Rebooting the Unexpected: Raccoon Logic's Approach to Revenge of the Savage Planet

As the Raccoon Logic team navigates the uncharted territory of Revenge of the Savage Planet, studio head and co-founder Reid Schneider reveals that the primary objective was to defy expectations, rather than creating a conventional sequel. Given the team's history, having formed from the remnants of Typhoon Studios after Google's Stadia shutdown, this approach is particularly noteworthy. The team had managed to reacquire the Savage Planet IP and soon announced their plans to develop a new title within the series. While Revenge of the Savage Planet retains the essence of its predecessor, including exploration, scanning life forms, and blasting hostile creatures, it introduces a third-person perspective, offering a fresh take on the original's formula. Schneider attributes this change to the pursuit of bigger and broader comedy, leveraging physical humor and slapstick elements. The shift in perspective was initially considered during the production of the first game, particularly when working on platforming elements, according to art director and co-founder Erick Bilodeau. The main motivation behind this change was to convey humor more effectively, now that the character is fully visible. Much of the game's humor is also embedded in its narrative, where players assume the role of an employee of a corporation that has deemed space exploration too costly. This storyline bears some resemblance to the team's own experience with Google, but creative director and co-founder Alex Hutchinson emphasizes that it is more inspired by the industry's recent experiences with layoffs and studio closures. Raccoon Logic has also restructured its development process, adopting a more organized approach with a small team of 30 people, plus contractors. The production schedule has been divided into three phases: conception, production, and polish, allowing for an alpha version midway through development. This collaborative approach enables the team to have more ownership and input, with everyone contributing to the game's development. Many team members are former AAA developers, and they appreciate the benefits of a smaller team, where everyone has a chance to make a meaningful contribution. The game is expected to be 15 to 20 hours long, a moderate increase from its predecessor. As for the team's expectations, they are cautiously optimistic, given the challenging market and the fact that they are not entirely sure how well the first game performed due to its scattered launches across different platforms. To address this, the team is focused on making Revenge of the Savage Planet a standalone experience, with the goal of educating potential players about what to expect from the game. They are also exploring options for post-launch support and are in discussions with Tencent to determine the best approach.