Interview with PAX Rising’s Overhours’ developer Suan

BY DRAWZA

Drawza: Firstly, please introduce yourself and your game?

Suan: Hi! My name is Suan, I’m the co-founder and creative lead of CtrlD (pronounced like control-dee) Studio, an indie game studio based in Malaysia. We’re the creators of a funky little action tower-defense game titled Overhours!

What is your background?

We actually started in 2019 as a creative tech studio, completing lots of interactive media projects involving app development, XR experiences, and more recently digital museum exhibits. My co-founder/partner and I come from a multimedia design background, but the main reason we started this studio was because we wanted to develop games, after winning an award for a student game we had built in 2018. However, the pandemic was not the time for a new business to be adventurous so we focused on getting cash flow and gaining experience from tackling different types of projects.

What made you decide to journey down the path of game development?

For my partner- Joshua and I, games are the ultimate form of creative technology. Not only is it about just the message anymore, but it also needs to be captivating and fun. Considering our starting point was a student game, and the fact that both of us bonded a lot through games, it would be difficult for us to not want to get back into game development.

Also honestly video games are just waaaaaay more fun to work on.

What previous games have you created/worked on?

We’ve only ever worked on our student mobile game called ‘Ano: Journeys Through Tattoos’ which we shipped in 2019, so Overhours will be our first commercial title!

What are the core concepts?

Put very simply, Overhours is an action tower defense game where you slay monsters during your overtime! The game is set in a dystopian media agency facing an invasion of monsters, and you’ve been asked to tackle the hordes after work hours. The player gets to choose from a range of traps, towers and special abilities as they complete each level in this shooter-tower defense blend.

What were your inspirations?

Joshua and I were always playing multiplayer tower defense games together, so naturally that was in our list of genres to consider when we started brainstorming the initial game idea. As for the visual style, we didn’t want to limit our inspirations to just other games, so we drew from past design projects and references to come up with something that was eye-catching and uniquely us.

How long have you been working on this game?

As of 2024, we’ve been working on the game for 2 years. In earlier pre-production phases, we self-funded and developed the game part-time thanks to the projects we were working on, however progress was slow. We were only able to complete our first prototype towards the end of 2022 after securing a small prototype grant from our local government.

We already have an estimated release date for Overhours, but we still have quite some ways to go in terms of development.

What is it like to have the game showcased at events such as PAX Aus?

It’s amazing! We’ve mostly only done shows in Southeast Asia thus far, so we’re excited to be showcasing at PAX Aus. We love being able to connect with potential players, new fans, new friends; and to see a culmination of our blood, sweat and tears be promoted to (a small part of) the world. It’s always interesting to watch how different players learn to play the game and come up with different strategies to tackle the challenges of each level.

What advice have you got for upcoming game developers?

Persevere to the very end. It’s never going to be a perfect product, no matter how much experience you have, but the most important thing is that the product gets shipped.

And don’t skip on marketing! Even better, plan your marketing strategy during project ideation and allow them to go hand-in-hand.

What advice have you received that you have held on to throughout your journey?

Always over prepare. Have a backup plan in case of failure, then have another backup plan in case the first backup plan fails.

Have you had any mentors in the gaming industry?

I’ve had mentors from the design field, but none in the gaming industry. I don’t think I’m actively looking for a mentor at the moment because I can at least say that our studio has made it decently far without a mentor for the past 4 years. Plus, I’ve been able to look to my friends in the Southeast Asian indie scene for help.

How many PAX Aus events have you attended (as both a developer and as a regular attendee)?

This is my first PAX as an exhibitor! I attended PAX 2023 as a regular attendee and really enjoyed the event, so we decided as a studio to get an indie booth at PAX Aus 2024.