At Insider Gaming, we pride ourselves on being able to recognise super-sharp indie projects positively bursting at the seams with potential. Recently, I caught up with Bigfry, content creator extraordinaire and an ambitious developer working on Transience, an all-new ‘Tactical Stealth Action FPS’ that simply shines.
It takes a lot to grab my attention, and from the moment I saw in-development gameplay posted online showcasing Transience in all its glory, I was well and truly hooked. I knew that I had to contact Bigfry to seek as much information as possible about the project – and by doing so, I was exposed to an insightful breakdown of the journey that he and his team have undergone over the last 12 months.
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Read on to learn everything you could possibly need to know about Transience and the path Bigfry Media Ltd is taking to deliver it.
‘Sam Fisher x John Wick in Texas in 2056’
From a face-value perspective, Transience looks like a solid shooter with a firm foundation. It’s attractive, boasts clean effects and graphics, and there’s a great synopsis that promises a mysterious, unique, and action-packed story:
Become an Accountant – a hired mercenary who keeps the books balanced by any means necessary. This time though, you are the intended target. Take a journey through New Houston in the year 2056 and follow one man’s tale of redemption as he escapes Transience.
However, when you start digging into the project, you learn how it’s something else entirely – it’s not just a generic shooter, and there’s a little more flesh on the bones of this in-development indie game. That’s the gist of what I learned during my catch-up with Bigfry, who was quick to explain the inspirations behind this Tactical Stealth Action game.
‘So, our main inspirations for Transience come from Max Payne, Splinter Cell, and Rainbow Six. Imagine if you pulled Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell and dropped him into John Wick set in a dystopian Texas in 2056. That’s our game.’
There are a few elements in Transience that really stand out, such as on-the-fly weapon customisation created to avoid ‘bogging the player down with menus’ and to better match the theme of a desperate man on the run. There’s a unique suit system called the Nitro-capsule Gilded Undersuit that is reminiscent of Crysis’ CryNet Nanosuit, and there are comic-book-style cutscenes that lend themselves perfectly to the gritty storytelling that’s apparently present in the game.
‘Make a Good Game and Don’t Gouge the Customer’
As I spoke with Bigfry, I was lucky enough to get an insight into the development journey of Transience, which – according to the man himself – started off with very aggressive expectations. There was an original goal to have Transience completed within six months, but as the path pushed ever onwards, more team members came on board and the project became infinitely more ambitious.
Bigfry explained:
‘In terms of wanting things done in six months, that was very aggressive and definitely a bit more hopeful from my side. Realistically, it was an internal goal early on, based on the budget we put together and the people we were contracting. I think I knew in my heart that this would be a longer project, especially once you get in it – you want everything to be perfect.’
When it came down to financing, Bigfry told me that he and his team are supporting the development of Transience out of their own pocket, and they’re not asking for paid pre-orders, Kickstarters or Patreons. It’s part of a desire to not pull hard-earned money out of the wallets of eager gamers:
‘From my perspective, the selling point for my community is a solid Tactical Stealth Action FPS wrapped up in an awesome world and story, for a cheap price. Our plan is to sell the game between $10 – $15 and prove to everyone that you can make a good game and not gouge the customer base.’
When I asked exactly what Bigfry Media Ltd is delivering to back up that claim, the response I received was very encouraging:
‘We have one of the best Player Controllers in the industry, a fully voiced narrative, and a great set of environments and we’re not planning on doing anything with microtransactions or live service. You get a great game for a really cheap price and there are no other catches and I think that is refreshing.’
Transience Has a Future
From an all-new, intriguing world to some of the deepest weapon customisation I’ve seen in an indie game of late, and from a genuinely interesting story concept to addressing a genre that could absolutely be more populated, there are plenty of aspects to Transience that should interest prospective fans.
I spoke to Bigfry about the future of Transience, asking what’s next. It’s starting out its life as a single-player project, but it won’t end there. For those that know Bigfry, they’ll recognise that he’s an avid fan of multiplayer gaming, and I wanted to find out if that would eventually bleed into Transience.
‘We want to build Transience as a Single-Player only title and if it sells well enough and people like the world we’ve built, make a sequel that features a full 2-4 player co-op campaign. This way, we can test networking on a small scale and we still don’t need to amass a large audience to keep the game alive.’
What Bigfry said next really spoke to me, as he referenced one of my favourite franchises from when I was younger:
‘We want to crawl before we walk before we run. I am a HUGE fan of the old SOCOM series, and my dream game is a 3rd person Tactical Shooter that features 8v8 multiplayer and I know with this team and the talent these guys all have, if the stars align on this project, we can get there one day!’
Set Your Schedule
Bigfry explained that the team is looking at 2024 for the first release of Transience. He highlighted several concerns that are ongoing but also backed up those worries with an explanation of how hard everyone is working on Transience from a development perspective.
‘Realistically, we’re just putting the puzzle pieces together at this point. Our programmer is working on AI, the environment team is still creating levels, while also doubling back when new props are made to fill out previous areas, music and sound are still being designed and we have two weapons left on our list to model and rig up. Right now, we have a lot of work left, but everyone is kind of working in tandem with each other.’
In closing, Bigfry said:
‘All I can ask is that you check the game out on Steam, check my YouTube channel for the devlogs and if you like what we’re doing, wishlist the game and follow along.’
Here’s the link to check out Bigfry’s devlogs, and this is where you can go to wishlist Transience on Steam.
I for one am extremely excited about Transience!
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