Among the pantheon of obligatory FPS weapons, few are quite as under appreciated as grenades. Sure, they may not be as aesthetically pleasing or satisfying as a pistol or shotgun, but they're one of the handiest tools an action hero can have. And finally, 321 Grenades gives them the spotlight they so desperately deserve.
321 Grenades is an upcoming local multiplayer shooter all about grenades of varying types and sizes. From freeze bombs to landmines, 321 Grenades is a celebration of all things that go boom. Recently, I was able to get in contact with the developer Kyle Reczek to discuss unlockables, couch co-op, and everything else that makes 321 Grenades go boom.
TechRaptor: First off, where did you get your inspiration for 321 Grenades?
Kyle: 321 draws a lot of inspiration from N64 games like Goldeneye and Diddy Kong Racing. Really great games from the past, but puts a more modern spin on them.
I think as a game maker in general though, I really like to strive for creating strong character based games. So I take a lot of inspiration from Nintendo in that regard.
TechRaptor: Why go for grenades over guns?
Kyle: I think there’s something in human nature about estimating the effect of gravity on an object that we all find interesting. That’s why you see that same theme from Mario to Angry Birds. Plus, all FPS have guns, a FPS without any guns is a bit more interesting!
TechRaptor: What sort of special grenades are you planning on adding to the game?
Kyle: There are a number of grenade types in the game already, but here’s a few of them. The Mirv, which splits off into multiple grenades. The Remote Mine. The Ice Grenade, which lays down an ice patch and freezes any player that touches it for a few seconds. All the way to the Pug Grenade in which a Pug steals a point from you and blocks your view for a bit.
I’m still adding more types though so expect more in the final game.
TechRaptor: What sort of content will there be for singleplayer?
Kyle: I’ve been working on having Bots there for people to play with if they don’t have anyone around.
The game has an Adventure system where you collect golden grenades by playing through variants and then use the golden grenades to unlock new maps. It’s designed to work with both local play and single play.
So there will be content there for people to play on their own.
TechRaptor: Is there any chance of online multiplayer?
Kyle: This is one question that comes up a lot. I want people to understand that I really want to put online into the game. However as it stands at the moment I’m a one person team, and the scope of adding online to the game would mean 321 would grow into financially super risky territory. Territory where you’d have to sell many many copies to keep making games. I feel like keeping the scope small at the risk of alienating some people is an unfortunate reality if I want to continue making games. Maybe if 321 is wildly successful I can go down that road but for now it has to be what it is.
TechRaptor: 321 Grenades has a level editor, how in depth do you plan to make it?
Kyle: The goal of the level editor is to provide something that is easy to work with, where anyone can build a map. That’s one of the reasons the editor uses voxels. Voxels are very easy to understand and potentially many people have experience using them.
That being said If it is possible I would like to make something more for more serious mappers.
I got my start making games making maps for Doom, and Duke3d, and UT. So being able to create something for others that are just starting would be really great!
TechRaptor: How many levels do you think there will be in the finished product?
Kyle: I have 12 levels in there right now. I want to add more. I’ll say probably in the 15-20 range is where it’ll end up.
TechRaptor: Will there be any unlockables, or will all the content be available right out of the gate?
Kyle: The Adventure Mode is designed around being the entertainment for a group of people for an evening. So when you play that, some maps will be locked and then you’ll need to earn grenades to unlock them.
But I think in general it’s important in a local mp game to not lock off a ton of content off the bat. Since people might just want to sit down and play it with their friends.
TechRaptor: There have been a lot of local multiplayer games popping up on Steam recently, do you think local multiplayer games are making a comeback?
Kyle: There’s definitely a niche there that wasn’t being served by AAA. As for coming back into main stream prominence, I’m not sure.
TechRaptor: Finally, do you have any estimation of when we'll be getting 321 Grenades?
Kyle: Grenades will launch this Summer on PC/Mac and a little later on Xbox One.
TechRaptor: Thank you for your time.
Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net
Perry Ruhland | Staff Writer
Filmmaker. Entertainment critic. Genre film aficionado. Has bad taste and hot takes.
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