Tomorrow’s launch of Beyond Galaxyland marks the end of a personal journey that’s far older than the six years it’s taken me to develop the game itself. In fact, my fascination and love for the turn-based RPG genre started way back in the late 1990s, with one game in particular: Square’s iconic Chrono Trigger.
I have very fond memories of growing up and watching my cousins play the game on their consoles; it helped break new ground and – alongside a small number of its contemporaries – set the foundations for the genre for years to come. So I knew when I was developing Beyond Galaxyland that it was important I understood what made that game so special to me 20 years previously.
Firstly, it has a great story… who doesn’t want to experience a fantasy time-travelling adventure to stop the end of the world? And secondly, it has impeccable pacing – despite being a turn-based RPG, a genre typically known for extended campaign lengths, Chrono Trigger is just 15 hours long. It also has a depth behind its apparent simplicity and shows that more doesn’t always equal a better experience for players.
These two pillars were critical and inspiring to me. I knew I wanted to tell a grand and epic story, while also ensuring Beyond Galaxyland had a pacing similar to my favourite game, while perhaps making the runtime closer to that of a movie (or limited TV series).
It’s why the story of Beyond Galaxyland is arranged into two distinct parts: the story that occurs before our hero – high schooler Doug – and his newly formed party of pals return to [redacted] and battle [more redaction], and after, when the story sees them take the fight to [even more redaction] in a valiant attempt to save Earth. (You didn’t think I’d spoil some of the key story elements of the game in this post, did you?)
Turn-based RPGs lend themselves so perfectly to stories of this nature. In addition to the RPG classics of the mid-to-late-1990s, I was influenced by some classic TV shows and movies: Alien, Aliens, Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy… Actually, this list could go on and on. While I wanted it to feel epic and cinematic, mixing light-hearted humour with serious moments and themes, I simultaneously wanted to ensure Beyond Galaxyland was pacey: as such, it’s a game with no filler, level grinding, or artificially extended storylines.
Another childhood favourite that went on to inspire me is the original Final Fantasy VII, which I think gets its battle pacing so, so right: the combat in the game is quick, snappy, and rewarding. It’s something I’ve tried to pay homage to in Beyond Galaxyland, all the while adding my own spin on things. Beyond Galaxyland has an active battle system that requires players to press the attack button with every strike against enemies, as well as the need to time their defence when under attack themselves. It’s also why players have the ability to capture and then unleash any of the creatures collected during the adventure (including some of the 25 bosses strewn across the zoo-like collection of planets that make up Galaxyland itself) against their opponents.
Most of all, I hope Beyond Galaxyland doesn’t just feel like a nostalgic experience for players. When I set out to make it, I wanted to push the boundaries of this genre in ways it might have developed if more people had seen in Chrono Trigger what I saw, back at my cousins’ house over 25 years ago: Beyond Galaxyland is fast-paced and compact (for the genre), and avoids grinding gameplay. It also combines gameplay from other genres, including puzzles and platforming, photography, and even retro-style racing!
Don’t get me wrong, I do want this game to also feel nostalgic for those who fell in love with those classic games just as I did. It’s a bit of a contradiction, but I hope Beyond Galaxyland feels both familiar and also new, innovating within the confines of this classic genre. Most of all, I just hope it transports players to another world as all those games did for me.
