I reached out to Sébastien Benard (SB), the founder of Deepnight Games. Deepnight is releasing Tenjutsu, a game known for its roguelike elements and amazing combat. He was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions on how the game was made, and he shared some interesting details about what it takes to create a game like this.
Tenjutsu will remind you of old school anime, and Sifu, but it’s got its own identity. It’s currently on Steam, ready to be wishlisted if you’re interested in playing.
GH: The anime style cinematic we’re seeing with the game is impressive and reminds me of Cowboy Bebop, what anime was the influence for this style?
SB: Yes, Cowboy Bebop was the main inspiration for the cinematic visuals here, as well as the way the combat happens ingame.
More Interviews: Pax Augusta Interview – Secrets & Future
GH: The game also reminds me a lot of Sifu, a martial arts roguelike released a few years ago, because of how fluid the combat is. There seem to be a lot of weapons the main character can use. How many weapons can players expect to be able to work with and do they decay?
SB: Tenjutsu is a “way” for me to fix the limitations of the original Dead Cells combat design. The leading concepts here are “opportunities” and “one vs many”: I want the player to feel like John Wick or Jackie Chan taking down multiple enemies at the same time. It’s similar to Sifu in the way the player dances between enemies to keep chaos under control.
SB: I plan to have as many playable weapons as possible. Right now, I only have about 10 melee weapons with all unique gameplay, that combine with as many ranged weapons plus unique special powers.
GH: One of your previous games, Dead Cells, had a similar 2d Pixel art style, what would you say you learned most from Dead Cells and how are you using it in Tenjutsu?
More Interviews: Shrine’s Legacy Interview – New Worlds Ahead
SB: Dead Cells was a great experience for me. But the combat design was a bit frustrating because it really was just a one-dimension design. You’re basically either on the left side or on the right side of any given enemy. So situations are limited and you can’t get attacked by more than 2 monsters before getting readability issues.
SB: My new approach is closer to 360° combat, while still relying on some classic “horizontal beat’ em up” design to make things manageable for the player’s brain.
GH: The city map in the game appears to have nine districts that players can play through. Do you think this will grow to include more, or that we’ll see more in DLC or Expansions after the game releases?
SB: I have a few cool things to do with this map system but I can’t talk much about it yet to keep the surprise 🙂 Right now, I don’t think much about DLCs. If I have something in my mind, it should make it to the first release.
GH: The main character of Tenjutsu has a Yakuza background, and we can see that is playing heavily in the motivation they have. Was that part of the initial concept or did that slowly shape into the background of the character over time?
SB: It slowly took shape as I designed the city concept together with her own motives. To me, the city itself is as much a character as our heroine.
GH: Some comments on the YouTube trailer for the game mention “Hotline Miami meets Dead Cells,” how accurate would you say that is?
SB: I think Tenjutsu is fast and dynamic and gives you a very strong feeling of mastery as you get comfortable with the controls. So yes, it’s close to the spirit of Hotline Miami in that sense! But it’s way closer to Dead Cells for the core rogue experience, while offering a more open world to explore.
GH: Going back to the anime cinematic, will we see more cinematics in-game like that, or will the story mostly be told in the pixel artstyle?
More Features: How Republic of Pirates & Other Genre-Benders Win
SB: I don’t think we will go for a full HD cinematic approach ingame, as Tenjutsu is still mostly a 2-people project. My priority is gameplay and gamefeel! I want the core game to feel great, and I want it to offer some deep replayability first.
The game looks like a ton of fun, and we’re excited to see what is coming.
