Tails of Iron 2 Interview

My interview with Jack Bennett, co-founder and Producer at Odd Bug Studio; during Gamescom 2024:

Gamescom 2024 provided the opportunity for us to interview Jack Bennet, Co founder and Producer in Odd Bugs Studio, about the second installment of Tails of Iron.

It has been almost two years since the first interview between you and me for Tails of Iron, and I am very happy that we were able to interview you again for Tails of Iron 2.

1- From my hands-on experience with the game, I noticed some similarities between its story and Game of Thrones. It feels like Tails of Iron 2 is talking about a world with a dark past that has been forgotten over the years, but that darkness is about to return to the land of mice. Is my feeling about the story correct?

Yeah, Game of Thrones was a big influence for us. We really like the way that the characters and the world evolve over time and how the characters actions have consequences. This is something that we try to replicate in our games. We want the world of Tails of Iron to feel like a living, breathing world, and in turn for the characters to feel real within it. In that way, it’s interesting to see how the different factions in the world interact and how different alliances are formed. Put together, this creates a world with unique stories that really allows the player to get involved and begin to craft their own stories within it.

As you mention, another thing that we really enjoy about Game of Thrones is the darkness, the fact that any character can be killed at any time, that sense of tension and unease is great and definitely something we want to try, and create in Tails of Iron.

 

 

2- Can you explain more about whether the story in Tails of Iron 2 is a prequel or a sequel? 

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a direct sequel to Tails of Iron 1, although this time we follow a different character in Arlo, and it takes place in the North of the Ratdom. If you played the bloody whisker tournament in Tails of Iron 1 then you will already have met Arlo when he was younger fighting alongside his father Avor Warden of the North. Tails of Iron 2 is set a few years after the events of the first game, and now Arlo is all grown up and able to wield an axe!

3– I noticed that Tails of Iron 2 features something like grappling. Do we have any other new mechanics or features compared to the first game?

Yeah, there are lots of new mechanics in Tails of Iron 2! Like you say, we have the grapple hook which is used to quickly travel around the level section, coupled with Arlo’s ability to sprint means that players should be able to quickly go from battle to battle. In addition to this, we now also have fast travel, so players are able to quickly travel from one side of the map to the other, which should significantly reduce players back tracking.

In terms of combat, we also have a number of new mechanics! The most prominent being the addition of elemental conditions. Players are able to craft new weapons and armors that can for example have poison damage or fire-resistant and in turn monsters and enemies in the world will also do elemental damage such as fire or ice damage. This then all flows nicely into our hunting and crafting systems, which allow the player to go out and hunt a specific beast to then carve parts from it which are used in crafting to create weapons and armors with new elemental damages and resistances. In this way, players should really be able to create a set of equipment that suits their play style.

4- In the Tails of Iron’s DLC, we saw new Katanas. Can we expect to see new weapons, especially new Katanas, in Tails of Iron 2?

There’s even more weapons and armors in Tails of Iron 2 than there were in the original! All of the weapons and armors are now crafted through the smithy. Going out and completing hunts and quests will reward the player with materials and gold that they can then take back to the smithy to craft or upgrade new weapons and armors. This way players are able to find equipment that suits the way they like to play whilst also allowing them to experiment with different combinations of gear to create the perfect load out of them.

5- How long did it take to develop Tails of Iron 2, and can you provide more information about its release date?

We started development of Tails of Iron 2 directly after completing development on Tails of Iron 1, so it’s taken us roughly 3 years of work to finish Tails 2 even though the playtime of Tails 2 is roughly double that of the original game! Tails of Iron 2 Whiskers of Winter is slated for release in February 2025 and is available to wishlist now on steam!

 

6- Is the team that worked on this project the same as the original team, or have there been any changes? 

Yeah, it’s the same core team on Tails of Iron 2, although we have had an expanded audio team and an additional artist for a couple of months, but in reality we’re still the same 5 guys that worked on Tails of Iron 1.

7- If you have a massage for the audience of Bazinameh, we’ll be happy to hear it. 

At Odd Bug studio, we’re just super excited to get Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter out there and into peoples paws! We feel like we’ve remedied a lot of the issues that people had with Tails of Iron 1 whilst also adding more mechanics to the game, so hopefully it’s everything that players want. We just can’t wait to see our fans dive back into the Ratdom. For now, follow us on x @oddbugstudio to stay up to date with everything Tails of Iron!