Interview with The Developer of Away From Home

We fell in love with Away from Home the moment we set on its eye catching art style and classic, retro feel. A rhythm-based RPG from Developer Squishy and Cameron Smith-Randick, Away From Home is something we can’t wait to play more of when it releases later this year. 

Thank you so much to the developer for answering these questions for us and thank you as well for being a part of the May 2025 Showcase! 

• Can you tell me a little bit about the team behind Away From Home?

Our main team is of 2 people. Me and my programmer Robert. We have worked together on this project since I was in highschool. I started on this project when I was in middle school. We also have several people we commission that work with us including a few artists and musicians. I am the writer, lead artist, and marketer.

• The Away From Home Steam page says that the game is “a mix of many great RPGs.” What are some RPGs that inspired Away From Home?

Mother 3 is definitely the #1 inspiration. The others that have a major impact are Lisa the Painful and Undertale. It would be safe to say that the world and the side stories play like Undertale, but the main lore is more like Lisa. Also one non RPG that had a huge impact was Rhythm Heaven Fever.

• Can you tell me more about the story in Away From Home? 

To simplify a ton of complexity, the surface level is that you and the main character are separate beings. You control the main character against their will. The world they live in can only exist if you are in it, so when you close the game, their world will cease to exist. Once they become aware of this, it’ll lead to a very complex storyline.

• What inspired the team to combine classic JRPG mechanics with rhythm game mechanics?

Originally my goal was to make a system that had all the strategy of turn based combat, while having real time combat. We created a system where you had to watch what attacks your opponent would throw and react accordingly. Eventually we realized the system we made, if we just timed the attacks to the music, it would be both a real time strategy combat system and a rhythm game.

• Away From Home features rhythm based battles, will there be difficulty options available or will players all have the same level of difficulty for each battle?

Currently we are nerfing the demo right now because we made the beginning area too hard. The difficulty will work very similarly to games like Borderlands 2. There are levels and things you want unlocked before moving on, but if a player is good enough, they can skip missions and take on bosses straight away. Side missions will level you up, give you money, and unlock new items and moves for your character. The more side missions you do, the easier the game will be.

For example you can unlock an item that slows the battle down for 30 seconds, so if you feel it’s moving too fast you can use that item. Whereas a rhythm pro can skip all the side missions and try to take on a boss at level 1. They might die in 3-5 hits, but that tends to be the challenge rhythm game players want. The best way to explain all of this is, if you play the game more like an RPG, it’ll fit what the RPG player wants and if you play the game more like a rhythm game, it’ll fit what that player wants.

• Away From Home will have players completing main quests and side quests, will players be able to explore the world freely in order to complete these quests or is it more of a linear adventure?

The game is VERY open world. It may even be overwhelming to some players. Each area will have a main mission to move the story, but they are usually difficult and will require the player to unlock things and level up from side missions. Each side mission is unique with special events, characters, and battles. Some locations in the game even have events and battles based on chance and player choices.

• Can you tell me more about the animation in the game? Your Steam mentioned you have a team of talented artists. How many folks have worked on the art for the game?

We pride ourselves on having some of the most fluent animations of any indie RPG. In fact the final battle of Away From Home is animated at 60 fps. I am the lead artist of the game currently. We commissioned things on and off from about 5-6 artists over 7-8 years. Including some cutscenes made by the artist of the game Blasphemous. All the artists on this game understand fluent pixel animation as well as how to sub-pixel. I will have their names in the credits.

• When playing the demo, it reminded me of classic cartoons I used to watch as a kid. Were there any cartoons that you watched when you were younger that helped inspire the design of any of the characters?

The main inspiration of the art for the game is Mario and Luigi, Bowser's inside story, but this game has an insane level of cartoon influences. I loved many cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ren and Stimpy, Johnny Bravo, Chowder, and many more. You can actually see direct influenced characters from those as side mission characters in the game, like knock off bravo over here.

• What does “indie” mean to you?

Self-made: in other words made without the funding, influence, or help of major corporations. At least that’s how I see it.

Away From Home is available to wishlist on Steam.