Game On: An exclusive talk with Strange Scaffold’s Xalavier Nelson Jr.

For this week’s edition of “Game On,” The Fly spoke with Xalavier Nelson Jr., studio head at “El Paso, Elsewhere” developer Strange Scaffold. In the exclusive interview, Nelson discussed the critical and commercial reception to “El Paso,” the environment for indie shooters, and video game subscription services.

‘EL PASO, ELSEWHERE’: In late September of 2023, Strange Scaffold released “El Paso, Elsewhere,” a supernatural third-person shooter, for PC, Xbox One (MSFT), and Xbox Series X/S. When asked how he felt about the game’s critical reception, which was generally positive, Nelson called the responses “really gratifying.” “The critical reception is the place where we least expected the overwhelming positivity it’s received; we expected the game to get 6s and 7s because the industry is currently in a place where it often feels like intentional limitations and artistic compromises are not particularly valued,” he told The Fly. “There’s this constant push for scale and scope, even if it doesn’t benefit the game that it’s attached to. If there’s anything you can call ‘El Paso, Elsewhere,’ it’s a game where you can make choices about what matters in its depiction of its world and story. Having people appreciate and see those choices was honestly a bit soul-healing.”

From a sales perspective, Nelson said the studio is “really happy” on that side as well. “It’s been a weird year for games to say the least,” he added. “To say the most: it’s been an abysmal year for how game developers have been treated despite continuing record sales of games. Having ‘El Paso, Elsewhere’ without a publisher and without significant industry presence performed really, really well on PC and Xbox. It’s been deeply exciting!”

INSPIRATION: Reviewers and players of “El Paso, Elsewhere” have drawn comparisons to Remedy Games’ popular early 2000s series “Max Payne,” which pioneered so-called “bullet time” mechanics. Commenting on whether Strange Scaffold felt additional pressure to meet “Max Payne” fans’ expectations, Nelson said they “definitely” felt it, though the studio made “significant deviations” from the Remedy titles early on in an effort to stand out.

“We made the intentional choice that we were not trying to fight the ghost of the ‘Max Payne’ you remember; we wanted to use the foundation of ‘Max Payne’ to deliver an experience you haven’t seen before,” Nelson said. “Honestly, I think that’s a big part of why the game has done as well as it has. It is not as financially or critically safe to step outside of more direct gameplay and story influence, especially when you’re dealing with a beloved spiritual successor. But frankly, I think the only people who can better ‘Max Payne’ are Remedy, and the only way to deliver something that’s appreciated in a similar light is to take a step to the left and show what else that ‘Max Payne’ formula can become. That’s what we did.”

INDIE SHOOTERS: While the indie game scene teems with lifestyle simulators, roguelikes, platformers, and mysteries, shooters made by smaller studios typically have to vie for attention with the dozens of shooters made by large publishers. When asked about the difficulties of making an indie shooter stand out in such an environment, Nelson said the game “would have been in more trouble” if it had been first-person instead of third-person. “If we had done more directly things that had gone before, such as noir instead of neo-noir; if we had a grumbling white guy instead of a deeply raw and vulnerable Black protagonist; if we had gone first-person instead of third-person, we would have been seen as a more safe bet, but would have been fighting harder for attention,” he said. “As much as it is commercially safe to try to walk in direct lockstep with what’s gone before, it’s also the number one thing to make players, especially in a live service world, say, ‘Well I have that already. Why would I buy another one?'”

“They just updated ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Fortnite’ again,” Nelson continued. “Indie games get updated regularly still. ‘Dusk’ just had a new update, why would (players) buy a new boomer shooter? You are competing not just with current titles; you’re competing with games that have been released years ago that have the sales momentum and content drive to become overwhelming, nigh-untouchable juggernauts.”

OTHER PLATFORMS: When asked if Strange Scaffold has plans to release “El Paso, Elsewhere” on PlayStation (SONY) or Nintendo Switch (NTDOY) consoles, Nelson said, “I can’t announce anything at this time, but I can say we would love to reach as many players as possible. We’re certainly seeing the demand for it.”

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: On the topic of subscription services, such as Xbox Game Pass and Apple Arcade (AAPL), Nelson said Strange Scaffold would be “happy” to have their games on a subscription service if they could find the “right arrangement.”

“In the right arrangement with the right partner, we would be happy to appear on a subscription service, because video games is the only ecosystem right now where the subscription service is a healthy participant and a driver of sales,” he said. “People that play games on Game Pass still buy video games, and you can’t say that for everyone who watches Netflix (NFLX) and whether they buy DVDs. Acknowledging that games is in a special place right now where you can have the equivalent of bundles, premium sales, discount sales, and subscriptions all co-existing at the same time without, in a universal way, the destruction of any one model. I think we’re still in a special place as a medium, and I hope we preserve it. Because if we don’t, we have precedents in other industries as to what it looks like to ‘just sell a game anymore.'”

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.