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Exclusive Interview: Jernej Kocjancic Of Motiviti Talks Elroy And The Aliens

One of the hardest things to achieve in gaming is making people laugh, as far too often attempts at comedy in video games are met with groans and ire from those playing. The latest title trying to make players laugh is Motiviti's Elroy and the Aliens, a hand-drawn point and click game that draws inspiration from LucasArts classics.

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WGTC: Elroy and the Aliens has an emphasis on humor, how difficult has it been to come up with funny situations and dialogue? Humor can be one of the most difficult things to nail in gaming.

JK: Especially in gaming, yes, because you have to find the right timing when you have the player’s full attention in order for a gag to work. We use a lot of visual comedy and cartoon-y slapstick humor. Most often we put our heads together as a team and brainstorm about funny situations. If all of us laugh when visualizing a particular idea in our heads, then we consider putting it in the game. I believe the worst thing you can do is try too much to be funny. Humor is a very subjective thing. You may laugh at one gag, I may be amused by another. We believe that jokes and gags in games work best delivered in small doses at the right time. If you cram in too much of it, it may get boring quickly.

WGTC: How will the game control on the different platforms? Are there any major differences between iOS, Vita and PC?

JK: The tablet is a great platform for playing adventure games. One of our main goals is that the user experience on the touchscreen must be nothing short of awesome. iOS devices and Vita all have touchscreen [but] on a desktop you play with your mouse and/or keyboard. Of course, there are differences, but we have been thinking about that from the start and the gaming experience will be equally great on all of them.

WGTC: How lengthy will Elroy’s adventure be?

JK: Hard to tell the exact amount of hours at this point in development. Our goal is to make a game that you can finish in one long rainy Sunday or play at your own pace for several days. Our main goal is that the player can actually finish the game and that the game keeps the player interested until the end. You know the feeling, when you actually like an adventure game, but it’s too long or the puzzles are too complicated so you give up in the middle? Well, we want to avoid that, while still keeping it challenging and satisfying.

WGTC: Is there currently a set price point for Elroy and the Aliens? Pricing on mobile can be extremely difficult.

JK: My favorite college professor once said that there are two things you can compete with on the market: Price and quality. We are going to compete first and foremost with quality and put a reasonable price tag on the game.

We put a lot of thought into this before we started with the production and came to the conclusion that we are building a wholesome interactive story-driven experience. An experience similar to going to the cinema. You don’t want anyone to nag you every 15 minutes of the movie to buy more popcorn if you want to continue watching. And we don’t want that either because it would break the core idea that defines our game.

WGTC: Elroy and the Aliens is currently set for several different platforms (iOS, Vita, Android and PC). Can gamers expect a universal launch, or will the game launch on one platform and come to others at a later date?

JK: We will definitely try to cover as many platforms at the initial release as possible. If we will have to set priorities, however, we will also listen to Elroy’s fans where they want to see Elroy appear first.

WGTC: Why should gamers keep an eye out on Elroy and the Aliens in 2016?

JK: Because, if you ever loved watching those hilarious vivid hand-drawn cartoons in your pyjamas when you were a kid and if you like being on a great adventure while saving the world at the same time, this might very much be your kind of amusement.

That concludes our interview, but we’d like to give a big thank you to Jernej Kocjancic for taking the time to speak with us. Jernej can be found on Twitter at @Jerrnej. Additional information on Elroy and the Aliens can be found on the game’s official site.