VGTimes Interview with the Developers of Hobo: Tough Life

On April 13, 2021, Hobo: Tough Life left early access. The homeless simulator turned out to be an unusually deep and well-developed project, which earned 80 percent of positive reviews on Steam. We interviewed the developer Petr Bělohrad. Did the authors consult with real homeless people, do they plan to create a franchise from Hobo in the spirit of Assassin's Creed with survival in different countries and eras, and how did the project sell? Read on for more details in our article!

Hobo: Tough Life is a survival game with RPG elements in an unusual setting. As a homeless person, gamers will have to survive on the streets of a European city and worry about food, temperature, clean clothes, the need to go to the toilet, a place to sleep, and much more every day. At the same time, the project opens up impressive scope for leveling up the hero, allowing him to one day become a professional burglar, thief, beggar, artist, and much more.

To survive the hardships, players will have to search all the trash cans in the area, learn how to cook sparrows, end up behind bars for the opportunity to go to the toilet and sleep, build a hut in which to spend the winter, and, if lucky, become... the King of the Beggars. The game's developer Petr Bělohrad will tell you more about the game.

VGTimes: Hello, Petr. My colleagues and I spent dozens of hours in Hobo: Tough Life and were impressed by its unusual setting. Why did you decide to make a game about the homeless?

Petr Belograd: Good afternoon! The idea came to our creative director, who worked at a food packaging plant in 2015. He already knew back then that he would one day create his own game, in which gamers would have to think about food, frost, a place to sleep, and much more.

The plant was often visited by homeless people who asked to share food — suddenly something fell during the packaging process and went bad. One day, he was thinking about the concept of the project, and two poor guys approached him and asked for food — then something «clicked» in his head, and the idea took shape. Later, he began to meet with the homeless and learn about their everyday life. Many of them even became images for game characters. That's how it all began!

VGTimes: So, during development, you consulted with real homeless people?

Petr Belohrad: We researched the lives of the homeless in detail and, of course, talked to them, interviewed them and walked around the city together. In Prague, there is a tour conducted by a homeless person: he talks about how to live in the capital without a home, what happens on the streets, where to get food and much more — we went on such tours. We conducted a whole study to understand the issue.

VGTimes: The game has an NPC Master who knows everything about survival and replaces a voluminous manual. His image, by any chance, is not copied from your guide?

Petr Belohrad: No, the Master is not him. In general, the character appeared when the game was already completed: all the content was implemented, quests were added. The Master appeared so that gamers could understand the mechanics of the game and master the skills. We thought long and hard about his appearance and eventually copied it... from a streamer who liked Hobo: Tough Life.

VGTimes: The game has a very touching story: it tells about people who found themselves on the sidelines of life after the coup d'etat. Were you inspired by real history or did you rely on fantasy?

Petr Belograd: Both. The game takes place in the 2000s, and a lot happened at that time (editor's note: we are probably talking about the coup d'etat in Yugoslavia). Hobo has many references to real history, but there are also many ideas born from our imagination.

VGTimes: I've never been to Prague. Is the game world based on the capital of the Czech Republic?

Petr Belohrad: A little. The city in the game is called Praslav, and it is inspired by Prague: we even used models of real buildings, and some houses are exactly copied from the capital. Also, the image of Praslav is partially taken from the city of Ostrava, where some of our colleagues are from. For example, the church in the game resembles the church in Ostrava.

VGTimes: How long did the development take? And how many people are on your team?

Petr Belograd: The development took about six years… We started in 2015, and at first we worked on the game in our free time. The guys would come home from work or school and sit down to play Hobo: Tough Life. It was, so to speak, a «garage» project. In 2017, we released the project in early access, and the release took place four years later.

It was very difficult: there was a lot of work, and the team only had ten to twelve people. Seven of them work full-time, the rest are freelancers.

VGTimes: So today, game development is your main job?

Petr Belograd: Yes. Luckily, you don't have to work at the factory anymore.

VGTimes: How do you stay afloat? Do investors help you or is sales income enough?

Petr Belograd: Purely through sales — that's enough for us right now. We don't have any investors.

VGTimes: Have you ever thought about crowdfunding?

Petr Belograd: We did, but the game was already on sale — crowdfunding at that point seemed unfair. If we ever appear on Kickstarter or another platform, it will be with a new project.

VGTimes: Hobo: Tough Life has a huge number of quests. My colleagues almost went crazy trying to complete them all. How many are there in total?

Petr Belograd: I'll give you a specific number. Not counting repeating tasks, there are 186 quests in the game.

VGTimes: That's a lot. Will there be more? Maybe you have plans for DLC?

Petr Belograd: There are no plans for full-fledged DLCs or expansions yet. Almost all of the planned content is already in the game, but some new quests will still appear in the game.

VGTimes: You can't start a romantic relationship in the game. Does that mean this option won't appear anymore?

Petr Belograd: There's no particular reason why we didn't do it. We just decided it wasn't necessary. But during the game you can come across a couple of quests that will allow you to get a feel for the relationships of other NPCs. But there are no such plans for the hero.

VGTimes: It's very difficult to complete the main task and become the King of the Beggars. How quickly can you achieve your goal?

Petr Belograd: My personal best is 21 days. However, gamers manage to cope with the task even faster. We were once sent a screenshot on Discord, according to which someone became the King of the Beggars in 19 days. A real speedrun! Maybe someone will break this record.

VGTimes: There are many guides on the Internet on how to survive in Praslav. Maybe you can give your recommendation?

Petr Belograd: If I were to give advice to gamers, it would be this: never let indicators like hunger, mood and temperature drop to a critical level. Take care of everything you need in advance, and do not drink too much. You can drown your problems in alcohol, but very soon the situation will get out of control.

VGTimes: By the way, about alcohol. In the game you can drink, smoke, rob and do other bad things. No one criticized you for this?

Petr Belograd: Most often, criticism is directed at the graphics and technical components. Fortunately, no one complained about what you can do in Hobo — and if they did, they did not complain often enough! The game has many activities: some are legal, others are prohibited by law — but we offered a range of actions that accurately characterize the life of a real homeless person.

VGTimes: Overall, are you happy with how gamers received the game?

Petr Belograd: Very! Many gamers highly rated the title and wrote very warm words in their reviews. Moreover, the game inspired some to implement their own ideas or to treat people kinder. We are happy with the reaction of players and reviews of Hobo: Tough Life. This gives us the strength to continue working on the project.

We are currently fixing bugs, adding new features to the game that gamers would like to receive, and implementing previously planned small quests. We are also working on console ports: the game is planned to be released on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch by the end of the year.

VGTimes: This may be a taboo topic, but could you share information about sales?

Petr Belograd: This is non-public information, so there will be no exact answer. However, let's say that a little less than 100 thousand copies were sold... No, less than 500 thousand copies.

VGTimes: You are planning to release a new game in a couple of months. Is it somehow related to Hobo or is it a new title?

Petr Belograd: Yes, we are indeed developing a new project, and it is a completely new game, which is not only not related to Hobo, but will also be in a different genre. Be patient, details will be coming soon.

VGTimes: Have you considered creating a franchise out of Hobo in the spirit of Assassin's Creed? An unfortunate homeless person survives in different regions like the USA, Africa, Asia? Maybe even in different time periods?

Petr Belograd: It's funny that you mentioned it. We did sketches for Hobo 2, and one of the concept arts actually takes place in the USA. But we are not sure yet whether we will develop the title.

VGTimes: Thank you for your answers, it was interesting! We wish you success in the development of Hobo and the implementation of future projects.

Petr Belograd: And thank you for your interest. We will try to make our games better and please more and more gamers!

It is too early to call the history of the developers of Hobo: Tough Life magical. The authors have not acquired fabulous wealth and are only at the beginning of the journey. However, not long ago they worked in a factory and only dreamed of creating their own game, and now they are doing what they love and making big plans for the future. We will follow the developers' projects with curiosity.

Have you played Hobo: Tough Life? Write in the comments!

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VGTimes has been operating since 2011 and during this time has visited dozens of exhibitions and festivals, where our journalists have collected many exclusive materials. For example, in 2019 we got to a closed screening of Cyberpunk 2077 at gamescom, in 2017 we prepared a photo report from WG Fest, in 2020 we were at the largest gaming event in Central Asia CAGS, and also visited IgroMir several times, where we saw Hideo Kojima and other famous developers.