Goblin Cleanupis a fantasy-themed, co-op simulation game where players step into the shoes of a goblin cleaner in a tower ruled by a mysterious Dark Lord. In a twist on the idea of traditional, fantasy dungeon-crawling, it’s up to players to clean and rearrangeGoblin Cleanup’s various procedurally generated dungeons before the next heroes arrive.Goblin Cleanuplooks to offer a different approach than most cleaning sims with some intriguing mechanics and future plans for its levels. It also utilizes often belovedhigh fantasy tropeswith its Dark Lord figure, a character who looks to play a significant endgame role.
Game Rant recently interviewed the studio behindGoblin Cleanup, Crisalu Games, comprised of senior gameplay programmer Santiago Arriazu, senior technical artist/programmer Cristian Trinidad Lima, and senior 3D artist Lucas Rollano. Arriazu explained Cleanup’s inspirations, including the concept of the Dark Lord and how it fits into its overall gameplay. Arriazu also talked more about how the game’s procedurally generated levels work and much more.The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Inspirations For A Dungeon-Cleaning Simulator And The Dark Lord
Q: What inspired you to create a dungeon-cleaning simulation game?
A: The idea came to me in an online session with friends of the typicalRPG where you complete dungeonsto get items and rewards (I don’t really remember the name). At one point, waiting for my party, I entered the dungeon first, killed some enemies, broke some things that were around as soon as you enter (barrels, crates, etc), and left the dungeon. When I re-entered, I saw that everything I killed and broke was restored. Then I asked myself “Why does it work like that? SOMEONE must do it.”
Q: Were there any video game inspirations forGoblin Cleanup’s cleaning tools and mechanics, such as fromViscera Cleanup DetailandDungeons and Dragons?
A: Honestly, it wasn’t something like a direct inspiration, like “Ok, let’s copy this tool from a certain game,” but more like trying to convert tools that are used for everyday cleaning into a “dungeon/medieval” version. It was more like we needed a tool to clean up blood: what items or monsters are in the dungeons? We need something to remove slimes full of blood or human remains - what monster/tool is there? So most of the elements of the game areinspired by theD&Dworld.
Q: What inspired the lore and character of the Dark Lord?
A: Basically, it’s a cliché. In the world of Anime/manga and games in general, the story of “the dungeon with the demon lord or whatever evil entity” is used a lot. We just gave it a more… contemporary feel. You could say that The Dungeon is a big corporation where the CEO is the Dark Lord, and he hires the goblin cleaning company to clean the dungeon for the next guests (adventurers).
Goblin Cleanup’s Creatures And Monsters
Q: Could you tell us more about dungeon creatures like the Shadow Cat?
A: InGoblin Cleanup, you’re able to’t kill creatures, but they can kill you. The purpose of the creature is to complicate the dungeon cleanup in different ways. When the game starts, the monster may be dead (because the adventurers defeated it), so your job is to revive it and return it to its room, or the monster may never have been defeated and remains in its room.
In the case of the first creature we announced, the Shadow Cat, it is a cat that is attracted to light sources, which means it will move to any nearby torch to extinguish it. This means you will have a new torch to light for the task of restoring the dungeon to be fully complete.
This, coupled with theLight and Dark mechanicwe’re working on - where if you stay too long in a dark place you could be attacked by another creature. We think this will make for some very fun situations.
Q: How do players tame monsters, and what kinds of monsters might they find?
A: You don’t get to tame them at 100%, since they never lose their “wild” state influenced by the dungeon. But you can “guide” or “manipulate” them at some point to keep going. For example, the Shadow Cat eats light. So you might use a tool to create light or make a road with torches. Remember the PS1 gameSheep Rider? Same as the sheep with cabbages. You move the cat with light sources. As for the monsters, we are still deciding, but players could find a tied-up angry dragon, a sleeping grumpy old necromancer, a snow golem missing its heart, and many other fun surprises.
Procedural Generated Levels And Player Progression
Q: Could you tell us about the procedurally generated levels, and how levels change as players progress?
A: Theprocedural levelsmainly exist because we don’t want the players to be cleaning over and over again the same layouts. We want to give as much replayability as we can. Of course, if you keep pumping up your “employee level”, the dungeons will be less forgiving and more complex, with more rooms and traps, as well as better rewards once finished.
Q: The demo currently lists 4 floors with 13 levels in total – how many levels and floors do you hope to have at launch?
A: We are planning an early access at the end of the year, so we were thinking of having 13 levels. After that, we plan to keep updating the game with way more levels and thematic dungeons, like a desert pyramid dungeon, a giant ghost pirate ship, a medieval Chinese castle, and many more. Expanding that way, players can see the lore of the world that we are making and the different cultures that coexist in it.
Co-op Gameplay In Goblin Cleanup
Q: How might friends help or hinder players’ cleaning progress during co-op?
A: Of course, 4 hands clean faster than 2, not even mentioning 8 hands. We want to give all kinds of players tools to have a great experience. For example, a competitive group of friends can share tasks, plan a strategy to clean everything as fast as they can, and everyone can have a “role” in the cleaning squad. Someone can be the slime carrier, another the Slimop cleaner, others can arrange the furniture, and so on.
For the players that want to have a fun time and just chill, we don’t want the game to put pressure on them, even if you or your friends keep dying. That’s why there is no “you lose” screen. You get fewer rewards than the try-hard ones, but you’ll keep progressing anyway. Also, that’s why we are making the art “grotesquely funny.” We want players to have a laugh,die in unsuspected ways, experience funny situations that we are making and thinking of, so everyone can have their own experience and their own way of playing our game.
Character Customization And What Happens If You Run Out Of Time
Q: Could you explain how players customize their characters after earning money from clearing dungeons?
A: Players will be able toearn moneydepending on how well they clean the dungeon. They can use that money to change the character’s face, hair, torso, and legs. You can also choose between male or female goblins. Not only that, they can change the appearance of their tools.
Q: What happens if you don’t clean and prepare the dungeon on time – will players get to see the heroes or meet the Dark Lord at any point?
A: You can leave the level whenever you want, you just have to go to an end-of-turn layer and touch it. It is the way the levels will be completed in the future.
Based on how you cleaned and organized the level, you will have more or less money reward and more or less experience as an employee (necessary to advance through the floors). So there is no way to lose. If you do it wrong, you will earn fewer rewards. If you do it 100%, you will have the maximum possible rewards for that level with for the extra effort.
This game mechanic will change on the last floor, where we will actually meet the Dark Lord. Although for the Dark Lord, we are simple unimportant cleaning staff to crush without blinking, we ascleaning professionalsmust clean the level, even if it is quite a challenge. And who knows, we may even help him defeat his enemies behind the scenes.
Public Demo Feedback And Future Plans
Q: What have you learned so far from the public demo and has any feedback been particularly surprising or helpful?
A: We have a small community on Discord, very active, constantly giving ideas, testing the game, and giving feedback in general. Those guys are great, and we love them all!
Based on that feedback, we change or implement mechanics. Watching them play, we discover that our game has two audiences, one who seeks to have a chill moment playing alone, and another who is more casual and seeks to laugh atsilly deathsand funny situations with friends. So everything we do is thinking about both ways of seeing the game.
Q: Do you have any changes or additions planned in addition to the roadmap since the release of the demo?
A: Yes, of course. The game is constantly evolving and changing, and we plan to continue adding new mechanics, improvements, and changes to the current demo.
We have talked a lot about our roadmap, and we have several things to add. Without going any further in the next update, we will have new traps such as a giant crossbow, fire slimes, a sanctuary where you can change the respawn, new restorable objects, a new tool, and even a new immersive tutorial, so new players feel less lost.
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