Rake in Grass is a small but flourishing independent game development studio in the Czech Republic. They’ve brought us gems like Jets’N'Guns and Styrateg. We interviewed producer Pavel Tovarys to find out more about Rake in Grass, including their latest game offering Archibald’s Adventures.

CR: Can you tell us a little bit about your team - where did you come from before Rake in Grass, and why did you start the company?

All of us are game developing veterans. We have started to develop games in the 8-bit era - so 15-20 years ago. But the game developing was only a hobby for us until recently. We (3 members until today) joined Rake In Grass about 8 years ago and we started our professional career 3-4 years ago, because we didn’t want to take any boring jobs. And sure - we wanted to create our own games.

CR: OK, Jets’N'Guns is just a really neat game. Who had the cool idea to mix old planes and spaceships, and where did the other great ideas in the game come from?

The creators of Rake In Grass are Jiri Prochazka (programming) and Frantisek Chmelar (game art and design). Frantisek - the man with thousands of fantastic ideas - designed almost the whole game, so he has the main merit for how the game is.

CR: The Jets’N'Guns Gold version was really packed with new content, which made us all very happy. When do we get another blast of Jets’N'Guns content, and what can we look forward to?

Nobody knows. We don’t plan to start to create a sequel any time soon, so we are not sure. But I hope we will return to the game in the future.

CR: We have to ask - what is the story behind the name of Styrateg?

I loved an idea of one very old game developing company from the 8-bit game era, which used misspelled names for their games. So the name Styrateg comes from the word “strategy”. A small contest for your readers: if you remember the name of the company, send it to me and we will give you some small present

CR: Larva Mortis is a really dark game for the “Casual Audience” more used to Diner Dash and Cake Mania. How are you finding the right audience for your games?

As you can see, almost all of our games are not classic casual games. Our games are more difficult to play. They are for players who like more complex and challenging games. And the audience - it is as pop and rock in music. Casual games are pop, our games are rock. And there are a lot of pop listeners, who like rock too. But I must say that there is a problem with casual games distributors - they want only the pop Our games are sold less then the classic casual titles, because they need more experienced players. But we like to develop something more than simple games. And it is important for us.

CR: One of the key elements in your games is sound - from the great ambient grooves behind Styrateg to the pounding beat of Jets’N'Guns. Can you tell us a little more about where you make the music for your games?

Almost every score in our games is created by a different composer or interpreter. We usually try to find the best music style for each title. For example, the music in Jets’n'Guns (action shooter) was created by Machinae Supremacy, a great Swedish rock band. But the music in Styrateg (a fantasy medieval game) was performed by two groups, Psalteria and Krless - they play original medieval music.

CR: Rake in Grass has a very active forum, with almost 50K users and thousands of posts. What is it that gets your users so involved in your game community?

The most of the users are inactive, so we can call only a small part of them “our community”. But some people have been in contact with us for a couple of years and they are also very helpful in the developing process. We try to listen to them and discuss their ideas. Maybe they are so active because they know they are heard. Or maybe we are just lucky.

CR: Rake in Grass is a Czech-based company. Can you tell our readers a little bit about making games in your hometown?

I think it is similar to other countries. However, Czech republic is not as supportive to developers as, for example, Canada. In the past, living here was cheaper so the game developing was more profitable than it is today.

CR: What have you got coming up in the future?

We released a new game a few days ago - Archibald’s Adventures. It is a Platformer combining action and logic elements. I hope we will release a small medieval strategy game in 1 or 2 months. It will be targeted for the casual market. But our plans for the farther future still must remain secret, sorry.

CR: Thank you very much for the interview and we’re looking forward to more games from Rake In Grass!

Visit Rake in Grass’s website at www.rakeingrass.com, and check out their latest game Archibald’s Adventures. Stay tuned to Casual Review for more interviews with your favorite developers.