Interview – Little Rocket Lab and making factory automation cute and cosy

thesixthaxis.com:

Management sims come in all shapes and sizes, whether it’s trying to funnel patients through a healthcare system as efficiently as possible, maximising money making through entertainment at a theme park, or building up entire cities and their infrastructure. But there’s one corner of the genre that’s a bit different: factory simulation and automation, which includes such games as Factorio and Satisfactory. Little Rocket Lab seems as though it asks the question, “What if those games, but more like a cute life sim?” But is that where this all started?

We caught up with Kyle Schmitz, the solo developer at Teenage Astronauts, to talk about his game.

We caught up with Kyle Schmitz, the solo developer at Teenage Astronauts, to talk about his game.

TSA: What were some of the inspirations for you when coming up with Little Rocket Lab? Before everyone jumps to conclusions that it’s just Factorio…

Kyle Schmitz: In the design phase the game actually started off more as a traditional life sim, along the lines of Harvest Moon 64 and Stardew Valley. A lot of the inspiration honestly comes from old Harvest Moon games. There’s just something so wholesome and feel-good about them that I keep looking for in games today. Along the way I was looking for a new take on farming, such as adding automation. After a while I realized that removing the farming entirely and instead having factory building being the goal of the game was a really good fit.

I also took a lot of inspiration from Spiritfarer, as well as Kiki’s Delivery Service. Both have such amazing soundtracks and colorful worlds and characters that I really wanted to capture in the game. Opposed to being purely a sandbox factory builder, the game really is meant to be a heartfelt story about a girl building a factory.

TSA: Do you think that production line and management sims are cosy games in the first place? The more I think about it, the more I think that (outside of art style, maybe) they probably are!

Kyle: I think a lot of