GROOD: interview with Claudio Catalano
MX: the first question we would like to ask you is this: who is Claudio Catalano? Tell us about you.
Claudio Catalano: Hello everyone! My name is Claudio and I am a programmer from Milan passionate about video games. I am working hard, and with great effort, to transform what has always been a passion into a full-time job. I approached the world of video games with my first console, a Sega Master System II,especially with Alex Kidd in Miracle World (even today I dream of the brown castle). From there I had my first PC which totally became my main hobby, certainly not to the delight of my mother who, I imagine as a bit for all the mothers of the little boys who spend too many hours at the keyboard, did nothing but try to convince me to "do something else".
I began to take an interest in what was hidden behind a video game, although only on a theoretical level, reading many magazines on the subject(The Games Machine on all): thanks to this, I began to get curious about the technical details, in particular about the engines of the various games, which were once almost all custom and created at home by the various software houses.
John Carmack, programmer of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein and founder of id Software, became my idol (he still is), and was one of the sources of inspiration that set up the idea of one day becoming a programmer.
MX: When does the path that led you to become a video game developer start and when did you realize that the passion for video games could become a job?
Claudio Catalano: After school, apart from a couple of years walking through various jobs, I decided to try to turn what was the passion for programming into a job. Unfortunately in those years (I speak about 2005), the indie scene did not exist and to say that the topic "professional video games" was niche in Italy is seriously an understatement. So I got closer to web programming, with Flash,which by the way was quite used for web-based games: certainly they were not like the pc /console counterpart, but they were still games, and for me that was already a good start. With the release and evolution of (relatively) free engines, such as Unity,I began to get closer to what was the original plan.
MX: When and from what idea was GROOD born?
Claudio Catalano: GROOD was initially born as a prototype to study Unity,the engine on which it is based, and after doing several experiments, I decided to carry it forward and turn it into what took the form of a real video game and which I decided to complete.
At first it was to be a very simple game, a kind of side scroller in which to avoid obstacles, as
asteroids or debris. One day, however, I decided to experiment with a new weapon, the laser, and the result seemed to me to be
quite convincing. I then decided to add more weapons, which obviously required enemies against whom
be used and from there the obstacle side scroller veered towards the Shoot 'em up.
MX: When you started developing GROOD, how did you manage to reconcile your current work with game development?
Claudio Catalano: In the only possible way, in fact. Full-time work occupied the whole day, so to work at GROOD I was left with the evening/night and the weekend. Basic, any free hour I had, for almost a year and a half, went into the development of the game. It took a while, considering that I was also learning the technology itself on which the game is built, as well as a whole series of dynamics that I didn't know much about, in terms of development. The graphic part took away a lot of time, having never drawn anything, although then it made me discover the passion for 3D modeling. In GROOD, a little by choice, but above all also by limits of resources, I veered towards a low poly that may or may not please, but which in the end helped to give a particular image to the game itself, deliberately stylized.
MX: Why did you choose the shoot'em up genre for your game? Is it your favorite genre or are there other reasons behind this choice?
Claudio Catalano: In fact, my favorite genre has always been that of FPS. Having grown up in the 90s, Shoot 'em up was an important part of my childhood, I played several, but I can't consider myself such an expert. The reason Why I started experimenting with gender, comes from the fact that it is certainly more approachable with less experience than an FPS or TPS, another genre that I particularly appreciate; I've probably played more during development than before. Despite this, GROOD remains a much simpler and more linear game than games like Sine Mora or Ikaruga,or even R-Type,which feature more variety in terms of equipment or gameplay dynamics. GROOD is deliberately a more impromptu game, something to take as an adrenaline rush with which to vent for a few tens of minutes at a time, trying to gain some position in the leaderboard.
MX: GROOD features a soundtrack that recalls Heavy Metal: why did you choose this genre to use in the game?
Claudio Catalano: The need was to have a fast soundtrack to accompany the action of the game. The first choice fell on electronics, perhaps more classic in this genre, but then, given the amount of rusty bullets and robots present in the game, metal seemed more appropriate to me, also to create an obvious contrast with the most stylized and heated graphics of the game.
I've always had a passion for guitar and played it for several years, but Metal is definitely out of my reach. So I turned to Andrew Wildman,an English guy who did a magical job, in my opinion. The inspiration for the subgenre Djent was Sonic Mayhem,composer of the Quake 2 soundtrack,in 1997. Another big inspiration was the Pantera,which is my favorite metal band.
MX: What feedback is GROOD having in the various stores? Have you received any feedback from players?
Claudio Catalano: I don't have the precise numbers yet, which I'm going to ask publisher Drageus Gamesfor in a few weeks. At the moment I've seen leaderboards fill up fast, but only the top 100 positions are visible. Several people wrote to me on enthusiastic Twitter, pointing out to me that, although the game is really difficult, they were still having a lot of fun, and I was really pleased about that. Hundreds of people didn't write to me, so I guess it's still a niche game, but it's absolutely right that way, being as I said a simple experience and, moreover, of a genre that unfortunately is not even fashionable anymore.
MX: What plans do you have for the future? Are you already working on some new title and if so, can you anticipate something?
Claudio Catalano: During the first fair at which I showed GROOD,in 2018, I met another programmer, Simone, now a friend of mine, and for a few months we have been working on our future project, which we want to release in early 2021.
This time I went to my favorite genre: it is in fact an FPS, singleplayer (at least at the moment), with an arena structure. It undoubtedly has two features in common with GROOD,namely the climb of the leaderboard and a huge amount of Metal. I hope very soon to show you something already!
MX: We thank Claudio for the time he has devoted to us, making him a great good luck for his future projects!
