, setting it apart from all other “Wild West” games.
What are some of the challenges that come from designing an open-area stealth game?
Kuźniak: The primary focus was to design Artificial Intelligence (AI) so that the player always knows what’s happening: whether they are heard by enemies, seen, or if the enemy has already detected them and is about to attack. If the player escapes and hides somewhere, they must know whether they are still being pursued or if the hunters have lost their trail. This required a lot of work and testing of various solutions. Another essential aspect is level design, which must offer plenty of options for players, including stealth. Therefore, almost every location has multiple passages, populated mainly by enemies, some even hidden from curious eyes. Vision blockers, various crates, or stacked logs that can be used to hide from patrolling enemies are also necessary. Everything in Blood West related to stealth comprises many interrelated elements. If even one of them were missing, it would be very noticeable.
As an interesting tidbit, during the implementation of one of the new enemies and writing its AI, we had the enemy almost ready, with a model, animations, and behavior. Then, QA pointed out a small issue: the enemy could lose what’s known as “aggro” during combat with the player, meaning it would stop attacking because it couldn’t detect the player. It couldn’t detect the player because it had no eyes and couldn’t see. And if the player didn’t move, they also didn’t generate noise, so the enemy assumed no one was nearby. So, as you can see, sometimes it’s easy to overlook seemingly obvious things. 🙂
Blood West is a game that requires trial and death in order to succeed, how do you find the balance between stealth, action, and fun while designing a game like that?
Kuźniak: First and foremost, we know the type of player we want to reach and have a vision of what we want to achieve. Having a clear vision at every stage of creating Blood West helps us determine what would be a good addition to the game and what wouldn’t. Of course, we’re not infallible, so testing is crucial. For example, originally, player death had even more severe consequences, with curses being able to stack indefinitely. After the death of a character (before the concept of a single hero was introduced), a zombie with their previous equipment would appear on the level. However, after seeing how the first playtesters handled it, we realized that what seemed logical and reasonable on paper could have been more frustrating and unclear in practice. The described zombie could, for instance, fall into a chasm, taking the player’s equipment with it. So, it boils down to having a vision, conducting extensive testing, gathering feedback, and knowing the audience we’re targeting with our production.
Blood West has a very unique vibe, what inspired the game’s overall aesthetic and tone?
Kuźniak: It all started with a few simple sketches of potential enemies. These designs, made by Piotr Szekalski (our Creative Director), were so intriguing that we decided it was possible to create an entire game in this style. In a way, the catalyst for this was his work on Postal: Brain Damaged, which fueled the growing desire to create something in “pixel art” and atmospheric. After hours, he began to tinker, creating more character sketches and designs. Blood West is somewhat of an accidental creation: the result of the right people coming together at the right time.
The game has been in Early Access for over a year now, and you’re finally approaching full release, how has being in Early Access impacted the development?
Kuźniak: Being in Early Access had a significant impact on the game. According to the initial plans, Blood West would be a much smaller production, and we aimed to release it within a year of Early Access. However, player feedback and the warm reception of the game allowed us to expand the scope and make Blood West the best version of itself. This is why the second available map is enormous, especially compared to the first available level. The fact that we could rely on player support and feedback at every stage was a great help. More time for development allowed us to add many more weapons, artifacts, and locations to the game. Mechanics were created, and characters were added that we would never have seen in the original plan.
That’s it for the interview. Thank you to Oskar Kuźniak for taking the time to answer our questions. I actually played Blood West back in August and you can click here to read my first impressions in the preview. The game is difficult but it has a great atmosphere and a unique vibe. The full release of Blood West is dated for December 5. The game is currently available in Early Access on Steam.
I also want to share an exciting announcement Hyperstrange made last week about the game. Stephen L. Russell, the iconic voice actor behind Garrett in the Thief series, Corvo Attano in Dishonored, and various characters in Skyrim and Fallout games, will soon be the voice of the revenant gunslinger in Blood West. As any immersive sim and RPG fan might attest, Stephen L. Russell is an awesome addition to the team and the casting perfectly fits the unique vibe of the game. I’m looking forward to playing Blood West at the end of the year and we wish Hypertrange the best of luck with the launch.
