Thank you for taking the time to talk with us!

Demonschool is inspired by popular JRPGs like Persona and Devil Survivor. Were there other inspirations from other entertainment sources, such as movies and series?

More Devil Survivor than Persona, to be straight with you! Persona didn’t really factor in so much as other games in the SMT universe, but that’s not answering your question.

Inspiration was drawn from hundreds of things – the way stairs are rounded in Black/Matrix. The way Valkyria Chronicles breaks their battles into phases. The progression scheme of the Yakuza series. The overlapping battles of Suikoden. The pacing and tone of the Dorohedoro manga. The music of Fabio Frizzi, Bob James, and Stelvio Cipriani. The look of Suspiria, Dead & Buried, City of the Living Dead, Blind Woman’s Curse, and the early films of Eddie Romero. Rather than references or things to copy, these were jumping off points for us.

Neat! That’s quite a variety of inspirations.

What specific inspirations helped the development in Demonschool?

Just a general love of media, thrown into a blender, then strained into something cohesive. Everything was carefully researched and thought through.

How long did it take the team to figure out what kind of combat system they wanted to make? Were there other ideas that didn’t work out?

It took a fair while to put it together, but we were thinking about how to make a tactics game where the player needs to make the fewest clicks or confirmations possible, and that’s where this came from. We originally had a much simpler idea for a combat system, but it wouldn’t have done well when extended into a larger game.

How did you decide the right difficulty for players who are new to tactical RPGs?

We tried to keep the difficulty self-elected. You could try to get the highest grade in each battle, or you could let some go, or you could skip them entirely if you lose once. Since the battle system is something relatively new, we knew we had to give players options.

Keeping all the damage numbers low and manageable in your head helps with that as well!

The visuals are immediately striking. What challenges did you face when designing the game, and what did you learn from them?

The biggest issue with visuals was figuring out how to communicate the feeling of practical effects – like prosthetics, stop motion, and things like that in film – would come across in a game.

We did things like, for an explosion, bending a 2D texture around a transparent sphere, to give it some strangeness and uniqueness to the player.

What were some of the platform-specific challenges you had to overcome porting from PC to console?

None, really! Switch is a lower spec machine at this point, but that was a positive challenge for us – once we had the game running at 60 FPS there, we knew it would run great on steam deck, and most other places. We have in-house porting expertise so it was a good fit for us.

Glad to hear the progress went pretty smooth!

As an indie studio, what was the most difficult decision you had to make in development?

We just wish we could’ve finished the game sooner! It’s always hard to know exactly where you’re going before you get there, but we care a lot about polish, so we prioritized polish over speed.

Were there any visuals and sounds that you used that were unintentional and worked out?

Actually no! Everything we put in was fully intentional. This project had very few “happy accidents.”

Oh? Curious on the details!

What chapter was your favorite?

Personally I like what we call week 6, when you’re looking for everybody. A lot happens in that one.

Has there been any thought of creating a sequel or a new entry to Demonschool?

We’d certainly love to, but somebody would have to give us the funding, first!

If Demonschool could crossover with another indie game, what would it be?

We’ve actually already had our main character Faye as a skin in Swery/Suda51’s New Barcelona Hotel, so we’ve already done it! Their main character basically already looks like our Faye anyway…

If you had to carry one mechanic from Demonschool to a new Necrosoft Games project, what would it be?

I think our fishing minigame is pretty good! I think we’ll use that one again if possible. And it’s not a mechanic, but I think our 2.5D look is pretty neat, and I’d like to revisit that.

If you had the option to work on any game, what would it be and why? (Example: Chrono Trigger, Earthbound)

I would’ve liked to work on a dreamcast game, either at Sega or with an ambitious third party. There were so many experimental games being done at that time that didn’t worry so much about commercial viability. Obviously they wanted to sell, but they were going for art first. I’d love to have the opportunity to try to do that.

The Dreamcast was such a great console!

No issues with licensing and money. What special characters would you love to have on the roster, and what would their attack style be like?

I’d like to have Elena from Street Fighter. She’d be a healing attacker, probably way overpowered.

Oh that’s a shift in the game balance!

What character represents each member on the team?

I think I’m a combination of Faye, Namako, and Knute. Tara is more Ocean. Lotte is Mercy and Ti. Shane is Knute and Pangxie. Catherine is Kestrel and Namako. Kerwin is Henk and Namako. Lots of Namakos around here.

If each developer had to survive a week at Demonschool, who would last the longest?

We’d all die instantly, except maybe Catherine. She’d probably take it seriously and learn to kill demons with her bare hands.

If you could add a character with cat-like visuals, what would it be, and what would their skill be? (Example: an oversized hoodie with cat ears and paw-printed sleeves that uses knives to scratch foes)

I think a cat demon would be good. Maybe a familiar, maybe a friendly demon. Their skill would be counterattacking when you least suspect it.

Cats or dogs? And why cats?

Both! But I have two dogs, so…

Sounds like a cat is needed in the household!