This series features interviews with the developers of intriguing new indie games. In this installment, we bring you a mini-interview with the developers of the zombie survival action game *Yet Another Zombie Survivors*, developed by Awesome Games Studio and released on August 20 for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X|S.
This zombie survival action game involves forming and strengthening a team to fend off surging hordes of zombies. Players select from a variety of survivors, unlocking skills and upgrades as they wipe out the zombie hordes. The game supports Japanese.
“Yet Another Zombie Survivors” is available for 1,700 yen (1,020 yen with a 40% discount until October 9).
――First, please introduce yourself. What’s your favorite game?
Mariusz: Hello, everyone!I’m Mariusz. I’ve been involved in the development of *Yet Another Zombie Survivors* from the very beginning, primarily as a programmer, but I’ve also served as a sort of “Swiss Army knife,” handling everything from animations to fine-tuning 3D models. In my free time, I enjoy taking walks with my dogs.
My favorite game? That would have to be the original *StarCraft*. If I had to pick one from the last 10 years or so, it would be *Hollow Knight*. *REMATCH* is also one of my favorites.
――Could you tell us about the unique features of this game? Also, how did you come up with the idea for it?
Mariusz: The idea for this game came about quite naturally. I was originally developing a prototype for a sequel to *Yet Another Zombie Defense*, but *Vampire Survivors* came out right around that time. I decided to play it to see why everyone was getting so excited about it, and I was instantly hooked.
That’s when we thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to create a zombie-themed game based on this game system?”After spending a few weeks refining the prototype, we started to get a good feel for it. At the time, there were hardly any 3D survival horror games with a serious, dark atmosphere, and we thought it would be interesting to incorporate a system where players could choose multiple characters to form a team—which I feel has become a unique feature of this game.
――Were there any games that influenced the development of this title?
Mariusz: Absolutely! This game was most heavily influenced by *Yet Another Zombie Defense*, and of course, *Vampire Survivors* was also a major source of inspiration.
――Could you share one particularly memorable moment from the game’s development?
Mariusz: Aside from the moment the idea for this game first came to me, it would have to be when we released the demo at the Steam Next Fest. The response far exceeded our expectations. Seeing firsthand just how much people enjoyed the game was a huge motivator for the entire development team.
――What kind of user feedback have you received since release? Please share something that particularly stood out.
Mariusz: Hahaha, I’m not even sure what kind of feedback we haven’t received! We’ve gotten everything from extremely negative to incredibly positive comments. Thankfully, the latter overwhelmingly outnumber the former, and the support from our players has been fantastic overall.
What stands out most to me, though, are the comments from people thanking us for the game’s accessibility. We’ve received messages from people recovering from trauma or accidents saying, “Thanks to the simple controls, I’m still able to enjoy the game.”
I also vividly remember messages from people who hold jobs with immense daily responsibilities.For example, a neurosurgeon sent me a heartfelt message saying, “At the end of a stressful day at the hospital, this game really helps me relax and take my mind off things.” Every time I receive messages like these, I’m reminded from the bottom of my heart of the value of what we’ve created.
――Based on user feedback, could you tell us about your plans for future updates?
Mariusz: The most common feedback we receive from players is about “the depth of gameplay in the late game,” and that is precisely what we’re focusing on most right now. We plan to introduce many new elements—such as leader-exclusive abilities, new in-game events, and new synergies—that will allow players to enjoy experimenting even more.
In addition, we’re preparing to expand the content by implementing difficulty levels “IV” and “V,” as well as adding new maps and survivors!
――Could you tell us about the Japanese localization for this game? What was included in the localization, what were the challenges, and what has the reaction been like from Japan?
Mariusz: This game has been fully localized into Japanese by a professional localization studio. However, since the work was done by humans, minor mistranslations and typos inevitably occurred.Fortunately, the feedback form we included in the game proved extremely helpful, and thanks to players actively using it to report mistranslations, we were able to make corrections and updates quickly.
The biggest challenge was that there were no native Japanese speakers on the development team.For example, we only found out after release—when it was pointed out to us—that while the Chinese font we initially used contained all Japanese kanji characters, the glyphs for some of them differed between Japanese and Chinese. Since we weren’t aware of those differences at the time, we had to urgently prepare and replace it with a new font set specifically for Japanese.
――Is it okay to distribute and monetize this game?
Mariusz: Of course! The more people who learn about *Yet Another Zombie Survivors*, the happier we’ll be.
――Finally, please share a message for our Japanese readers.
Mariusz: Thank you so much for taking an interest in the game we created! We’re truly delighted that so many people in Japan are playing it. Stay awesome! (Translator’s note: A pun combining the developer’s name, Awesome Games Studio, with the phrase “Please stay awesome!”)
――Thank you very much.
◆ About “Spotlight on Indie Mini-Q&A”
This series features email interviews with indie developers shortly after their games are released. To ensure it runs regularly, we’ve standardized the questions, with the goal of sharing the voices of as many developers as possible. Please also enjoy our other interview articles—we’ve already published over 1,000 of them.
