Play bool!
We recently had the chance to head to London ExCeL for MCM Comic Con x EGX, where we witnessed many cosplays, attended panels, purchased autographs and played various games. Having shortlisted several upcoming titles worth keeping an eye out for, we’ve since been catching up with the development teams behind said games and it is our pleasure to share these interviews with you.
In today’s interview, we are speaking with Adam Axnix of Bool Studios, discussing all things Boolantics:
Adam Axnix | Igniting the Spark Behind Boolantics’ Creation:
Miketendo64: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role with Bool Studios?
Adam Axnix: Hello! I’m Adam Axnix, I’m a 2024 Game Design Graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University and are currently working on my game ‘Boolantics’ alongside three others. I am a co-director of Bool Studios alongside my good friend Jacob and together we handle the complete engine side production of the game alongside managing the business and promotion.
Miketendo64: How did Bool Studios first come about?
Adam Axnix: Bool Studios was created as part of the Tranzfuser competition, organised by the UK games fund. We wanted to develop the game to completion and release it to the public, so we registered Bool Studios as a limited company, which made it easier to set up our Steam page and ultimately established a foundation for future growth.
Miketendo64: In what capacity are you involved with Boolantics?
Adam Axnix: So I have a general involvement with all aspects of the game’s production, but I primarily am responsible for gameplay programming and the actual design of the game (mechanics, balancing, aesthetic, etc).
Miketendo64: When did the development of Boolantics first begin and what inspired its creation?
Adam Axnix: We began developing the idea for Boolantics in about May 2024 after me and Jacob were demonstrating at the University and the lecturer showed us Balatro which had just released. We absolutely loved it and were heavily inspired by it in the creation of Boolantics. Actual development began in June once Tranzfuser had begun.
Miketendo64: Can you give us a brief overview of Boolantics? What kind of game is it and what is it about?
Adam Axnix: Boolantics is a roguelike deckbuilder centred around using logic gates to hack into network firewalls. Player’s can expect to rack their brains while they try and maximise the scoring potential of their deck by building logic circuits and by upgrading their deck with hacked cards and system modifiers bought in the shop.
Miketendo64: Being the logic gate rogue-like deck builder that it is, with a hacker aesthetic, Boolantics certainly makes for an interesting combination. When turning the idea into reality, was there any point you felt like it couldn’t be done or did finding the right balance come easy?
Adam Axnix: The hardest part for bringing the idea to fruition came from balancing the aesthetic with usability / readability. Because the whole game is framed as taking place in a windows 98-esque environment, finding the line between capturing that look and making the game feel good and satisfying to play was definitely a challenge, as those early versions of windows are miles away from the useability that people are now comfortable with. We didn’t want to drive players away by being too true to the setting.
Miketendo64: With more money to spend in the wallet, players are able to purchase more cards that can make or break their next level. What are some of these ways that make each vary from one another?
Adam Axnix: Each firewall gets increasingly more difficult through having a higher score to beat. They also can have attributes applied to them to make them harder. For example a firewall may need a target score of 10,000, but it might also have an extra output attribute so you’re required to plug two outputs into it. These outputs may need to be true or false too which would further increase the difficulty. For now though these are not fully implemented so we still have a lot of thinking to do before fully implementing the difficulty scaling!
Miketendo64: In addition to buying new cards, players can also, “hack their cards” or “hack the game?” Can you give us a few examples of these hacks?
Adam Axnix: As of right now there are four card hacks implemented into the game. There are the basic ones that increase a cards base score or base multiplier and the more complex ones which can retrigger a card or increase how many output sockets a gate has. There’s plenty of avenues for us to take in terms of hacks but because the game is still early in development, not all of them have been explored yet. We plan on adding many many more as development progresses, so feel free to make suggestions in our discord server!
Miketendo64: With a huge emphasis on hacking at play, do you have any hacking-based video games or films you and your team like to watch?
Adam Axnix: Not directly, however the cultural effect of things like The Matrix have definitely helped shape our designs. The hacking in our game is complete fantasy as I’m fairly certain no one has hacked into anything by creating a logic gate circuit before. The warped perception of hacking from The Matrix and similar pop culture can’t be understated!
Miketendo64: As Boolantics is a rogue-like, all progress is lost when you fail to make a complete circuit, but do any of your purchased cards or hacks carry over to your next attempt?
Adam Axnix: We don’t plan on making any cards acquired carry over to future runs, however we do plan on allowing players to view their statistics such as their highest scoring gates or most played card type. We also want to record all the items and cards that players come across in their runs and fill out a collection for the completionists among us!
Miketendo64: Rogue-likes have become very popular in the last decade with many great games released during that time. What is it about rogue-likes do you think appeals so much to those who play them?
Adam Axnix: I can’t speak on behalf of everyone but for me it’s definitely the raised stakes. Having the last hour or so of gameplay all come down to a single move makes for very exciting decision making. It also feels fantastic when it plays out exactly how you’d planned.
Miketendo64: Was Boolantics always planned to be a puzzle-lite rogue-like, or did that happen during development?
Adam Axnix: So, it wasn’t intended explicitly but the nature of Logic Gates simply lends itself to being puzzling. I’m not sure it would’ve been possible to use them without having the player problem solve to a certain extent.
Miketendo64: How was fan feedback to those who played the Boolantics demo at MCM London Comic Con x EGX?
Adam Axnix: It was actually really positive! We had lots of feedback and suggestions but also a general excitement to see where the project goes. It has definitely motivated us to keep going after seeing the positive reception.
Miketendo64: If you had to compare Boolantics to any other game in terms of gameplay, overall theme or story, what would be its closest match?
Adam Axnix: It’s really hard to say, however a mix between Balatro and a Zachtronics game would probably sum it up best!
Miketendo64: Lastly, could you list all the platforms on which you hope to release Boolantics on?
Adam Axnix: Initially on Steam, however if that’s successful then expect to see it ported to all other major platforms (Switch, Xbox, Playstation, Mobile, etc)
For more MCM Comic Con x EGX (October 2024) content, click here.
About Boolantics:
Boolantics is a logic gate orientated rogue-like deck builder, in which players must create circuits to break into increasingly difficult firewalls. Improve your deck by hacking your gates and system in order to maximise your crazy combo scoring potential! How far will you hack?
Boolantics is a Logic Gate orientated rogue-like deck builder, in which players must create circuits to break into increasingly difficult firewalls — With a retro hacker aesthetic, the game has players racking their brains; calculating the maximum potential out of their deck and coming up with cunning strategies to beat their high scores.
Build a Circuit — You must build a logic gate circuit using the cards from your deck. Though you should plan ahead, as each time you draw a hand, only one gate can be placed… With satisfying clicks and thunks, step back and admire your logic labour of love!
Watch It Pay Off — Once you’re happy, run your creation and watch as your score ticks up and up… Be careful though: one misjudgement could see you at the end of your hacking journey my friend, so make sure that your logic is sound!
Gather Your Deck — With some money now in your wallet, it’s time to splash the cash. Invest in more cards, hack your cards or even hack your system, to provide endless ways for maximising your high scoring potential…
How Far Will You Hack? — Work your way up, from Gran’s lowly laptop, to the underbelly of Uncle Sam, hack your way to the top and endure the antics. We believe in you!
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