The retro first-person shooter (FPS) genre of game design has grown increasingly competitive and inspired in recent years, much to the delight of classic shooter fans. Forgive Me Father could be the next dark horse hit to emerge in that space, mixing Lovecraftian themes with a striking comic book aesthetic that leans into 2D sprites from the early days of FPS. Primed to drop on Steam late in October, the horror title will arrive just in time for Halloween.
Byte Barrel spoke with Game Rant about the game's madness mechanics, the arsenal of weapons and abilities available to players, and the games that have influenced Forgive Me Father's development. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Tell us about your team. How many people are working on Forgive Me Father, and what are their roles?
A: We are Byte Barrel, a team of young, ambitious developers who make their games with passion. We’re interested in making titles that feel unique, that have fun mechanics, and that stick with you for a long time. On Forgive me Father there are nine people working on the project: Two graphic designers, two programmers, a narrative designer, sound designer, game designer, level designer, and producer.
Q: How did you settle on the game’s distinct comic book art style?
A: When we started working on a retro shooter, in which the opponents and elements of the environment are flat 2D sprites, we decided that it was the perfect opportunity to use a comic book style. We didn't want to pretend that our flat sprites are three-dimensional objects, and in some way emphasize this specific, flat setting. Inspired and in love with comics, we wanted to make every screenshot of the game look like a comic book, and we want players to feel like they are moving inside a graphic novel.
Q: The trailer and pre-alpha footage show a wide variety of weapons. Can you give us a rough estimate of how large the arsenal is?
A: The whole arsenal of the player will be based on eight different weapon types, with several upgrades for each. Upgrades can change the power, speed, range of the weapon, and in some cases they can also change mechanics.
Q: Roughly how many different enemy types will the player face, and what are some of the ways you differentiate them from one another?
A: We do not want to limit ourselves to a specific number at the moment. We are still working on the game and this number may ultimately be greater than we assume now. But I already know that players should not complain about monotony or lack of variety.
Take soldiers, for example. This opponent comes in four variants that differ in appearance, and there is also a general who introduces additional variety. This results in five different-looking opponents, where they could actually be exactly the same all the time. In addition to soldiers, you will meet many other enemies on your way. Crazy city dwellers, occultists, and monsters from your worst nightmares. They will not only differ in appearance but also in mechanics. Some of our opponents can be killed in several different ways. And, of course, there will be bosses for dessert.
Q: Forgive Me Father is inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Can you tell us a bit more about the game’s universe, and how it draws from the Lovecraft mythos?
A: In the game, we try to tell our own original story, but I think that all fans of Lovecraft's prose will find a lot of references to his work. But not only his. We hope players will have a lot of fun finding all the references and Easter eggs. In addition to the story itself, we also have very interesting opponents, weapons and, of course, the madness system.
Q: You can see shades of DOOM, Marathon, and other classic FPS titles in Forgive Me Father’s gameplay. What other titles influenced development?
A: I think this list could be very long. There are so many amazing and great games. If I were to point out just a few I think we should mention here games like Void Bastards, which brings comic book style to electronic entertainment; the amazing BioShock; and also some more fresh retro titles such as Dusk or Project Warlock which we like very much.
Q: What kind of powers do you unlock via the leveling system, and do levels persist from one area to the next?
A: Levels persist from one area to the next; you will make one build through the whole game. When you level up you will spend these points to upgrade your build stats; health, for example. Also, you can use skills like God Mode or health recovery, but we don't want to reveal everything yet.
Q: In the pre-alpha footage, you showcase some of the priest character’s abilities, like using scripture to trigger God Mode. Can you share anything about the journalist character?
A: We see the Priest as a more defensive and stronger character who uses more defense skills - God Mode, as you mentioned. On the other hand, the Journalist is more fragile but fast and offensive with area damage skills.
Q: What can you share about the game’s madness system?
A: The game’s madness system will function as a kind of mana to use skills, but it also will boost the player's basic capabilities, such as damage dealt to enemies. The player can hold a high level of madness, which gives him more damage to enemies but it will change the player's view and make it more difficult for him to see and aim at enemies. The madness system increases for each damage dealt to an opponent and also by alcohol pickups which can be found in the levels. Madness level will decrease through the time so the player will be forced to kill as many enemies as fast as possible in order to hold the madness level high.
Q: You have an Early Access release scheduled for October prior to a release date in early 2022. What kind of feedback are you hoping to receive from players between Early Access and launch?
A: We hope to get feedback about the difficulty level, the level design, and also the progression of the game. We know that these elements are the most important for this kind of game. We hope that we will do a good job on our own to make it as fun as possible, but there is always still room for improvement, and it will be great to get info from the players about these topics before we release the full version of the game.
Q: Is there anything else you would like readers to know about Forgive Me Father?
A: We hope you will enjoy playing our game and please stay in touch with us on social media, or by the Steam follower group page. Remember to wishlist our game, which will allow us to inform you about the changes we are making in the game (dev logs, Early Access release, etc). Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to share something about the game.
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Forgive Me Father is currently in development for PC, with an Early Access release planned for October 28, 2021.