'VOID DIVER' is a 2.5D pixel art-based extraction RPG where the core gameplay involves sending 'Divers' into otherworldly dungeons to retrieve artifacts and escape. Since releasing a demo on Steam at the end of January, the game has received an enthusiastic response, surpassing 130,000 wishlists. The team is currently accelerating development with the goal of participating in the Steam Next Fest this June and launching into Early Access.
At the PlayX4 venue, we met with PD Baek Ho-young, who oversees the development of VOID DIVER, to discuss the game's development background and future direction.
First, could you please introduce yourself?
"I am Baek Ho-young, the lead for VOID DIVER at Nemo Studio. I am directly involved in the practical aspects of overall game development, from combat design to BGM and sound.
LoadComplete is a well-known company, but Nemo Studio is still unfamiliar to many gamers. I'm curious about your previous work and whether VOID DIVER is your first project.
"VOID DIVER is Nemo Studio's first project. LoadComplete is known as a mobile game company, but as the mobile market became saturated, there was an internal sentiment that we needed to explore new territories.
There were many developers in the company who loved Steam games, and there had been requests for a long time to try making one—a developer's dream, if you will. Eventually, the atmosphere shifted to "Let's give it a try this time!" and fortunately, it's going well.
When people think of extraction games, they often imagine something hardcore and realistic like Escape from Tarkov. Combining this with cute pixel art is a quite unique choice. What was the reason behind this combination?
"It started with the thought that since extraction games are fun, they might become a major trend. I also felt that PvP was the biggest barrier to entry, so we decided to remove it and pondered how to make it more casual. As we thought about how to create tension with only PvE, we decided to incorporate horror elements, which naturally led to the current world-building.
Since there is no PvP, I'm curious about how you maximize the tension unique to VOID DIVER.
"While there are elements like difficulty selection and flashlights, managing both HP and stress simultaneously is the biggest feature of VOID DIVER.
Sanity management is an essential element in the Cthulhu mythos. When stress levels rise, strange things happen, but you can also utilize this to become stronger. Eventually, you will be able to control stress through growth elements as well.
The demo version was released on January 26th. The Steam reviews and reactions were quite positive. Have any user suggestions been implemented?
"Auto-fire was implemented in the demo version. We received feedback that players' hands were hurting from having to constantly press the button for basic attacks, so we improved it so that holding the button down triggers automatic attacks.
There was a lot of feedback regarding quality-of-life improvements, and most of it will be reflected in the Steam Next Fest version. Controller support, the addition of a crosshair, and auto-aiming are all ready.
Controller support seemed to take longer than expected. Were there any difficulties during development?
"There were no reference games in the extraction genre that properly supported controllers. The challenge was figuring out how to implement things that are easy with a mouse, like inventory management, on a controller. It wasn't an easy task, but I'm glad it was implemented well in the end.
Based on the demo, it felt more beneficial in many ways to just quickly finish the set campaign and escape. Are there elements being prepared to reinforce the tension between escaping and staying longer?
"I thought of the campaign as the minimum objective given to the player. However, because the campaign rewards were so good, some people were just repeating that. So, we plan to separate the initial rewards from the repeat rewards. We intend to give good rewards for the story campaign only the first time, and afterwards, change it to a method where you have to farm directly inside the dungeon to get out.
Item crafting and drop rates are being reworked, and an equipment repair system will also be introduced. It will be structured so that weapons and gear wear out like consumables, requiring continuous farming.
I played on normal difficulty, but it was still quite challenging. It felt like the difficulty spiked suddenly when the map changed to the city center. Was this intended?
"The city center map is definitely designed to be more difficult than the residential area. However, we are currently rebalancing the overall difficulty, and the trait system is being completely overhauled, so the gameplay experience will feel very different even if the monsters remain the same.
I also found it disappointing that there was no pause function when playing solo. Dealing with roaming monsters wasn't easy in the demo version. Is there any room for improvement?
"We are aware of the need for it internally. However, since we started development as a network-based game, it's not easy to implement in the short term. We recognize that this is something we must prepare for in the long run, and we will try to include it before the official launch.
Although it was locked in the demo, I noticed there are character-specific skill trees. Are these simple stat-boosting elements, or do they change the playstyle itself?
"We are trying to make it so that the playstyle itself changes, rather than just simple stat boosts. The number of traits you can activate is determined by your character's proficiency, and you enter the dungeon with a skill tree combination of your choice. For example, I'm thinking of changes at a level where Ga-young, a melee character, could have her talisman-throwing skill turn into a basic attack, effectively turning her into a ranged character.
You recently introduced a new ranged character, Raven. After playing her, she felt like a traditional ranged dealer based on basic attacks. Wouldn't this make the melee character, Ga-young, less viable?
"Ranged characters feeling more comfortable is a general trend in games these days. So, we intentionally designed the ranged character to be weaker in terms of defense.
Actually, I also think it's a rule of gaming that every character except the one I'm playing looks stronger. Since it's not PvP, rather than trying to perfectly balance the numbers, we plan to create a structure where players can enjoy each character's unique playstyle and charm along with their exclusive traits.
Are there plans to add more characters in the future, and what is your target number?
"We are aiming for about 6 to 7 characters at the time of the official launch.
The monsters were also impressive. There were many characters taken from urban legends, like the Teke Teke or the Red Mask, so it was fun to see who would appear next. Will we continue to see these elements in future chapters?
"We are creating a world that feels like a collection of ghost stories made by mixing various urban legends. A new mini-boss will be added to the city center in the Steam Next Fest version.
I believe the game was first registered on Steam in early January last year. When did full-scale development begin?
"At the time of the initial Steam page registration, it was in the idea brainstorming phase. There was a period of exploring various things while wondering what to make, and full-scale development began in February of last year.
It's been a little over a year since development started. What is the biggest change between the initial concept and the Steam Next Fest version that will be released soon?
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