It turns out spite is an excellent motivator, especially if you're making a video game. The developer of chaotic city-builder Overthrown removed one pesky mechanic specifically to go against the grain of the cautionary words of their mother.
Removing fall damage from Overthrown was a decision made by the game's creator because it's "annoying" but more importantly because their mother used to tell them "you can't just do whatever you want", according to a post on Twitter. As it turns out, when you're an adult you can totally just do whatever you want, at least within the technical confines of the game you're making.
This means you can leap off any cliff or fall from any height without needing to deal with the consequences that would plague you in other video games whose developers aren't trying to spite their mothers.
Game balance be damned, as removing fall damage will seemingly make things more chaotic by allowing you to surprise attack enemies from high vantage points or even just a tall tree that would probably break your leg if you fell from it.
Overthrown also features other abilities like becoming a giant magnet to attract nearby items, but it has not been stated if that was added to spite a different family member. As you develop your city using this new urban planning method, you'll grow gardens, defeat bandits, and even build homes for your citizens in up to six player co-op.
Overthrown is set to release in early access on Steam in 2024.
There are plenty of great indie games released everyday. Here are our upcoming indie games for 2024 and beyond.
After 2.5 million sales, Manor Lords publisher says it "would almost be arrogant" to not be surprised by the city builder's success - but "you cannot count on it to repeat"
Overthrown is a unique sandbox game "relative to most of the genre," with an ever-changing world that separates itself from genre giants like Minecraft
