Khuong Le - Mars Base Game Developer
Game development is a world that in the mind of many people is dominated by the likes of PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo, EA, 2K Games or Ubisoft. However, some of the most creative games come from smaller independent developers, some of whom reside here in Australia. One such indie developer is Khuong Le from KZ Games, who have just released their debut game Mars Base on Steam.
To mark the release of the game Khuong sat down with Pario recently to chat about his favourite games growing up, his journey into the world of game development & the future of KZ Games.
Like many people who find their way into the gaming space - be that as a developer, games journalist or professional e-sports player - Khuong's love for gaming started in childhood.
"My mum got us a Sega Mega Drive & the passion grew from there," recalled Khuong. "My favourite childhood memories are probably Alex The Kid, Sonic The Hedgehog, & Street Fighter. I really enjoyed Mario as well but because we didn't have a Nintendo I only got to play that at my friend's house."
Surprising Khuong's interest in game development also started at a relatively young age, thanks in large part to the "map editor" in StarCraft. From there Khuong began reading programming books to expand his knowledge before then beginning a Software Engineering degree at university.
Upon completing his degree Khuong would enter the game development space as a quality assurance tester before shifting across to 3D modelling. Reflecting on that progression Khuong said "it was still quite difficult to get into the games industry" at that time. Thankfully he says that has changed now, "there are a lot of engines that a freely available... which gives people a lot more freedom to just create a game & not worry about creating the game engine itself."
Conversely, this accessibility also comes with one major downside, a saturated market for new games.
"To stand out now you've got to do something a little bit different."
Mars Base is Khuong's attempt to stand out by creating a game that is both familiar and new. For those unfamiliar with Mars Base, the description reads as follows, "Paint the red rocks green and embark on a mission of interstellar botany to terraform Mars with lush agriculture. Create a self-sustaining civilisation full of thriving crops in the harshest Martian elements in this 16-bit out-of-this-world greenhouse farming sim."
Speaking about the inspirations behind Mars Base Khuong told Pario the gameplay was influenced by the likes of Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon & Littlewood. Where Mars Base is unique though is in the story & lore behind the game's theme.
"From the lore perspective I really enjoyed the movie The Martian as well," explained Khuong. "I'm also really into space in general, so I follow Elon Musk & SpaceX quite closely.
Although Mars Base is a one mane passion project development of the game occurred quite quickly. "Full development started in July 2021, but even then it has still only been part-time because I have a full-time day job," explained Khuong. "I simply work on Mars Base at night time doing an hour here or there when I can. It's a true labour of love."
Before beginning full development Khuong set up a Kickstarter to gauge whether there was interest in a game like Mars Base & was quickly blown away by the response. So much so that the Mars Base Kickstarter raised 129% of the target funding, thus placing a little more pressure on Khuong to deliver.
"After the Kickstarter was finished I realised I absolutely had to finish the game now," said Khuong sheepishly. "There were a lot of sleepless nights trying to get the game done. It was a bit stressful at times but it's all been worth it."
Looking ahead Khuong hasn't quit his full-time day job but remains incredibly dedicated to improving Mars Base for the community of players.
"I want to build the game around the community & how they want to see the game grow... It would be interesting to see how other people build upon the game as well."
Should Mars Base become a global phenomenon, as we have seen with other indie games like Minecraft, Khuong has a few other ideas in his back pocket for future games.
"If budget wasn't an issue there are a few genres that I wouldn't mind going to in the future. One of them is a hack & slash action RPG, kind of like Diablo but with a different theme."
Buy Mars Base on Steam
Follow KZ Games on Social Media: @KZGames8
Follow Khuong Le on Social Media: @KhuongLe888
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