Interview with the Team Behind Muffles’ Life Sentence
The Six One Indie team had heard about Muffles’ Life Sentence a handful of weeks before they submitted for our May showcase. So, needless to say, we were stoked that they were interested in being a part of the show. Muffles’ Life Sentence is silly, weird, and super fun - all things that we can absolutely get behind.
Thank you very much to Krista and Austin from the Muffles team for answering my questions.
Can you tell me more about the team behind Muffle’s Life Sentence and how the game came about?
The Bossypino team is made up of Krista (producer and marketing), and me, Austin (making the game). Work on Muffles actually started when Krista pushed me to start trying to make my own art around a year ago, and from that the character Dee was born. I remember turning to her and whispering, “Oh no. I think I might have to make a game about this weird little guy.”
[note from Krista: This is Bossy and his very first portrait, just after making it.]
Why did the team decide to offer episode one for free for players?
Episode one is free because… it’s a weird game! Players might not know what they are in for exactly, and we want them to be able to play through the start before committing to going on the whole journey with us. Also this is the biggest project I’ve ever worked on and I can’t do it alone. Making episode one free has helped gain more community feedback, which in turn has made Muffles 1000% better.
Muffles’ Life Sentence is a story-based RPG with deckbuilding combat. Can you explain a bit more about how deckbuilding works in the game?
Deckbuilding was my way to let players express themselves creatively and build unique play styles within the MLS world. When you cut off a character's face, you gain their cards too, meaning building a deck is kind of like building a new identity for Muffles. It’s not a roguelite, meaning you keep your cards and can try weird combinations and strategies whenever. Of course, this means players have already found a dozen ways to totally break the game- but I love that!
What inspired the choice to use different color palettes for each episode?
I started learning art while making this game, and I’m still learning a lot. Visual constraints are very helpful, and only using 3 colors is a big one. Because I knew the game would be released episodically, I wanted each to really contrast each other visually and fit the feeling of that episode. I think the episode three palette is my best yet, but it could just be that I've stared at the previous ones for too long.
Each new episode of the game will explore new regions of an island nation of prisons. Will each episode follow the same characters and/or introduce new ones?
Each new episode introduces a ton of new characters and companions. Muffles is a bit of a blank slate, and constantly dropping them into insane situations with new characters is too fun not to do. But many of the character stories I’ve written last longer than one episode, meaning you’ll see familiar faces- especially the ones currently living in Muffles’ mind.
Muffles’ Life Sentence has a fantastic soundtrack. We noticed that there was some different music between episodes 1 and 2. Will each new episode have its own musical vibe?
Thank you! I’ve been a musician most of my life and love a lot of different types of music. A lot of my expression in MLS ends up being through audio, actually.
I love writing new songs that match the tone and setting of each new episode. At the end of the day, I’m really just trying to make some spooky bops. I guess it makes sense I want players to have something nice to listen to, considering Muffles doesn’t make much sound on their own.
Were there any games/RPGs that inspired Muffles’ Life Sentence?
Paper Mario. I loved it growing up, specifically the companion system. Making new friends and learning about the world through them and their abilities is so good.
I was introduced to OFF a long time ago and it has occupied a space in my brain since then (like a lovely little brain parasite). OFF was the game that showed me a small team making a whole world was even possible.
Slay the Spire is THE deckbuilder, and is so simple and pure and it really influenced a lot of the combat I wanted to give players. I love the way it ties cards and strategies with certain characters.
What’s one of your favorite, totally useless/silly things that you’ve implemented into the game? (I’m in love with the little cowboy hat.)
The hats are very well loved and you can bet there’s a new one for Episode 3!! It’s hard to pick but the Resentful Rubber Duck from Episode 2 comes to mind. Pushing that pile of rubber ducks off that minecart track… if only the player knew what horrors they had set in motion.
What does “indie” mean to you?
To me, indie means putting as little space between a creator and their art as possible. It’s cool people making cool stuff for other cool people. Indie games seem to be where the most risky, innovative, and emotional games are being made, and I am constantly inspired by the amazing stuff people make.
Muffles’ Life Sentence Episode 1 is available for free on Steam. You can also grab Episode 2 right now with Episode 3 coming soon.