William Sworin, the founder of Exalt Studios and the creative force behind the upcoming action packed kart racer, Silas, took time away from his busy schedule to do a little Q&A for the Gamer Studio.


TGS: Your upcoming game, Silas, seems to be very content packed; you're definitely giving it your all. Have there been any significant challenges along the way?

William Sworin: Yes, there have been many challenges. Aside from technical issues, the problem with developing a game yourself is that it takes all your time and resources. And since you don’t make anything until it’s released, you are not afforded to work on it full time. Since I’m only 22 years of age, you can imagine how very limited the funding is.
 
You also have to learn all the areas of game development, from programming, art, audio, client/server, animation, ect. Then you have to throw all the business, publicity, evolving tech, and engine challenges, it becomes quite the endeavor for one person. Passion and commitment keep me going, and I am very happy that I even have the opportunity to do this. Seeing people play the game and enjoy themselves makes it all worthwhile!


TGS: What are some of the key features of Silas that you think will set it apart from the other kart racers?

William Sworin: Definitely the multiplayer and weapons. Driving on the ground shooting other players is very frantic and fast, but when you mix the flight into it, it offers a whole new experience that I believe only Silas offers. I’ve also developed a “turret mode” to allow players to seamlessly combat people in the air. Most kart racers stick to the same formula that has been used for years. I’ve decided that I would innovate by creating a new weapons system that allows automatic targeting in races, and free hand shooting in the multiplayer. Silas is a more hardcore and mature breed of kart based games, although it is easy enough on the surface to appeal to all ages. As well, I think people will be surprised how in-depth the relationships between the weapons really are when playing. The graphics will also be receiving a bit of a face lift in the near future.


TGS: Have any games been an influence for Silas?

William Sworin: I would say that the biggest influences for Silas are the original Unreal Tournament, Perfect Dark, Quake, Halo, and of course other kart racers. I am a huge gamer, and there are many more influences aside from those.


TGS: What can we expect in terms of music? Will any of your band's songs be making an appearance?

William Sworin: The music in the game is incredibly strong! I am very strict on making sure that anything audio related will be awesome. The game has 26 original songs, and I’ve done a ton of audio engineering to make the guns and sound effects great.  There is a different flavor for the racing versus the arena levels. I have another artist working with me on the soundtrack; he goes by the name “Loudcore” and is an amazing Electronica producer.

As you mentioned, I lead a band called “Finding Fire” which is really gaining steam. We have an album released on Itunes/Amazon, and are almost done with our second album “Greetings From The Moon”. I am as big into singing/songwriting as I am game development. Indeed I will be including quite a few songs from the band with Silas; although these will be in the credits screen and not during the gameplay. You will also be able to listen to them separate from Silas as well.


TGS: Any plans for a demo to help tide us impatient gamers over?

William Sworin: I’d love to release a demo before it’s released, although the problem with being a single developer is that a demo takes precious development time to ensure it’s of proper quality. This time is really needed in development of the full game. So I aim to release a demo at the same time the product is released or shortly after.


TGS: Any current plans for future games?

William Sworin: Not at the moment, as I’m living and breathing this title 7 days a week. Although, I do have some ambitious plans in the back of my mind for great future games, but this all depends on the success of Silas. I am very committed to quality, and hope to have Silas very polished upon its release. I will also be supporting it with free updates for sometime in the future before moving onto further projects.


Silas, Exalt Studios' debut game, is set to release on the 20th of May for PC, and it's looking quite impressive. William Sworin is definitely giving the kart racing genre a breath of fresh air. Tons of screenshots and even gameplay footage can be found at the game's website, www.kartsilas.com.

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