We recently did an interview with MiroWin Studio’s Chief Business Development Officer, Alex Ivaschuk on their project “Federation 77” which has recently been released to the PC Steam VR platform!
How long does it take from Idea Conceptualization to Deployment in VR?
The answer depends a lot on what you want to receive in the end. If we talk about VR, for example, the development of VR simulators is 2-5 months of work. A large-scale AAA game is years of work and subsequent refinement. Creation of our first VR game took about 9 months of work and I think that from an economic point of view this is give or take the optimal time for A, AA products with proper planning and well-coordinated teamwork. But, of course, even in the case of a big AAA game idea with a huge potential, it makes sense to take a risk and spend a year or two to get an appropriate return.
What is it Like to Develop “Federation 77” in VR?
Well, our studio gathered in 2017 just around the idea of creating our own high-quality VR content. Over the past 5 years, after the release of 4 our own VR titles and a number of others for third parties, of course, our experience in this has greatly enriched, but there is no limit to perfection. Therefore, when creating another VR game for us we set a goal to make it even better than the previous one. This also applied to Federation77.
Where did the concept / history of the “Federation 77” name come from?
When we made the pre-teaser of this game in the beginning, it got a couple tens of thousands of hits on Youtube and we understood that it was worth it. Initially the concept was inspired by the crime movies of the 90’s in the post-soviet space after the breakup of the Soviet Union. It was a time of pyramid schemes, social instability and crisis in different spheres. As for the name, the game was originally being developed under the working title “RU77”. It was a time of popularity around Cyberpunk 2077. We decided to visualize what would look like the same conditional 2077 year, but on the territory of the former Soviet Union, with its local features and characteristics. Therefore, do not look for hidden meaning in the number 77 in our name, as there is no meaning in the case of Cyberpunk 2077. For the release, the game has acquired the final name – “Federation77”.
Did you face any obstacles or difficulties during the development process?
Considering that we started development 2 years ago, the release could have happened earlier, but the game industry is first and foremost a business. And we are not just people who like to create games and play them, but also people who feed their families. Therefore, Federation77 development had to stop for a while because of our customers’ higher-priority projects. Nevertheless, the turn of this project has come, and it just so happens that the game’s release this very year has become even more relevant.
What were the most memorable / favorite moments during development?
I will not hide the fact that when we developed Federation77, we made a lot of foolish attempts to embellish this game (and we shared this in the developer diaries) in a way that did not go too far beyond the red line of censorship and morality. It is important to understand where the limit is when we say “well, this is too much”. Nevertheless, today the game on Steam is only available to authorized users with a stable nervous system and psyche, as it is rated 18+ due to the presence of violence, profanity, the use of various types of stimulants, appearance of naked bodies. And believe me, we stopped ourselves in time.
How long did it take to develop “Federation 77” How do you cope with tight project deadlines?
As I have already mentioned, it took about 2 years from the start of development to the release date, but only because we had to suspend work due to the transition to urgent projects for our foreign customers. However, this year we decided to close this gestalt and several active months of work allowed us to bring “Federation77” to a state ready for release in early access.
As we look forward for the launch/playing Federation 77 on Steam VR Platform, Do you have a roadmap / upcoming plan for projects in 2023 and beyond? or what type of game Genre would you plan or foresee to have in future?
Yes, while we are releasing this game, several more are already in line. For example, on November 3 on Meta Quest and PC VR headsets (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift) will be the release of the next game – “Desperate: Vladivostok“. This VR arena-shooter is a joint project with US publisher PM Studio. You’ll play as a contract killer – “torpedo”, whose life circumstances force you to claw the way to the destruction of a political organized criminal group and its leader at any cost. With the help of comics and well-developed dialogues you’ll feel like the central actor in this assassin’s criminal story. We plan to release this game on Playstation VR 2 soon. In addition, there are active contacts with potential publishers of the PC survival horror project “Redemption of the Damned” and we plan to release this game in early access in late 2023.
FEDERATION 77 is available now on STEAM VR!
STEAM VR LINK : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1620410/Federation77/
Stay tuned for our upcoming review on it!
And further Q & A with MiroWin Game Studios team :
How different is it for developing the same game on various platforms?
After the release of products on consoles, PC and VR, we can say that porting a game to each of these platforms is a little bit similar to creating a new game, but much depends on which product to port to which platform. This is largely due to the need to meet the requirements of these platforms and the task of adapting the game to their potential and features as much as possible with as little loss as possible.
For example, what is valuable in VR products will not work on consoles or PCs. At the same time, creating a high-quality game on PC might backfire because of the high technical requirements for PC users. And the release on consoles, on the contrary, implies bringing the product to a single standard, which requires the developer to make concessions, to reduce or compress something, to sacrifice something, which can ultimately harm the original idea. Porting to new devices (consoles, VR glasses) requires extra time to get the devkit and familiarize yourself with it.
This is the way of constant maneuvering, proper prioritization.
Do you have plans to cater for newer or other standalone VR devices in future?
We are always on the lookout for new VR devices and related technologies to incorporate into our products. As the first team in the post-Soviet space to release a game on Oculus Quest we strive not to lower the bar, given that Playstation VR 2, Oculus Quest 3, a wide range of Asian-made glasses and others already loom on the horizon.
How important do you think that good Haptics are needed in VR?
Very important. Here we should remember why we need virtual reality in the first place – to immerse ourselves in the most realistic world possible. Accordingly, everything that we can transfer from the real world to the virtual world, such as tactile sensations, only adds even more believability for the player and brings us as developers a little closer to the perfect reproduction of the universe.
Do you think that Augmented Reality games would be more immersive than a full scale Virtual Reality Game?
Well, I don’t think they will replace each other. Just like there is a whole army of fans of different kinds of consoles, and next to it there are a few more who prefer to play on smartphones or desktops. Augmented reality has its own characteristics and will have its own fans, whereas virtual reality aims not to complement our world, but to recreate this world. Or the likes of it. Or nonexistent at all, inviting us to immerse ourselves in them.
Do you have anything to say to our Versumty Audience?
Become a part of technological progress, because it is impossible without people. Develop yourselves by developing the world.
Thank you Alex & MiroWin Game Studios team for providing us with the exclusive and insightful interview!
We look forward to enjoying your amazing game!
About the Developer :
MIROWIN is a game development studio for virtual reality headsets, employing skilled professionals and game enthusiasts from the video game industry. Our employees have over 10 years of experience in major video game development fields: design, art, programming, production coordination and doing business.
