To say Mewgenics has been a while coming might be a bit of an understatement. Developers Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel are, for our money, gaming royalty, having been behind some of the most incredible titles over a great many years. From Super Meat Boy to The End is Nigh, and not forgetting The Binding of Isaac: these are games that are almost universally accepted as brilliant. And for those who don’t like them, well, they have shit taste. Sorry, but there it is.
Mewgenics, though, has been “around” for over a decade. And ahead of release on February 10th we had a chance to pose a few questions to both Ed and Tyler. We kept it brief because they’re busy people, what with being about to launch a massive game and all. We chatted about how they’re feeling with it nearly out, the changes from then to now, and a fair bit more. And to our beloved Steve, now you have it directly from the creator: you play too much Isaac. Stop. You have to stop. Please, think of your family. Anyway, on with the chat.
How are you feeling, now the game is nearly in people’s hands?
Ed: Excited, honestly very excited to watch people play the game on stream and hear what everyone thinks.
Tyler: Yeah I wanna watch people play it! Just hearing the crazy stories isn’t enough. We’re hearing some crazy stories from the reviewers playing it currently.
How much has changed since the original vision when it was first talked about?
Ed: The only thing that was reused from the prototype was the NPCs and house hub where you breed cats and I guess the vibe and some music tracks. Originally it wasn’t really a game as much as a sandbox to mess with cats, almost an idle game really.
Do you get nervous launching a game, even with such an amazing track record?
Ed: I’m not as nervous as I am just pumped about people playing it, I’m sure it wont be everyone’s cup of tea but I think worst case some people will just get pissy about some of the games themes/content but that also makes me more excited to talk about and address than nervous, lol.
Tyler: I’m trying not to think or look too far ahead because yeah it does get a bit nerve-wracking. So many things need to go right all at once for a game launch to go well, and I do think it looks like everything is lining up nicely now.
TylerEdmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel
How many hours in Isaac is considered an “okay” amount… asking for a friend?
Ed: 500.
You’ve mentioned this is a lengthy experience. Is it akin to Isaac whereby there things people might be discovering for years?
Ed: Yes, there is a lot more going on in Mew than Isaac… And with a DLC or two I think we can really make it feel endless and alive.
Tyler: I mean we don’t even know everything that can happen in this game yet. We’re constantly surprised by the interactions people keep regularly finding, even now.
Is Mewgenics a game you’ll be supporting for years? Obviously post-launch is always for minor fixes, etc, but longer term?
Ed: I could see myself working on this game for another 5 years honestly.
Tyler: We have so many ideas for DLC.
Do you want to bring it to consoles at some point as well?
Ed: Yes we hope to bring it to 1-2 consoles as soon as we are able.
How do you decide on a hype-plan for a game that people have been excited for, over such a long period of time?
Ed: The beauty is, even though people have been waiting for a while, most don’t really understand the game and how it plays.. So its easy to surprise even the biggest fans :). Also I just like to do goofy stuff with people who like my work. So we should have a lot of fun in the coming weeks!
Tyler: Yeah we just ramped up over time. Started with little vague titbits to keep fans satiated and ramp stuff up a lot as we get closer to release. These last two weeks before launch are quite intense and tiring! But it’s fun.
There’s gotta be loads of easter eggs in Mewgenics… right?
Ed: The game is one giant Easter egg!
Mewgenics is coming to PC via Steam on February 10th.
