It’s been 9 months since the last big DREDGE release, what are you most excited about with this launch?
Michael – Seeing people’s reactions to trying to fish up the new fish and perhaps come across a few hidden surprises.
Joel – Discovering some of the harder-to-find secrets we’ve stashed in there.
There were a lot of options for DREDGE expansions, what was it about The Iron Rig concept that made you want to build it?
Joel – Not only did we have the opportunity to add to the story of the world, but we also had the chance to add some mechanics and items that would extend and enhance the gameplay from the original game. Not to mention some quality of life features!
Alex – The idea behind The Iron Rig was to bring in some new features to DREDGE that we thought would mix up the game a bit. So I was most excited about exploring how the new game mechanics would work.
Michael – The idea of creating a sort of mini biome within a zone and creating a different kind of threat to the player that can only be encountered whilst in it.
Did your original vision change much between concept and what we’re playing?
Michael – There were a few overhauls in design we went through during the creation of the Iron Rig. One of which was the creation of the Pale Reach!
Joel – One of the driving forces behind this expansion was to make something a little grindier for players who really love our world. During development, we overtuned that a bit, and ended up with something far too time consuming and complex, so we pulled back from that.
Alex – It changed a lot! When we implemented and played some of our original ideas it was clear that they were too convoluted and grindy for our liking. So we changed a lot to get it to where it is.
The DREDGE community has been incredibly engaged since the game’s release. How did player feedback influence the development of The Iron Rig?
Michael – Players have always shared with us some of their favourite experiences within DREDGE on places like our discord and hopefully we have managed to create more opportunities to experience those same feelings and more with the Iron Rig DLC.
Alex – The feedback we see repeatedly comes up often when we discuss new features. We want to make sure we are adding things we think players will want.
Joel – We always try to keep our core audience in mind – that’s folks who love the mysterious exploration vibe of DREDGE. And the messed-up fish. We try to align our new content with what people might be familiar with in the base game, while also giving players something fresh to play with. There are also some more niche player types that we consider too, like speedrunners, max-size trophy completionists and challenge-runners. They’re always in our heads too, and when we have an opportunity to build something to serve them, that’s an added bonus.
The Iron Rig introduces new gameplay mechanics and systems. Can you share how these elements were designed to compliment the current experience of DREDGE?
Alex – Instead of adding many new fishing types we built on top of ones we already had. We have used trawling and crab pots in new ways and also introduced multiple ways to obtain materials that we know players were struggling to find.
Michael – We wanted to create systems that built upon what was already in the game and give people more ways to get things that excited them in the base game. At the same time we also wanted to add new things that still fit the whole “keep it simple” approach to mechanics as well as suited the theme of the Iron Rig. So things like crafting items and ways to deal with the ooze fit perfectly.
Storytelling is a key element in DREDGE. Will we be learning more about the world and lore of DREDGE in The Iron Rig?
Michael – As well as maybe giving fuel to some existing theories from the original game, I think we also created a few more extra threads that could be pulled at.
Joel – There’s certainly more information about the world of DREDGE…as well as what lies underneath it.
Alex – Yeah, you’ll certainly learn more about Ironhaven, which was only briefly hinted at in the base game. Observant players might find more evidence to back up existing lore theories or maybe debunk some.
What are you most looking forward to players finding or interacting with in The Iron Rig?
Alex – A certain mysterious dark substance and the horrors it brings with it.
Joel – The upgraded foghorn – which is finally good for more than just making some noise!
Michael – I’ve snuck in a few things that would be cool if people find them.
What was the most challenging part of developing The Iron Rig for you?
Michael – Finding that balance of what we want to do with the time we have available as well as what we can actually fit into the game! We were always pushing the boundaries of what we could with the game.
Joel – Creating a story that complimented the main game without eclipsing it or breaking the flow of it. We didn’t want to replace or affect either of our endings, which we think are both very ‘definite’ and final.
Alex – Technically, we added a lot of new systems that interact or influence MANY parts of the base game. That was a challenge in just making sure we weren’t breaking things unrelated to what we were adding. And also getting the story and flow of the new side missions to feel coherent.
Looking back at the development process of The Iron Rig, what moments stand out to you as particularly memorable or pivotal?
Alex – Personally, it was when I got the mysterious dark substance working properly in the world and looking how I wanted it.
Michael – For me, it was during one of our internal playthroughs we did ourselves and realising that there were some key balance changes that were needed. We had to overcome a bit of a hurdle around the fact we already spent time creating things and that we shouldn’t be afraid to get rid of things if they didn’t make the game enjoyable.
Joel – For me, it’s always the time where we do full playtest playthroughs and get some really chunky feedback from players. It can be quite hard to tell if your own game is fun or not, so getting that feedback and knowing which areas need tuning and improving is a key moment. That’s when the game really “levels up”.
