On the occasion of the anniversary of the space sandbox game Avorion, we talk to Founder and Creative Director Konstantin Kronfeldner.
A few years ago, in the first Corona Lockdown, the small German developer Boxelware, based very close to our publishing house, released the procedural co-op space sandbox game Avorion – and hit the jackpot! Of course, that was reason enough for us to do a cover story on the development of Avorion.
A lot has happened in the last years, not only in “our” world, but also in the world of Avorion. For example, Boxelware released the DLC “Black Market” and is working right now at the major update to version 2.0, which will change the game in some fundamental places and brings massive innovations to the game. For example a configurable “Free Play” scenario, a nicer and more precise user interface and AI commands to send ships to mine, trade and explore. In addition, Boxelware want to improve accessibility with autopilots, easier travelling, less micro-management and more.
But it’s best to let Founder and Creative Director Konstantin Kronfeldner have his say. Konstantin tells us in what has happened at Avorion and Boxelware in the last year and what the plans for the future look like.
Let’s take a look back: A release three years after Early Access, first top ratings, you must have let it rip and celebrated hard? Or did Corona already throw a spanner in the works?
Konstantin Kronfeldner: Oh, we did celebrate hard! Or at least as much as Corona allowed us to. We were super stoked about how well the game was received. Considering the team seeing each other, Summer 2020 could have been better. We saw each other sometimes, but we spent most of the time in the home office.
How did you experience the launch phase overall? It must have been a dream come true for you, right?
The launch phase was great. It was a stressful time but in a good way. We had so many new players pouring in who all enjoyed the game in their own way, it was mind-blowing.
What made you most happy in the first year of Avorion, and what annoyed you the most?
Positive: Having a fully released game as a studio. That really is a turning point and it proved that we’re capable of finishing something. Also, the big hype and support for our first DLC.
Negative: I’m a very ambitious person and it took me a while to accept that I can’t please everyone when making a game. There are bound to be some people who complain about some parts of the game once the player base grows. I got to a point where people would get annoyed no matter what I did. So I did what I thought was right, and so far that was always the right call. But I did struggle until I got there.
How many copies have you sold so far, and how satisfied are you with them? What were your goals a year ago?
We’ve sold over 380.000 copies at this point, and we’re very satisfied! Our goal was to get a steady enough income to support the game for 2 more years (and maybe more), and so far it’s looking good!
Has Avorion made you rich?
Haha, unfortunately, no! But it did give us a great foundation to work with as a studio. All the money the game made went into the studio and the development of Avorion. And I think that’s far more important. We want to continue making games, after all!
How has Avorion evolved over the past year? Among other things, you made the game more beginner-friendly and released a first DLC, right?
There has been a lot of movement in the game over the past year. While the core gameplay is solid, it’s very complex, and a build-your-own-story kind of game. We wanted to improve on that front with a better tutorial and by providing some guidance for beginners. In 2020 most of our development efforts after the 1.0 release went into our first DLC, called “Black Market”, which features its own storyline around three major crime syndicates. It focuses more on smuggling and other not-so-legal things in Avorion.
How much of the new features are based on feedback from the community, how much was already on your mind beforehand?
Highly depends! We have so many ideas of our own that we have to prioritize a lot. But sometimes there are these wonderful community gems where we just think “Dang, how come we never thought of that!?” and then a few weeks later it’s in the game. We set up a forum where people can suggest and vote on features they’d like to see in the game, and we’ve already added quite a few of those. We also had a community event on discord where people could suggest chatter lines for NPCs and we added the ones we liked most to the game.
How has the headcount and development focus changed after the launch?
Our team didn’t change that much since the release, yet! We were joined by two working students, who are currently helping us out a ton with bug reports and first-hand testing. But I’m a big fan of slow and steady in this case since I’m still a programmer at heart and less of a businessman. I don’t want our team to grow too fast. I’d rather have a solid foundation that we can build on before I get more people on board.
What’s next for Avorion? What are your nearer goals? Are there any console versions planned?
Right now we’re working on a huge free update, called “Avorion 2.0”. It’s not a sequel, but we’re aiming to shake off some last residue of Early Access feeling that’s still lingering about in a few parts of the game. We’re super hyped! We chose the name “Avorion 2.0” for the update because it will feel like a new game!
Considering consoles: We spent a few months working on gamepad controls but just couldn’t get it to feel right. We realized that the game is just made for keyboard and mouse. For our next project, we’ll keep gamepad controls in mind from the start, which should make it possible to release it for consoles as well.
Where do you see Boxelware in five years?
Working on our 3rd or 4th game!
Are you looking for people right now?
We’re not actively looking for someone (yet), but over the past year, we realized as a team how much we actually lack a dedicated artist. I think that could be a good addition to our team.
How do you have to be to fit into your team?
Being a small team and all, one of the most important things we need is a certain drive for self-motivated work. Apart from that, you should probably be into video games. Oh, and since we’re pretty much all minor or major nerds (be it history, science, movies, or whatever), being a little nerdy helps, too. I know, big cliché, but it’s true! In the end, we’re all just happy people who want to make fun video games. So if you tick those boxes, you’re probably going to fit right in!
You’ve also spent most of your recent time in the home office, of course. What do you and your colleagues miss the most?
Being able to walk over to someone’s desk and having a normal face-to-face conversation. The good hardware at the office. The daily talks at the coffee machine. Shooting nerf darts at unsuspecting colleagues. Going out to eat in celebration of a big update. Hiding Sue’s (community manager) plushie alpacas all over the place. All those normal daily office things.
About the game
Avorion is a co-op space sandbox where players can build their own space ships out of dynamically scalable blocks. All the content in the game is procedurally generated while the player explores. Wherever you go, you will always find new places, ships and factions. Also Space ships and stations are procedurally generated, based on styles. Different ships that have been generated from the same style will resemble one another. You’re free to do everything you want to: Explore, mine, trade, help others, build up an army, go to war, be a pirate, raid helpless freighters. You can build your own personal ship just as you wish to. There are seven different materials, each with different properties and dozens of blocks enabling you to build your perfect ship. The galaxy gets more dangerous and hostile the nearer you get to the core. Upgrade your ships with new materials, turrets and systems and fight your way to the core to unravel the galaxies’ secrets! Avorion features a co-op multiplayer. Play with your friends, form an alliance to team up and build stations together, destroy enemy factions and pirates, or meet your pals in large PvP battles!
Konstantin Kronfeldner – Founder and Creative Director
Konstantin Kronfeldner is the founder of Boxelware and the Creative Director of Avorion. Alongside his studies of Computer Science, he started building the game from the ground up. Now, as the company has grown, he has taken up many more responsibilities, but his passion remains with coding.