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Brenda Romero's inspiration for Empire of Sin dates back to her childhood

Shacknews catches up with Brenda Romero, the Game Director on Empire of Sin to talk about inspirations, game mechanics, and more.

Josh Hawkins

September 4, 2019 12:30 PM

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The 1920s were a bustling time for criminal empires to expand and grow. In Empire of Sin, players will be transported back to the ‘roaring 20s’ to become the boss and build their own criminal empire. While visiting Gamescom this year we had the chance to sit down and talk with Brenda Romero, the Game Director on Empire of Sin to talk about her inspirations for the game, some of the mechanics it focuses on, and how well it’s being received thus far.

There is a lot to take in when it comes to Empire of Sin. Not only is the game set to be a turn-based strategy game, but players will need to manage their criminal empire and everything as it grows. When speaking with Brenda Romero about the game and her inspirations for it, she cited several sources, including Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and Peaky Blinders.

However, according to Romero, “the original inspiration goes back to my mom refusing to answer my question.” She continued the story after smiling, “I grew up in a town in northern New York, and it was on the Canadian border. So, there was a bar that was the oldest, continuously operating bar in the United States called The Place. And I wanted to know a simple question; how come they didn’t shut it down? And my mom didn’t want to say, ‘well you know, it’s a grey area, cops are dirty’. There’s not a chance she was going to tell me that. So, she didn’t answer the question and I became fascinated with the time period and I’ve had that fascination for 30 plus years.”

The interview continues for quite a bit as we talk more about the game’s inspirations and then dive a bit deeper into the mechanics that players will encounter. You can check it out yourself above. Empire of Sin is currently set to release sometime in 2020, though Gamescom was the first time that press got to see the game and play it for themselves. For more great interviews like this, be sure to head over and subscribe to both Shacknews and GamerhubTV on YouTube.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.