Zoria: Age of Shattering is a squad-based, narrative-driven tactical RPG from Tiny Trinket Games and Anshar Publishing, available now. In it, players get to lead a diverse team through the fantasy lands and challenge countless groups of monsters and bosses. From enemy soldiers, to necromancers, to spiders and wolves, to yet more unique fantasy monsters, Zoria will challenge your squad-building at every turn.
We had a chance to have a brief chat with the team about the development of the game and certain inspirations behind Zoria: Age of Shattering.
Gamespace: Hello! It’s great to have this chat with you. Please, introduce yourself and tell us a bit about Tiny Trinket Games.
Tiny Trinket Games: Hello, I’m Stefan, one third of the Tiny Trinket Games team. We’re a small indie studio based in Bucharest, Romania. Me and Neles started into games development by working on a few ideas in the early 2010s, and after meeting Gabi we created Tiny Trinket Games in 2017. Our first game was Azuran Tales: Trials, a small platformer that we released for Steam and Nintendo Switch.
We have been passionate about games since the early 1990’s, starting from what was then available in Romania, a local version of the ZX Spectrum, and moving to PC soon after. Because of this, there are probably hundreds of influences in our work, some quite old and obscure.
Gamespace: How long have you been working on Zoria: Age of Shattering? What is the feature you are most proud of?
Tiny Trinket Games: We have been working part time on this project since 2017. The original idea was to create a 2D mobile game which over time became Zoria, a full fledge CRPG game using the initial base and management design. We spent a lot of that time developing our tools and systems internally, to be able to support the development of a complex game.
Only after we signed the deal with Anshar Publishing, things really picked up and we were able to dedicate ourselves more into development. I can’t say we have a specific feature that we are most proud of. What we are most proud of is the synergy between all the systems and features and being able to make such a complex game work as intended.
Gamespace: What were your inspirations when it comes to narrative and gameplay?
Tiny Trinket Games: Narrative has been influenced by a number of things. Certainly, there are influences coming from the RPGs we love but also from books, considering the fact that Neles is quite a science fiction fan. I can say for sure Asimov was influential in how some of the villains were designed, but more details about that I will leave for the players to discover.
Gameplay is a mix between classic turn-based systems and our vision for a faster paced game in this genre. We did not want to make it as complex as DoS, by combining spells or introducing environmental connection with combat, so we chose to have the combat develop faster. To give you an example: our ideal encounter takes no longer than 10 minutes. Some of the design decisions are coming from all sorts of RPGS, from World of Wacraft, to Heroes of Might and Magic, Morrowind or Pathfinder.
Gamespace: Can you tell us what was the most memorable moment of the game development? What was the biggest challenge you remember facing?
Tiny Trinket Games: For me, the most memorable moment during the development of the game is when we actually made the first build and we were able to run through the first parts of the game. But I cannot forget the first time we showed it to our friends who were blown away or the signing with Anshar as our publisher. Everyone was in a state of panic and excitement at the same time. Fun times.
Our biggest challenge was working on the project for so long without any return, fueled by hope alone. Personally, I need to give props to Gabi and Neles for plowing through these years before Anshar became our publisher.
Gamespace: Has player feedback greatly affected the development? What are some of the changes you have added after listening to players? (such as the protagonist’s gender option, etc.)
Tiny Trinket Games: Yes, player feedback certainly impacted development. Feedback in general and our community on Discord/Steam pushed us to do as much as possible in terms of quality of life in-game stuff and polishing. Launching the prologue and reading the reviews was also extremely important as it helped us see which of our assumptions worked and what needed to be changed. Our community was extraordinary throughout these years and they have generously reported various bugs, and we’ve diligently worked to address them. The game would not be where it is without them.
Gamespace: In dev blogs you’ve mentioned that it is impossible to see the entirety of the game’s content in a single playthrough. How did you come up with this decision?
Tiny Trinket Games: It wasn’t really a design decision, it was more of a story option that we wanted to have. Choose Path A and then path B becomes locked. If you want to see path B as well, you will need to replay the game. These choices let the player learn more about the world and do it from different perspectives. It’s as much as I can say without spoiling the story. This split is the most consequential of the player’s choices, but there are a few choices in the game that will yield different outcomes.
Gamespace: In your opinion, what sets Zoria: Age of Shattering apart from other RPGs?
Tiny Trinket Games: Does a game of this size and scope being made by three guys in a living room count? Joking aside, we are very happy with how the combat feels, we think we managed to achieve the right balance between tactical and fluid. Is not super tactical but it’s not lazy and it really has a very good pace. Environment design is also something I am particularly happy with how it turned out, environment is very important in telling a story and given the limited resources of the team I’m really proud of the result.
Gamespace: Now that the game is out, what are your future plans? Do you consider the possibility of DLC?
Tiny Trinket Games: On paper, we have DLCs planned, new classes, new zones, but we will have to see after the launch. Sales are always an important factor in such a decision, they tell you whether working on the game in the future is sustainable and whether players want more of the game or not. So far, we have done quite a bit more than we thought we would be able to with the game, but there are certainly a few other things we would have done given more time and resources.
One thing is for sure: after the launch, when we are certain everything is working as expected and no issues are being reported or edge cases discovered, we will assess the situation and decide.
Gamespace: Thank you, we appreciate the opportunity for this interview. Is there anything you’d like to add?
Tiny Trinket Games: I want to say that I am very proud of our accomplishment in delivering the game. It’s not perfect but it’s ours and we love it. We hope you will at least enjoy it, if not love it like we do. It’s quirky, it’s both funny and sad. It has its own personality, just like us.
Last but not least, I want to thank Anshar Publishing for believing in Zoria and in our team. We learned a lot from working together and, I must confess, it was easier than I expected working with a publisher would be.
