Game developers anout the game

In the fourth quarter of this year BULT will be released on Steam.

The game's developers Evgeniy Pashkov and Vladislav Petrov shared how they decided to make a game about hunting in Yakutia, what sets their game apart from other similar simulators, and what makes BULT unique

Steam post imageHow did you come up with the idea to create and release a hunting game?

We were sitting by a campfire after an unsuccessful day of hunting, talking, and jokingly said, "Let's make our own simulator and see how ducks behave and why they won't land on a certain lake."

Over many hunting trips, we formed our own vision for such a simulator. We wanted, first and foremost, to make it the way we saw it, so that during the winter off-season, we could enjoy playing it ourselves.

This idea eventually evolved first into a prototype and then into a full-fledged game. Although the game was in a pre-alpha stage when we announced it, we received tremendous feedback from the community that plays these types of games. We realized we had to make a complete game and started investing more effort into it.

What started as a hobby has now become our full-time work. Evgeniy started development on his own, driven by a desire to learn the game engine, while Vladislav handled promotion and marketing.

From the very beginning, we started taking our own photographs because we realized there was nothing quite like our native nature available. There are no high-quality photos in the public domain to use for models and references. We began studying methodologies for photographing bushes and grass to use in BULT. For the same reason, we started recording our own sounds.

How many people are on your team?

The two of us handle the core work.

The other members are outsourced specialists who have been with us for over a year now.

We have two programmers—one for C++ and one for HLSL. We have regular modelers: a Hard Surface artist who creates weapons and works with solid materials, a character artist who works on creating birds and insects, and an animation specialist.

At the very beginning, our friends, whom we go hunting with, helped us immensely. We harvested ducks, they helped with photographing, processing, and discussing how the game mechanics should work.

Now we have clearly distributed roles, and the workflow is well-established.

An interesting fact: Evgeniy is the technical mind, while Vladislav is more of a business developer and entrepreneur. We have completely different ways of thinking, we play different games, meaning we have different perspectives on the gaming industry as a whole. During discussions and development, this creates a synergy that helps us find solutions. And so far, this method has worked flawlessly.

You often go on hunting trips to record nature and bird sounds. How long does this work take?

As we mentioned, we couldn't find high-quality bird recordings, so we decided to record them ourselves. Every sound in BULT is unique. We don't use pre-made background soundscapes like other games, which places a significant constraint on our sound sourcing. If you find a ready-made recording, it often features a chorus of different birds. But we need, for example, the sounds of a specific individual, isolated from everything else. Finding that is very difficult. In the central regions of Yakutia, we recorded the sounds of so-called "dry ducks" – like teals, mallards, and so on.

But this work is highly dependent on weather conditions. Sometimes we arrive on a windless day and can start recording sounds immediately. We place a recorder by a lake, ducks land, start making sounds – everything gets recorded perfectly. Other times, there are simply no ducks, and we have to wait for several days.

Our shortest expedition was three days, and the longest was about 20 days when we traveled to the Srednekolymsk district. We aim to go on at least four trips per year.

Initially, we went out with microphones ourselves, but then we switched to another method: we set up recorders on tripods around a lake, and they record 24/7. This way, we capture the sounds of various birds.

There are many hunting simulators on Steam. What fundamentally sets BULT apart from similar games?

Based on feedback from users on VK Play, we see that our game stands out due to its strong emphasis on realism because we are hunters making a game for hunters. It's filled with small details and important nuances. We approach development from an expert standpoint, which makes the atmosphere in the game feel much more natural.

We aren't trying to compete with the big hunting games; we're trying to enrich the genre as a whole.

For example, BULT features a minimal user interface, forcing the hunter to learn to rely on sounds and their own vision. If you shoot a duck, you have to remember where it fell.

Details we noticed during our real hunts have been transferred into the game. For instance, interaction with the environment. You need to watch your step for branches to avoid making noise. If your boots are too short, you'll have to change your route to keep your feet dry. If your feet get wet, you'll get cold, and your hands will shake.

We've also focused on high-quality mechanics for the ducks themselves—their behavior, flight, and so on. In this regard, our game is very different because most hunting simulators currently on Steam aim for broad appeal. They try to cover a wide spectrum. That's cool, of course, but some animals, including birds, don't behave entirely naturally there.

In our game, every sound is a living entity because there are no superfluous sounds on a hunt. This inherently creates situations that arise in real hunting.

For example, as you approach a lake, a sandpiper might fly up from under your feet and draw your attention. Or you might shoot a duck; it's wounded and dives, while a muskrat is diving nearby at the same time. You need to quickly distinguish between them to take a timely shot. There are plenty of such moments; even an insect can be a distraction.

Thanks to this, BULT has high replayability, aided by the Bayanay algorithm. We don't have "need zones" where ducks fly to a specific place at a specific time; there are no pre-made scripts. Encountering a duck is a matter of luck, just like in real life.

Yet, there are natural patterns. For example, we know ducks are most active in the evening. When they fly to a lake, they might see your decoys. And if you lure them with a call, your chances of them landing near you are higher. But no one gives a 100% guarantee—that's what creates the authentic atmosphere and immersion in the game.

What are your future plans for developing the game?

We already have our own roadmap that we're following now. We will also release DLC in the future, both free and paid.

We've added a third game mode – "Contracts."

In it, the player will collaborate with various organizations — restaurants, cafes, shops — each with its own character and specific demands for different types of game. Long-term cooperation with them will yield certain rewards.

Unlike other modes, the player needs to learn to hunt specific species of ducks. That means they must understand where a particular duck flies, which lakes it prefers, purchase the right decoys for it, buy a wind call, learn to play that wind call, and learn to set up decoys correctly. And for this, they receive a much greater reward.

This mode is designed to activate many more of the game's underutilized mechanics. Like sleep, for instance. Right now, there's no strong need to sleep, but what if you have a contract to fulfill? For example, you need to harvest a duck within four in-game days. You can't just exit and start over—your rating drops, your reputation suffers, and you won't get paid. This will be a very interesting mode for hunters who want to master the subtleties.

And, as promised, we plan to add three more locations. They will each have their own atmosphere, weather, and little stories. Hunting in each of them will be different. If we create a map with swamps, you'll have to use a boat most of the time and learn to handle it well. The player will need waders. Even the game will differ, making each location unique and interesting in its own way.