In the gaming community, few game fans would dispute the immense popularity of the rogue-lite genre. The success of diverse rogue-lites, including titles like Hades, Vampire Survivors, and Darkest Dungeon, is a testament to this widespread popularity. KRAFTON’s twelfth creative studio, Flyway Games, is set to release a new action rogue-lite game. It’s “Trinity Survivors.” Trinity Survivors enables players to experience cooperative gameplay with friends by assembling a party of three distinct characters selected from a roster of six available mercenaries. At the KRAFTON blog, we had the opportunity to meet Shin-jong Yoo, the Producer, and Seung-yeol Yoo, the Creative Director, of Trinity Survivors, and learned about the key aspects and enjoyable elements they emphasized during the development of the game.
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Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you. Please introduce yourself for the KRAFTON blog readers.
Shin-jong Yoo: Hello, my name is Shin-jong Yoo and I am the producer of Trinity Survivors.
Seung-yeol Yoo: Hello, my name is Seung-yeol Yoo and I am the creative director of Trinity Survivors.
What kind of game is Trinity Survivors?
Shin-jong Yoo: In a nutshell, it’s an action rogue-lite game, offering a multiplayer option. As a rogue-lite game, Trinity Survivors accentuates action elements and cooperative gameplay with three character combinations.
Within the rogue-lite genre, we recognized the emergence of the survival genre with Vampire Survivors serving as the catalyst. As we were conceptualizing a game focused on character development through user-friendly controls, with a strong emphasis on dynamic action and engagement in combat, the idea surfaced: “Wouldn’t it be even more enjoyable if players could experience the game alongside their friends?” That’s how the project began. One of our goals was to introduce a game that makes players go, “Wait, this can be a multiplayer game?” for the first time.
After trying out the game, it seems like the simple controls will make it easy for many players to dive right in. Are there characters that are difficult to play?
Shin-jong Yoo: Each character has a distinct personality, and the difficulty of the game is determined by how well you grasp and utilize these individual traits. Choosing the leader is the most important part when putting together a team of three characters. Each leader comes with their unique leader skill that can be utilized. You can consider it as an ultimate skill. Initially, you may not notice the difference from the basic skills, but as you gain skill points, they become very useful.
Seung-yeol Yoo: Dodging attacks is crucial, and since the primary goal is survival, characters with low health will be difficult to play. Characters like Lena Gyme, who mainly focus on ranged attacks or require charging skills, can be considered challenging.
For me, I usually play games trying to find the best approach. Is there a specific character or combination that is considered the strongest?
Shin-jong Yoo: Players are free to choose badges and character combinations before starting the game. However, once the game begins, the upgrades you can get are randomized. Something efficient might come up, but things can also get a bit frustrating in the process. So, I would say there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all combination or the best character in this game. This is important. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the player’s thoughts keep changing. Even with the same combinations and badges, creating an environment where players can experience something different each time naturally extends the playtime.
Seung-yeol Yoo: I believe that the rogue-lite genre itself has its limitations when it comes to expanding content to provide a specific playtime. So, I believe it’s important for players to experience various elements of randomness and find enjoyment as they play.
This game offers a great sense of exhilaration and impact, reminiscent of the classic “Dynasty Warriors” from the past. Did you intentionally focus a lot on the sense of impact in the game?
Seung-yeol Yoo: Yes. We put a lot of effort into the sense of impact and action. We wanted monsters to react in a fun way when they get attacked—not just dying in the same way but responding based on the type of attack. If you take a closer look, you’ll see that the monsters die in different ways. The sounds are different as well. We made sure that the way they die creates a good harmony, matching the sounds and overall effects, and that really adds to the overall sense of impact.
What game has been the most inspirational or competitive for Trinity Survivors?
Seung-yeol Yoo: It’s Vampire Survivors and Gunfire Reborn. Vampire Survivors is a genre reference. Gunfire Reborn had the kind of fun elements I was aiming for. I think it’s an exceptionally well-made rogue-lite game. It was appealing in that it opens up a variety of paths, allowing players to choose their own growth path.
Shin-jong Yoo: While we were developing Trinity Survivors, the release of Soulstone Survivors made us feel that there were some similarities with our own. However, since the game has already been released, at this point, I don’t think there’s any game that we consider a direct competitor.
If so, are there games that have influenced the style and design of the game?
Seung-yeol Yoo: I guess I was inspired by Galaga in some way. As you play Galaga, you can earn an extra ship to join your crew, unlocking new skills. I feel like I drew inspiration from there. It inspired me to design the characters in a versatile manner. As I translated this into art, I started adding a universe and scenarios to give it more personality.
What do you think the users will enjoy the most?
We conducted many in-house tests with different people, and players seemed to enjoy the unique experience offered by each character and the ability to actively use the skills despite being a rogue-lite game. When you’re surrounded by a lot of enemies, you naturally feel the urge to blow something up (laughs). The key point is the ability to satisfy that desire.
Shin-jong Yoo: In games like Vampire Survivors, as you move into the later stages, once the combination is complete and characters get stronger, users find themselves with less and less to do. That doesn’t happen too often in our game. It gets harder as you go further back (laughs).
Seung-yeol Yoo: Overall, I think it boils down to “activeness.” The activeness that helps satisfy the desire to use skills when surrounded by enemies (laughs).
What was the most intriguing feedback you received from the in-house tests?
Shin-jong Yoo: The feedback that multi-player play is even more fun than expected. Chatting with friends while playing and reviving them when they’re down – elements not typically found in previous games like Vampire Survivors – seem to add a lot of fun for players.
Another thing is the popularity of the character Neria. Even though Neria wasn’t the most efficient character at first, lots of players assembled a team with her as a leader just because she’s cute.
Seung-yeol Yoo: So, we actually “buffed” her (laughs). Given how many people have liked it, our main focus is, after all, on making it enjoyable. If your favorite character is not only likable but also performs well, it’s like the perfect combo, right?
During the development of this game, what were the key considerations and points of concern that you focused on?
Seung-yeol Yoo: In this genre, once players try out a character, figure out how it works, they often end up ditching it. We spent a lot of time figuring out how we could mix and match our characters to come up with new combinations.
Choosing the leader is key, but it’s also important to decide which character gets the badge. Ultimately, the playtime in a rogue-lite game comes from the time spent strategizing and the realization that the decisions and thoughts pondered during that time were right. We designed it to make sure players can have fun in that aspect.
Finally, we made an effort to ensure that players feel a lot of thrill while playing the game. If you play just one round, you’ll understand what I mean (laughs).
Shin-jong Yoo: While the concept is Hack and Slash, we made an effort to prevent the characters or gameplay from becoming too repetitive. We created it with caution, ensuring the gameplay doesn’t become too monotonous or repetitive. We stumbled upon a super strong combination during internal testing because of a bug. People started using only that combination, and they were getting high scores. I realized we should avoid that kind of thing as much as possible, so we made an effort to prevent it.
Any message for those who haven’t played the game yet?
Seung-yeol Yoo: If you’re into rogue-lite games and enjoy action, you’re definitely going to love it!
Shin-jong Yoo: Even if you’re not familiar with rogue-lites, if you enjoy the thrill of action games, you’ll probably have a good time playing it.
Do you have any last comments for this interview?
Seung-yeol Yoo: We’d love to be the first game in this genre that offers a multiplayer experience, something you might not typically find in games like these.
Shin-jong Yoo: Since the game went through many ups and downs, I hope it turns out well. Stay tuned for the upcoming release!
