We recently had the chance to speak to Senior Creative Director for Behaviour Interactive’s Meet Your Maker, Ash Pannell. Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve spoken to one of the team about their latest building and raiding game, with Pierre Rivest lending us his time at launch.
This time around though, we’re three months into the game and lesson have been learned by the development team, and now we face a new type of threat, the game’s first fully fledged add-on, Dreadshore.
Ash Pannell talks Dreadshore – What is it, and what shall we expect?
Being the focus of the interview we chose to spend our time with Ash primarily talking about the upcoming (now released) add-on, how it came about, the inspiration behind it and his personal favourites.
Q. We’re three months on since release of the base game, and now we’re at a point where you’re releasing your first piece of the roadmap, Dreadshore. In those three months, what have you changed about the development process to better reflect the players and their habits?
A: The change happened as soon as we launched Meet Your Maker last April. Over the past three months, the goal was to actively listen to player feedback and make the needed adjustments to better align with their vision of our game.
We’ve established regular feedback loops, actively engaged with players on social media platforms, and utilized surveys and forums to gather insights directly from our community. By actively monitoring these channels, we’ve been able to adapt our development process more effectively, incorporating player-driven ideas and addressing concerns efficiently. We’ve also been analyzing player behavior and gameplay data, to allow us to make informed decisions and refine the game experience based on player habits and preferences.
Most recently, those conversations allowed us to introduce new features such as refilling Mastered Outposts, fixed rewards and a more balanced ranking system.
Q. How did you come up with the idea of Dreadshore? The look is so different to everything included in the main game. What inspired it?
A: We drew inspiration from various sources, including movies, literature, gaming and even childhood games like building forts in the garden. We also looked to classic New England architecture and coastal landscapes for inspiration. Additionally, the eerie tales of maritime legends played a significant role in shaping the unique and haunting atmosphere of Dreadshore.
With this new content update, we wanted to take the player to a new distinct vibe and feeling. Dreadshore’s driving rain, dark, and moody aesthetic are completely different to that of the Red Sands. The changes to the lighting and atmosphere change the mood for Raiders and give Builders a totally new narrative tool to set their levels, expanding the possibilities of their Meet Your Maker journey.
Q. What is the story of the Sanctuary involved in Dreadshore?
A: Dreadshore is the location of an abandoned Sanctuary housed beneath a lighthouse. Within, Advisors were constantly cloned so cruel experiments could be performed upon them. One person escaped, killing the out-of-control Custodian and Chimera on their way out.
The new blocks and decopacks represent the lighthouse that stood over this doomed Sanctuary. Those customizations are part of the remnants of the location, collected by your Sanctuary.
Q. With the introduction of Nautilus, you’re introducing a defensive side to Meet Your Maker. What prompted this, as the game certainly seems to encourage fast, aggressive gameplay?
A: The introduction of Nautilus, a Custodian focused on defense, was a deliberate choice to offer players a different playstyle option within Meet Your Maker. While the game does suggest fast-paced gameplay, we also wanted to provide a strategic counterbalance that rewards defensive tactics and fortification. Nautilus brings a new layer of depth to the game by encouraging players to consider defensive strategies when raiding an Outpost. The addition of Nautilus enriches the overall meta and provides players with more opportunities to tailor their playstyle to their preferences. It’s also worth noting that the defensive weapons do not only promote slow and methodical play – in fact they are highly prized amongst speed runners. You should see what they are doing with the perks already!
Q. What is YOUR favourite addition from Dreadshore?
A: For me it’s the demolition canon followed closely by the Ravager. I am very much a fun and gun type player, so it’s all about the Sledgeblade – Demolition Canon loadout, now I am a real wrecking ball. I also carry three grenades with me as well – you know for even more wrecking ability. Obviously, the downside is literally zero defensive capability and the chance of blowing myself up is extremely high – but that’s the fun!
Ash Pannell talks Future Sectors and Narrative Content?
Given the studios other major success Dead by Daylight, we absolutely had to ask a few relevant questions to the strategy used by that game, primarily content wise.
Q. Will each sector be significantly different to a previous one?
A: Absolutely! Our intention is to make each sector in Meet Your Maker significantly distinct from the others and allow players to discover piece by piece this post-apocalyptic world. We aim to provide players with new and varied environments, upcoming sectors will introduce new gameplay mechanics, traps, guards, and lore, further expanding the world of Meet Your Maker and offering players a dynamic and evolving experience as they progress through the game.
Q. Do you have any idea how many different sectors and environment you plan on having?
A: The thing we love about Meet Your Maker is how expandable it is – and not only that those expansions are exponential. Adding a new environment or trap is so much more than just a single new item, all the elements combine to create so much more than the sum of their parts So expanding with sectors is a great way to add more variety into the core game.
I can’t go into details just yet, but to give you an idea, we have plans to release new major content updates every 3 months. Our goal is to continually introduce new lore elements, features and environments, ensuring that players have a rich and ever-expanding world to explore. In between those content drops, we’ll continue to support the game with updates to fix issues and make quality of life improvements.
The Meet Your Maker team is committed to providing regular updates to keep players engaged and excited. We will reveal our next roadmap in the upcoming weeks so stay tuned for that!
Q. Do you ever intend to introduce any specific story or narrative mode to the game?
A: We recognize the importance of storytelling and narrative in creating immersive and engaging experiences. While Meet Your Maker currently focuses on the strategic elements of building and raiding, we are actively exploring opportunities to introduce specific story or narrative modes to further enrich the game’s world. We understand that players have a desire to delve deeper into the lore and experience more structured storytelling within the Meet Your Maker universe. Rest assured, we are considering various approaches to integrate compelling narratives into the game, providing players with additional avenues to engage with the world and its characters.
Related: Meet Your Maker Review – Building A Better World (PS5)
Ash Pannell talks Traps, the Meet Your Maker Player Base and Player Suggestions
The new trap and guard from Dreadshore are going to completely revolutionise the way players build and raid, with changes seen to people’s bases within an hour of the new content being released. The Sentry Beam is going to prove to be a difficult trap to overcome, and everything we thought we’d learned has been thrown out the window!
Q. The Sentry Beam is undoubtedly going to change player habits and tactics. How would you suggest players use as well as negate the new trap?
A: The sentry beam is powerful but the fact that it is capable of destroying other traps and guards means dropping it everywhere is a big risk as the clever raider can easily convince it destroy itself. Use it wisely and strategically!
Q. Are you happy with Meet Your Maker’s current player base, and do you think that the regular content planned – similar to the Dead by Daylight strategy – will increase it?
A: We are extremely grateful for the support and enthusiasm shown by the Meet Your Maker community so far, and we believe there is still significant room for growth.
At launch, we received some feedback that, for some players, the game could be perceived as intimidating and take time to grasp. We’ve since actively worked on making it more approachable and adjusting it to meet player needs.
It’s also worth noting that Meet Your Maker is really two games running as one the building game and the raiding game. As a result, there’s a lot of feedback about both the building and the raiding separately, but we are confident that responding to how our engaged players want to shape both of these gameplays we are optimistic that more players will come. We’re quite happy to see that new players are joining every day, and the critical reception of Dreadshore has been overwhelmingly positive. With our planned regular content updates and ongoing improvements, we are confident that Meet Your Maker’s player base will continue to expand and thrive in the long term!
Q. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since the game has launched?
A: One of the most important lessons we’ve learned since the game’s launch is the immense value of player feedback and community engagement. The Meet Your Maker community has been amazing at providing us with valuable insights, suggestions, and critiques. We’ve learned the significance of actively listening to our players, adapting to their preferences, and continually improving the game based on their feedback. This iterative process allows us to create a better experience, foster a stronger bond with our community, and ensure that Meet Your Maker evolves in a direction that resonates with our players’ desires and expectations.
Q. What is your favourite custodian and primary weapon, and why?
A: I always have a soft spot for the latest content we put out so I’d have to go with Nautilus and, as I mentioned before, the Demolition Cannon. The introduction of the new Custodian explores a defensive-gameplay style we haven’t seen in Meet Your Maker yet. All 3 perks greatly buff the Arc Barrier’s capabilities. It adds value to players who love a defensive weapon.
As for the primary weapon, the Demolition Cannon is powerful, portable, and delivers an explosive payload in a reusable shell causing tremendous damage. It’s very satisfying to use!
Q. What’s the most surprising and ingenious use of a trap/base build you’ve come across?
A: One standout example was a base created by popular streamer Otzdarva. In this design, he cleverly trapped raiders in a chimney, placing a bolt trap at the bottom. What made this design particularly remarkable is that bolts in the game follow gravity, so surviving raiders were then caught off guard as the bolts descended back down the chimney. This is just one instance among many others that showcase the incredible level of innovation within our player base. If you’re curious to see the entirety of Otzdarva’s base, you can watch it here.
Q. Everyone, myself included, thinks they have the best ideas for traps, weapons etc. What has been the best and worst submitted ideas from fans you’ve had?
A: We greatly appreciate the passion and creativity of our fans, and their ideas and suggestions are a constant source of inspiration for us. While we’ve received a multitude of fantastic and innovative ideas from the community during, for example, the Reddit AMAs that we do, it’s challenging to single out specific ones as the “best” or “worst.” We carefully consider each submission, evaluating their feasibility, impact on the meta, and alignment with the vision of Meet Your Maker.
It’s important to maintain a balance between introducing new content and ensuring a cohesive and enjoyable gameplay experience for all players. We’ve had plenty of great ideas submitted… and well, some pretty funny ones too let’s be honest!
Q. Lastly, what are you most proud of, both in the base game, but also Dreadshore?
A: Ultimately, I am proud that we were able to create a game that has two such divergent gameplay types and being able to bring them together into a coherent single game. We set out to make a different type of User Generated Content game, a game where everyone had an equal chance of being played, and that is hugely interesting and different to the way it is traditionally done. This brings unique challenges that we set out to overcome and it’s not until Players play it that you understand exactly how it will all work.
What do you make of the first add-on to hit Meet Your Maker? Have you played much of Dreadshore? Let us know in the comments!
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
