Summary
Since 2021, Theorycraft Games has been working on a game code named “Project Loki.” Today, the studio, staffed by veterans from Bungie, Blizzard, and Riot Games, officially christened the title asSupervive, a deliberately chaotic, delightfully anarchic fusion of MOBAs and Battle Royale. While the game won’t enter public open beta until later this year, and theindiestudio is staying humble about the game’s prospects, the entire team has an enthusiasm behind the title that speaks volumes.
Even thoughSuperviveis still only in alpha, it has a great deal to show for its three years of development to date. Following an impressiveprivate preview ofSupervive, Game Rant had the opportunity to speak with Jessica Nam, the Executive Producer ofSupervive, and Joe Tung, CEO of Theorycraft Games, about the influences behind and ambitions ahead of their innovative new MOBA.
An Amalgamation of Experience
Regarding the lessons he learned during his time as the EVP ofLeague of Legends, as well as the EP ofHaloandDestiny, Tung says “I earned my MFA at Bungie, and my MBA at Riot.” He was also quick to point out that those titles were completely different from each other in everything from mechanics to monetization, so it was difficult to single out any lessons that definedSupervive. But it is exciting to hear that Tung considersTheorycraft Games' debut to be the culmination of his industry experience.
Tung’s initial design goals behindSuperviveseem extremely broad when laid out aloud. Deep replayability was the first focus. Theorycraft Games' wanted to create a game that would “serve certain players needs over the course of thousands of hours,” and countless matches played. The next pillar was rewarding both mastery and belonging in the community. To Tung, these goals are not onlyglobally resonant and broadly appealing, but also “immune to trends,” which is reassuring to hear in an industry susceptible to faddishness. It also speaks of Theorycraft’s commitment to organic fun.
Supervises' Secret Ingredient
Supervivehas a huge number ofcompetitive multiplayerinfluences—whose distinctive quirks “compete with each other as well as compliment each other,” according to Tung. The most prominent common thread that runs through games likeFortnite,Apex Legends,Super Smash Bros, andLeague of Legendshowever, is an extremely high skill ceiling. But Executive Producer Jessica Nam revealed Theorycraft games used a surprising single player title as a reference point to help ease players to the mechanical complexity ofSupervive.
While it may be tempting to assumeBreath of the Wild’s wind gliderswere the primary inspiration behindSupervive’swind gliders, Nintendo’s modern classic had a more foundational influence. Players' abilities to interact with the map needed to feel intuitive. In such a dynamic game, physics needed to feel organic and improvisational rather than deterministic and rigid. Those were the touchstonesSuperviveborrowed fromBreath of the Wildto temper and stabilize the more intimidating technical and competitive elements of its chaotic gameplay.
A Humble Approach to Competition
Both Tung and Nam frequently reiterated that the ways players interacted with and appreciated their game would drive their long-term approach to thefree-to-playtitle. Everything from marketing, to Theorycrafts' approach to narrative, to the games' ultimate esports ambitions would be determined by how players best engage with and enjoy the game. Regarding the game’s competitive aspirations, Tung had a piece of wry wisdom for would-be developers:
“When people ask, ‘are you making the next esport?’ I usually say ‘if people tell you they are making the next esport, they aren’t making the next esport.'” - Joe Tung
Joe did acknowledge that he thinks the potential is there. Many MOBA Casters have already found a lot to love about the title, and high-level play is entertaining to watch. Lore speculation videos have already emerged on YouTube. It makes sense that Theorycraft’s marketing strategy is primarily based on partnering with content creators and influencers to show off the title early on.
Supervivetakes another stride toward that end today, launching a pre-registration site for randomly selected players access to a private alpha session held later this week. Furthermore,Superviveis running aTwitch Drop campaignto allow players to increase their odds at earning a spot in the playtest.
