Holden Boyles on Qora, And the Future
with Julie Morley
[divider]In the past, Cliqist has covered Qora several times (including when it was called Spirit) and has kept up with the games’ development. Now, after months of waiting and tedious development, Qora is finally here. But, new questions surfaced about QORA’s release and the future of it. I interviewed Holden Boyles, creator of Qora, for a better look into the game and what is to come.
[divider]Cliqist : First, what inspired the name change from Spirit to Qora?
Holden Boyles : Basically, I just wanted to change the title to something more unique and interesting, and since the game’s general concept expanded due to the Kickstarter’s success, I figured I would use one of the game’s new side stories as a basis for the title.
Cliqist : Much of Qora’s gameplay is linear and relies on the player’s curiosity and exploration to continue along. With the additional funding, backers were ecstatic about the extra features to be implemented. Unfortunately, there has been some criticism regarding the speed of the gameplay and linear nature. How has the reception of this criticism been? Will it contribute to any changes in the QORA prequel/sequel?
Holden Boyles : This is a problem that all artists face with their projects I think, in that everyone has different artistic preferences and patience levels, all of which are equally valid, and in the end you just can’t please everyone. All I can say is that Qora’s pacing and linear nature are exactly how they were intended to be. In terms of the Qora follow-up, one thing I can absolutely promise is that there will be no grass cutting!
Cliqist : Speaking of the prequel/sequel, now that Qora has been released, has the story for them been settled on? Will development begin on them soon?
Holden Boyles : I definitely started thinking about this more as we wrapped up development, but I haven’t made up my mind quite yet. I’d mentioned some ideas to you previously, and those are still on the drawing board, but after having gone through the whole process of making Qora now, my mind is in a very different place, so I think it’ll take some time to both figure out what the best concept will be, and when I’ll start development on it. I’m definitely taking a little break before I jump into the project though.
Cliqist : In addition to the previous question, is there a projected release date or demo release date for the prequel/sequel?
Holden Boyles : The main thing that I’m waiting on before I get into a whole new project, is seeing how Qora is received by everyone. Once it’s had its time to seep into the minds of the players, I’ll have a better idea of when and how to tackle the follow-up.
Cliqist : I’m very curious about this one. In the past couple of months, the story of Qora transformed from a tale of ancient mythical beings residing in the temples and mountains to something larger: the tale of a grand and greedy empress. Where did the inspiration for this particular story come from?
Holden Boyles : I think the story of the Empress, as well as many other side stories and details, just naturally worked their way into the game. As the game expanded, and the new telepathy/ vision ability made its way into the gameplay, I wanted to have an alternate storyline told through that mechanic. The idea of the Empress just seemed fitting.
Cliqist : When will the mobile release of Qora be?
Holden Boyles : The programmer (Cip) and I are still working out the timeline on that. The current releases really knocked us out so we’re recouping right now and simultaneously figuring out the best way to tackle them. A lot of work is already finished so it shouldn’t take too long to wrap up the rest of the development.
Cliqist : How was your experience with crowdfunding Qora? Will you return to crowdfunding for future projects?
Holden Boyles : This was actually my third Kickstarter-funded project, so I can attest to its success for me at least. The past two projects were films, so the whole process was very different this time around. In general, I think it’s a wonderful tool in getting projects off the ground when you have no money, but if I had the choice, I would rather just avoid crowd-funding altogether. Just a personal preference of mine in terms of how I would like to tackle the financial side of future projects.
Cliqist : From what I understand that Qora is your brainchild. What is Curve Digital’s involvement with the creation of Qora? Are you a staff member of Curve Digital?
Holden Boyles : I guess you can say that. I created everything that needed to be created in terms of artwork, story, music, etc. Curve found us during the Kickstarter campaign and we eventually signed a publishing deal with them. They are only involved in the business side of the game.
Cliqist : Lastly, do you have any other projects in mind aside from the Qora games in the near future?
Holden Boyles : My plan is to take the profits from Qora and shoot a feature film. I kind of took a hiatus from filmmaking in order to try my hand at game development, and now that this project is over, I’m hoping to have enough funds to finance a full-length film. I’m still writing the script, as the financial success of Qora will determine my budget for the film, and therefore how ambitious and magical my script can be.
[divider]Thanks to Holden for taking the time to answer our questions! If you’d like to learn more about Qora be sure to give our Qora Review a read. If you’d like to consider buying it, you can pick it up from Steam.
[divider][facebook][tweet][Google][pinterest][follow id=”Cliqist” size=”large” count=”true” ]
[author image=”http://cliqist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/julie.jpg” ]Julie Morley is a freelance writer and comic artist from Spring, Texas. She attended the Academy of Art University for two years, studying Animation and Illustration. Whilst here, she learned about writing comic scripts, storyboards, and general storytelling. Since leaving college, she has been working on personal comic projects, stories, and illustrations. She aspires to release a self published comic within two years. For the majority of her life, she has been playing console games, typically being third-person shooters and sandboxes. Her favorite game of existence is Dark Cloud II (Dark Chronicle) and her favorite Indie game is Gone Home.[/author]
