José Hernández is the designer behind recently released track-laying puzzler Sokobond Express, published by Draknek & Friends. I've had the opportunity to ask José a few questions, getting a glimpse into his world and some of the backstory behind the game's development.
Tell us more about yourself, and how you became a game designer. What are some puzzle games you enjoy?
I'm José Hernández – a programmer turned game developer living in Caracas, Venezuela. I started making games while I was at university, and as I was finishing my studies I felt the need to choose a career in computer science – but none of the available options felt creative enough for me. So after graduation, I just kept making games on my own, and thankfully around 4 months after that I started making enough money to support myself while working on more games.
The latest puzzle game I'm playing is Unpacking. I find it intriguing how they manage to gamify neatness and how its levels support multiple solutions — both aspects look so simple on the outside, but have so many layers underneath. I guess I enjoy games that try out new stuff (be it mechanics, systems, narrative) that I haven't experienced before and I just dug in to find out more!
To give our readers a sense of what to expect from Sokobond Express, how would you describe it in one sentence?
No-previous-knowledge-required chemistry game on rails.
You've designed Sokobond Express around the theme of chemical bonds, like the original Sokobond — were the chemistry themes always present in this project?
Well, the game is based on another game I made a few years back called Subatomic Wire — which at first was going to be a demake of SpaceChem, but the more I worked on it the more alike it looked to the original Sokobond but on rails.
Currently Sokobond Express is a refinement of this idea, so the chemistry theme was always present.
At what point did you start chatting with Draknek & Friends about turning Subatomic Wire into a mash-up of Sokobond and Cosmic Express?
After about a week or two after making the game public, Alan sent me a DM on Twitter about my future plans for Subatomic Wire — we talked about the details for its further development, then we signed a contract, and now here we are!
What elements of Sokobond and Cosmic Express have influenced the design of your game?
From Sokobond, I adapted the process of molecules bonding — as more atoms are bonded, there are less ways the atoms to bond and move around. Therefore, arriving at a solution is a bit more obvious than that of classic Sokoban.
As for Cosmic Express, I adapted the path building mechanic — players have to build rail paths while being mindful that you can't step on the same square more than once. Often the solution is a path that is optimized for carry capacity.
We've had a great time with the game! Anything we can look forward to from you in the future?
I hope so! :) I don't have a plan for my next project after Sokobond Express, but I do plan on making games for the long haul, so if you like games with a weird mix of mechanics you can follow my work!
This interview has been edited for clarity. You can find José on Twitter, and Sokobond Express is available nowon Steam.
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