The release of Home Sweet Home: Episode 2 is now on the horizon and based on what we’ve seen so far, that’s a prospect worth getting excited about. It’s obvious that a lot of love and care has been poured into this one and that the developers. YGGdrazil, are sincere about their desire to improve upon their first outing. Indeed, they’ve been very forthcoming about the lessons they’ve learned since then and have intensely studied player feedback in order to iron out the kinks.
One member of the team who was especially determined to implement improvements is game designer Pongtham Nantapan (aka Pong). Articulate and humble, he’s the first to admit that the previous instalment had its shortcomings and even took the time to sift through all the user reviews and comment boards, in order to understand what could be fixed. And, as anyone who’s ever dared to read internet criticism of their own work will tell you, that can be brutal.
Luckily, Pong’s fortitude seems to have paid off, as Home Sweet Home: Episode 2 is looking to be a huge step up from its predecessor. We had the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about this feat was achieved, as well as what other games inspired him and how the new combat mechanic will work.
Blooding Disgusting: To start things off, could you describe your contributions to the project and tell us which aspects you worked on?
Pongtham Nantapan: My main role was to create the game-design document for Home Sweet Home. This meant that I was basically responsible for every gameplay mechanic to some extent.. I also did a little bit of level design as well, mapping out the space of each environment, so that the programers could then take over and add in more details.
BD: And am I right in thinking that you also helped shape the story?
PN: Yes. I worked alongside Saroot, the director, to make sure that the narrative matched what was in his head. So he came up with the story that he wanted to tell and it was my job to [translate] that into the game. I designed the key items and figured out where they should be placed, had some input into the dialogue and assisted with the voice recording as well.
I think that’s everything [Laughs]
BD: That’s an impressive workload for just one person. Was it a challenge to spin all of those plates?
PN: There were two of us originally, so the workload was shared between us. But yes.
BD: Speaking about mechanics, one of the most significant additions to Home Sweet Home: Episode 2 is the inclusion of combat. I had a small taste of this during the preview slice, but I was wondering if you would be able to give a little more detail on how it will work?
PN: If you played Episode 1, you might remember acquiring a mystical dagger in the last chapter?
BD: Yes, in the old house.
PN: That’s right. Well, about half-way through the sequel, you will be able to use that knife as a projectile weapon for stunning enemies. You’ll also get your hands on special nails that can be used to permanently kill ghosts, although this will be a very limited resource. As such, you’ll be forced to choose when to fight and when to run.
BD: You have a cooldown timer on the knife as well, so you can never go completely gun-ho. Which brings me to my next question, how do you ensure that the combat doesn’t detract from the horror side of the game?
PN: That’s a very good question actually! We modeled our approach on other games that managed to pull this combo off, like Resident Evil 7 for example! In that game, you have the option to fight back, but there’s still a heavy emphasis on scares. They were careful to limit your combat abilities and resources, whilst the enemies were always intimidating and came in many different forms. Those are all lessons that we tried to apply to Home Sweet Home: Episode 2.
BD: That’s really interesting. So were there any other games that you took inspiration from?
PN: Resident Evil 7 was definitely the main one. Because it was such a strong [course correction] for the series. I really appreciated the slower pace, as well as the way that it started off quite subtle and then gradually built up to the action. It was much more effective than Resident Evil 5 or 6 in that respect.
BD: Yeah I totally agree. There’s a real sense of escalation in Resident Evil 7 that sets it apart. At the beginning you’re creeping around a house, having to rely on stealth, but then you slowly get your hands on more firepower and have to deal with multiple enemies. Was that arc something you wanted to replicate in Home Sweet Home: Episode 2?
PN: Exactly, we have a very similar journey planned out! The feedback we received last time around made us aware that it’s hard to sustain horror for a full game. Eventually people get bored and it becomes stale. So mixing things up like this was a logical step.
BD: In terms of other mechanics, have there been any other big improvements to Episode 2?
PN: Besides the combat, there’s not been too much change. Although, we have revamped the enemies a little for the sake of variety.
For a start, they can now work together, which adds to the intensity. In the first episode you would never encounter more than one ghost at a time, but now there can be up to 4 or 5 of them after you, meaning that you have to adjust your playstyle. Not only that, but the enemies have been differentiated more, with their own separate behaviours and abilities that will affect how you need to deal with them.
BD: I was going to mention that! It really kept me on my toes.
PN: That’s the idea! Take the Dancer for example: she has the unique ability to spawn from these wooden idols that have been scattered around the world. There might be several of them in the room at any given time and so the trick is to try and figure out which one she might be coming from next. You’ll be in a constant state of paranoia.
BD: Based on feedback from episode one, did you feel like you had to make any changes made to the stealth mechanics?
PN: You know, I read every single comment on the Steam page and categorised them [according to] what they did and didn’t like. From this, we discovered that the most common complaint was that [the] balancing was unfair and frustrating at times. So we knew we had to work on this as our number one priority. Because it’s not scary when you feel frustrated.
BD: So what changes did you make to address this feedback?
PN: The main thing was to fine-tune the enemy A.I [to make it] less random. The ghosts are not as quick to detect you anymore, they won’t block your exits or wander where they shouldn’t, and their vision is more consistent in terms of where they can and can’t spot you. All this should make it easier to sneak past them.
BD: But presumably you still want to retain a sense of challenge?
PN: Absolutely. To [strike that balance] we made sure that we were carrying out thorough playtesting on a daily basis. Certainly more so than we did on Episode 1.
BD: Final question: the horror genre has become very popular over the last few years, especially in the indie scene. With that in mind, how do you think Home Sweet Home stands out from the crowd?
PN: I think it’s less about the gameplay and more about the way we’ve [incorporated] Thai culture into everything. We’ve included our beliefs and heritage, taken inspiration from Asian movies and set the game in classic Thai locations. It’s our hope that this will make it a fresh experience for western players.
Home Sweet Home Episode 2 will release on September 25th for PC, exclusively via Steam.