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Backpack Hero team lead on game influences and design challenges

Learn more about Backpack Hero in our recent interview with the owner of Jasper LLC and team lead, Jasper Cole

Morgan Shaver

August 26, 2022 11:40 AM

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Backpack Hero is a unique deck-building roguelike indie that released back on August 15 to a plethora of positive reviews. In the game, players need to pay special attention to item organization, with inventory placement directly impacting how much power you have in combat. Eager to learn more about the game, Shacknews’ own Greg Burke recently sat down with Jasper Cole, owner of Jaspel LLC and team lead on Backpack Hero.

Opening the interview, Jasper is asked to talk a bit more about Backpack Hero as an inventory management game and how it blends that feature with other gameplay elements. On this, Jasper notes that roguelike games, card game ones in particular where cards are collected and used in combat, served as inspiration especially in terms of things like strategic card placement. “Over time, this sort of placement mechanic evolved into the inventory management mechanic which you see in the game now,” Jasper explains.

Going deeper into specific inspirations, he goes on to point to card games like Slay The Spire and strategy roguelikes such as Into The Breach and XCOM. Meanwhile, on the inventory management side of things, Jasper refers to the original Deus Ex and its intricate grid-based inventory system as being an inspiration.

Touching on how Backpack Hero was created by a small team, some of the challenges in creating the game are brought up in terms of balancing time between the project and work. On this, Jasper explains the situation as being one that started as a part-time passion project, that later grew into something requiring a bit more focus.

For more on the development of Backpack Hero including how the game grew, its development, and more on how its inventory management system works, be sure to watch the full interview over on GamerHubTV. While you’re there, be sure to subscribe to GamerHubTV and the Shacknews YouTube channels if you haven’t already for even more awesome gaming content!

Morgan Shaver

Senior Editor

Morgan is a writer from the frozen wastelands of Maine who enjoys metal music, kpop, horror, and indie games. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver.