Beyond Galaxyland | An interview with creator Sam Enright
If you’ve not heard of Beyond Galaxyland yet, where have you been? We’ve played two previews already, and it’s safe to say there’s a big chance this could be one of our favourite games come December time. It features exciting turn-based combat, well-written characters and a gorgeous world to explore, and tons of nods to various games and movies. We recently had the pleasure to pick the brain of Sam Enright, the developer behind the game, and we’re even more excited than ever. We hope you enjoy our Beyond Galaxyland interview!
Beyond Galaxyland interview | How long has the idea of Beyond Galaxyland been in your head, and when did it finally start to come to fruition?
Let’s see… maybe ten years? It was something I’ve had drafted for quite some time, but I started taking it much more seriously about five years ago as I worked to flesh out the story. I’m really in it for the storytelling; I love movies/sci-fi and knew for a while that I wanted to tell my own.
What was the inspiration behind the worlds and locations?
I think I could answer that differently for each planet. One planet, for example, is inspired by classic JRPGs and has a medieval, magical setting, because I thought it would be a fun way to offset some of the sci-fi feel. I also wanted to have some of the classic sci-fi “trope” biomes and locations like a desert world, an ice world, etc, but with a unique Beyond Galaxyland twist. For instance, the desert location is actually situated within a giant abandoned spaceship.
What have been some of the biggest hurdles you’ve faced in development so far?
The biggest hurdle has probably been the final march to release. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done even after development has (mostly) concluded, which is done in tandem with a publisher that perhaps people don’t realize. Things like, like console compliances, localization, trailer prep, deciding upon achievements and trophies, etc.
What was it that led you to use turn-based combat in Beyond Galaxyland?
It’s my favourite genre! But I think it would surprise people with how few I’ve actually played. This game is based on my love of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7, and takes the most notes from those two by far. I grew up watching my cousins play those games and that had a huge impact on me. These days, I’m all about nostalgia, so I think this game is sort of an effort to rekindle a past that I – and so many others – fondly remember.
Beyond Galaxyland interview | What are some of your favourite science fiction movies?
This list could go on and on, as Beyond Galaxyland was hugely inspired by sci-fi and movies in general, but will keep it to a few favourites: Alien & Aliens, Terminator 1 & 2 (I originally preferred 2, but I’m a T1 guy these days), Predator, The Thing, most sci-fi horror, as well as lots of guilty pleasures such as the Chronicles of Riddick series… I’ll watch anything sci-fi. This isn’t sci-fi, but also a shout-out to the Lord of the Rings movies too.
He’s super cute, but why a guinea pig?
Lol. Honestly, I’m not too sure. My sister used to have two guinea pigs, so probably based mostly on that (RIP Chip & Dale, I hardly knew ye). But I’m a huge pet/animal lover in general so I think I just wanted something quirky in there. Doug and Rosie (Beyond Galaxyland’s two main characters) are the names of my sister’s two dogs.
Are there any particular memories of development that stand out on a personal level?
At the time of writing at the start of August, it’s probably when the first reveal trailer was posted to PlayStation’s YouTube channel earlier in the year. I knew it was dropping at noon here in Chicago, and I was clicking refresh waiting for it to appear in their ‘recent videos’ section. I had a few friends over for that, too. It was gnarly. I almost had a panic attack while I was clicking refresh knowing they had 15 million subscribers. An hour later the Nintendo and Xbox channels posted the trailer as well and that was all very exciting (re: nerve wracking).
Beyond Galaxyland interview | What was the creative process for coming up with the bosses and creatures of Beyond Galaxyland, and how much fun was it coming up with different species?
Oh, it was very fun! That’s the fun part of dev, coming up with the different species, planets, storylines, etc. It was a decent amount of work to come up with different species, because they are all required to have ‘abilities’ and a description. So even if it’s a seagull (since you can photograph any creature in the game) it needed some silly description/ability written for it. I think creatures were a similar creative process to making the planets, I mostly just tried to come up with fun stuff that filled in creative ‘gaps.’
For instance, “This planet could use a giant blue alien right about here…” Stuff like that. I wanted each planet’s species to feel specific to that planet as well. Besides some minor exceptions, you’ll find that you won’t discover the same (re-skinned) species between planets, and that’s something I’m proud of.
Beyond Galaxyland is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 24.
