Feature: Spitfire Interactive Talks X-Men, XCOM, And "What Age Has To Say To Youth" In 'Capes'
A new (Midnight) Sun rises
We first caught wind of Capes in the hazy days of early 2023. The turn-based superhero tactics set-up sounded like a novel idea, albeit one that we were worried might tread on the toes of one Marvel's Midnight Suns which, remember, we were still expecting to see on Switch.
That Switch port was eventually cancelled, and we Nintendo fans were left with an 'XCOM-meets-X-Men' gap in our game libraries. Almost one year on, Capes is set to fly into that gap.
But a Midnight Suns clone this is not. There's no Spidey, Wolverine or Doctor Strange to be found here. Instead, developer Spitfire Interactive brings together a team of original heroes, a fresh storyline and comic book references a-plenty to provide a new take on the equally new subgenre.
As we approach the game's 29th May release date, we were lucky enough to sit down with two of the creative minds behind Capes, Cade Franklin (Creative Director / Designer) and Morgan Jaffit (Writer) to get into the weeds of what goes into making a game like this in the age of the superhero.
Our conversation covered an Endgame roster-sized list of topics including the team's tactical inspirations, favourite comic books, Switch port challenges and Cade's time on LEGO Masters Australia (yes, really). So, get your super suit on and let's take off.
Nintendo Life (Jim Norman): Let's start with the big question - can you tell me a bit about Capes and why you decided to make it a strategy game?
Morgan Jaffit, Writer: It really came from the passion of our Tech Director, James Scott. James was a big fan of Freedom Force -- a pausable strategy game that I had been involved with nearly 24 years ago -- and he's also a huge superhero fan so he was keen to build something on that basis.
A two-phase strategy game made a lot of sense for us as a team. Most of us previously worked on Hand of Fate, a game that combines turn-based elements, card play and some live action. On that project, we learned that live-action combat is really hard! It's difficult to deliver and you're competing with the best studios in the world -- the God of Wars and the Arkhams. Our preference has always been to pick a place where we think we can have a strong impact.
Turn-based strategy was an excellent opportunity to do that. We felt like we had some things to say in that space to add to the genre and the conversation.
Was this in a pre-Marvel's Midnight Suns world?
Morgan: Yes, it was! Almost every game I have worked on has had some great big competitor moving around at the same time and I think that there's a reason for that. There's a real truth to ideas having 'their time'. Some pressures exist in the environment that lead to similar games.
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