A Chat With Justin Vazquez and Miles Winzeler - Grounded 2
PAX AUS played host to a significant number of international guests this year. Folks who had left their homes all around the world to make the horribly long flight to Australia to promote their game, chat with Aussies and fight the world’s worst jet lag. Two such developers were Justin Vazquez, Creative Director on Grounded 2 from Edios-Montreal and Miles Winzeler, Producer on Grounded 2 from Obsidian Entertainment. I was lucky enough to be able to join them for an interview, and what followed was a fantastic conversation about Grounded’s success, Early Access and the need to keep the community involved.
So after introductions were made and we got down to business, the first thing I had to know was that, considering the success Grounded had in early access, was the plan to always go back to EA for the sequel, or did they ever consider just releasing a full product? Miles was quick to answer, “From day one, it was always going to be EA, because that’s what made Grounded what it is. Diversity of opinions, perspectives and feedback from the community was so fundamental to the process that there was never going to be a sequel without early access.”
But it wasn’t the same journey this time around. Miles went on to talk about the differences they have come across in the sequel. “Grounded was a loose idea that took shape in early access, whereas Grounded 2 is built on that foundation and the relationship players already have with the game. So a good chunk of the process is sticking with what made Grounded great but at the same time, it is trying new things and new angles to take the series in a new direction.”
Justin jumped in to explain further. “From Edios-Montreal’s perspective, early access was a must. We saw what a success it was with the first game and how integral it was to the DNA, so when Obsidian said it had to be early access, we were ecstatic. For us, it made perfect sense because we knew that coming in and supporting the second game, we had big shoes to fill. The story of Grounded’s success was more than just a game; it was the story of a community falling in love with a team, so we had to commit to this wholeheartedly in the sequel. “
Having been through the process before, I was curious to find out if there were some really important lessons learned during the first game’s EA period. What worked, what didn’t, what had to happen and what to avoid. Miles was quick to point out their biggest lesson, and that was release cadence. “Grounded was built at a breakneck pace that made things tough, and it created an undefined space for players checking in on the early access journey. That was the biggest learning for me when we started planning for the second game. Let’s have more meaningful updates with more concentrated new content so people have time to consume it and give feedback. Having clearer points of reference and times for players to check back in.”
Justin elaborated further. “It’s been going solid so far. We just had our first big update, and so far, the pace seems to be working for us. It gives the community time to sink their teeth into the new update and give us feedback, as well as giving us time to action the feedback. On a more micro level, with every individual piece of content or feature, we have to find the balance of, is this finished enough that we can get it into players’ hands, or have we gone too far and not given room for players to give feedback? A good example is the Buggies. It is the sort of feature that can go in some wild directions, and we had to rein ourselves in and make sure the players had the chance to comment on where we were going and not try to do everything at once. We have to give players just enough to show the potential, but not too much that we can’t listen to the players’ ideas and concerns.”
I was interested in knowing what the thoughts were regarding going into Grounded 2. After all, the original was something that grew and changed, even after its version 1.0 release. So I had to ask the guys, why a sequel and why not just keep on going with the first game? Miles said a lot of it came about because of community desires, specifically the mountable creatures that players can ride. “In Grounded, the level designs are very much based around being on foot. Creating the survival vibe in the process, and the question was, how do we put mounted units in there without ruining it? We quickly came to the realisation that we would need a new level design to cater for the mounts, then the questions came. What new features would pair with the new levels? What would the setting be? I never felt we had to make Grounded 2, but as we worked out solutions to the things that players wanted in the game, it was clear that a sequel and not just some DLC was warranted. So we quickly took on the idea of developing a sequel, and it became a ball of excitement among the team.”
Justin went on to say. “When we (Edios-Montreal) were brought on board, we understood that there were tech limitations with Grounded, and there was a desire to grow the game beyond those limitations. There was such potential, and there was such a great reception to the first game that it felt like a massive opportunity. When we first started discussions with Obsidian, it wasn’t that they wanted a sequel; it was how do we best grow the franchise and let’s talk about that together. We had a lot of discussions and pitches, but as we worked things out, it became absolutely clear that this was a full-blown sequel, with the same characters having grown up and facing new challenges. This feels like a 2. That’s what took us to Grounded 2.”
Whenever two storied and well-loved developers come together, I often wonder how things work. You don’t get many more well-loved developers than Obsidian and Edios-Montreal. Both teams have decades of games that have a special place in, dare I say, millions of gamers’ hearts. So how do two independent teams get together and share a vision without compromising who they are?
Justin replied with a smile and promised that there was a huge story here, but he would try to be concise. “I think there was a confluence of certain things that brought us together. The first one was like you said, we are two long-running studios, but when you look a the games that both studios have made, there is a lot of shared DNA. The Venn diagram of Obsidian and Edios games is very much overlapping. We both love RPGS, we both love choice and consequence, and we both love storytelling. When you look at Grounded, a survival game, it is possibly the only one in the genre that brings those ideas to the game. It brings the story, it brings choice, and it brings RPG mechanics. So it felt like a natural fit, not only between studios but for this particular project as well.”
Jason went on to say more. “What’s been really great is that the collaboration between these teams is something I have never experienced in 20 years of development. It really feels like everyone is working as one team, and we are all motivated by one thing. Making Grounded 2 the best game we can for the fans. We recognise we all have our strengths and skillsets and we aren’t fighting for space, we are tackling the challenges together.”
I wanted to clarify with Miles if the need to bring on Edios-Montreal was some sort of mad plot to ensure that Obsidian could release three games in one year and thus take over the world. Miles was very quick to point out that it was super important to the year of Obsidian. “It all came together in a beautiful way. It is so much fun to talk about the year of Obsidian, but that doesn’t happen without Edios. I think beyond just the support, they brought such a diversity of views on the project, and it filtered into the game in such a beautiful way.”
Justin went on to explain his favourite part of The Year of Obsidian and why he had so much fun being a part of it. “We were able to keep this under wraps, which in this day and age is almost unheard of. The Grounded team supported the game until 2024, and we watched the players kind of go through a grief period where they thought their game was done. Meanwhile while we are sitting behind the scenes working on the sequel, keeping it a secret, just hoping and praying that it didn’t leak. On top of that, Avowed had come out, and The Outer Worlds 2 was coming, so we heard all these comments that Obsidian is crazy, while we just nodded and smiled, knowing exactly how crazy they were. So when the actual announcement happened, when the world found out that Grounded 2 exists and people could play it in just over a month and seeing the community’s reaction was a dream come true for everyone. Seeing the community lose their minds over the announcement, you can have a whole career in game development and not have a moment like this.”
Finally, I asked the pair about how Grounded and Grounded 2 have managed to keep such a clear vision and identity with so many different sources of input and inspiration. Miles thought a lot of it came down to the premise of the game. “It is a really digestible concept for a game. You have been shrunken down to the size of an ant, and mundane things are now terrifying. It is a pretty broad canvas for ideas. That allows players to have lots of thoughts and input. All the creativity from the community is from that big space, but it comes through a final check where we have to keep that clear vision and implement those ideas in a way that works with that vision.”
Justin talked about the Edios perspective. “For us as fans and developers, we always loved how clear the idea for Grounded 2 was. How the fantasy of being shrunk was just such a clear and potent vision. So when we came on, we kept that same vision, Obsidian wants that vision, and when we spoke to the higher-ups at Microsoft, that was their vision. So we took that on as our goal. It was a responsibility to figure out how we can add to this without changing what the franchise is. We spoke internally at Edios that we can’t just come in and ride Obsidian’s coattails; we had to add to that vision in a way that surprised the whole community, and once we figured out what made Grounded 2 special, it became clear that was the direction we had to go. All of those elements are in the game now in some way. Some are obvious, like the buggies, but some are not so much, and we hope that fans are just as excited as we are when they are revealed as the early access period goes on.”
Sadly, after that question, my time was up. I could have easily talked to Miles and Justin all day, their knowledge and enthusiasm were palatable in the room, and it made it one of the most enjoyable interviews I have ever done.
Make sure you check out Grounded 2 on PC and Xbox Series and stay tuned for more coverage on the game as it heads towards version 1.0 on Player 2.
