Hello! I’m Loren, the solo developer behind Games By Loren based in Finland.
My latest game Terror of Hemasaurus, a retro city smash ’em up, just launched on Switch on January 12th. (Currently 20% off for only a few more days!)
Please feel free to ask me anything! I will do my best to answer every single comment (assuming it remains humanly possible).
I am also doing a giveaway! After 24 hours, I will select 4 comments at random to award a free Switch key.
Terror of Hemasaurus Trailer: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSyFV6VCkik](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSyFV6VCkik)
Verification of AMA: [https://twitter.com/LorenLemcke/status/1617886232142544906](https://twitter.com/LorenLemcke/status/1617886232142544906)
eShop: [https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/terror-of-hemasaurus-switch/](https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/terror-of-hemasaurus-switch/)
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Special thanks to Digerati and Kittehface Software for helping make the game a reality!
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**Edit:** I have to call it a night. Thank you to everyone who posted a question. I will likely do more follow up answers tomorrow morning (or later tonight if I can’t sleep :D), and you still have 24 hours from the start of this AMA to enter the giveaway! So feel free to keep posting comments and questions and I will try to get back to them best I can.
**Edit 2:** Sorry folks, I will need one more day to do the giveaway. Thank you for being patient, and I am sorry I couldn’t get to every question, there were so many and brevity is not a strength of mine! Really makes me a happy dev to see such a response from the community 🙂
**Edit 3:** Congratulations to /u/turry91 , /u/RobbMeeX , /u/lessthanfresh , and /u/Abaddon-theDestroyer You have each won a free key for Terror of Hemasaurus. Please DM me with your preferred region, NA (North America) or NOE (Europe).
by Over9000Zombies
32 Comments
Have you always wanted to create video games? What was the first game you remember playing as a child? For me, it’s Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest!
Did you use any lessons learned from Super Blood Hockey when creating Hemasaurus?
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If you could add in one more mode/character thing for free, ((after the armadillo)) you know like, one big thing, what more would you have added? 🙂
Really enjoyed Super Blood Hockey! I used to love playing the old NHL games on the SNES, and the design reminded me of them. Except with all the blood.
Don’t have a question, just keep making games 😊
Hey Loren, I played the game over the weekend and loved it! Actually recommended it to several friends as well. My only gripe (minor) with the game is a lack of diversity in the stage locations. This leads to two questions. One, are you planning a follow-up? And two, if so, what ideas do you have for the sequel?
What is your target audience? What kind of games that people enjoy would make them the ideal player for your game 🙂
Do you think that Switch is underpowered and we need a new console?
Will we get a Super Blood Hockey 2? I love that game.
What are some of your artistic influences?
What’s your favorite Kaiju/Kaiju movie? Do you prefer the Kaiju as protagonist or antagonist?
Hey , what’s your favorite game?
I really loved Hemasaurus! I just finished it yesterday and really had a great time with it. Almost wish there was more to it, like more skins or more levels. But I definitely will be playing that game more than once!
Do you work with a publisher? Have you self-published any games?
I’m working on a game in my spare time, but unsure how to approach the whole idea of working with a publisher when I have so much work left on my game, and managing my day job. I feel that at some point I’ll have to choose to either self publish, or quit my day job and try and get some help/financing from a publisher. Any advice on how to navigate this?
It’s very cool seeing a game inspired by Rampage coming out now, will you use old arcade games as inspiration for a new project?
Do you have an estimate of how much time this game took to qork on?
Whoa. Major Rampage vibes. Haven’t seen too many like that in recent years
Do you see yourself creating Super Dino Hockey?
How long did it take to make the game conception to finished
You have hit on some of my favorite subgenres that I feel like don’t get enough love (arcade sports and giant monster destruction)! Any genres that you think you’d like to give a try in the future?
Why is the giant sloth the best character, even without me playing the game yet?
Firstly wanted to say I love Super Blood Hockey and Terror of the Hemasaurus. Thanks for the great games.
Both games are different gameplay wise but feel very much like they were created by the same person with some similar design philosophies. What is your process for deciding what type of game you want develop?
Comment!
Does each monster have unique powers or are they just cosmetic?
How lucrative is this? Is it your day job? What is a switch key? (Yes, I have a switch but am not familiar with the term)
Hello, ive just watched the trailer, looks like fun! Is it lonely making games by yourself, or do you relish the creative control?
since you are a solo dev….What is the hardest part for you when making a game?
My name is also Loren. You’re the only other Loren I’ve ever heard about in my life.
Are there any easter eggs in the game?
A question about the controls: Does the game primarily use the direction buttons and A/B/X/Y, or is the entire set of buttons used? I have yet to find a screenshot of the controls menu.
Reason: This game looks like one that’d control well with just the Joy-Cons, but sometimes games have fooled me and really need a full pro-controller for a good experience. It is good to see the controls are re-mappable, but I can’t see a screenshot of the controls menu on Steam or other review media when I searched for it (doesn’t make for an exciting screenshot I guess.)
Edit Note: Apparently **WYSIWYG** is not how the post editor works on reddit =P.
I saw your game featured on SwitchUp and watched a bit of a walkthrough. Your game looks really fun as someone who grew up playing Rampage in the arcades. I was hoping there would’ve been a play through utilizing the 4 player feature. I wanted to see the pure chaos. I wonder how the performance on the Switch is like with 4 player madness.
Super blood hockey was very good and I loved the physical release! Thanks for the chance to check out your new adventure!