Sloth Gloss Games’ Andrew Gaubatz Talks Steel Century Groove – Interview Series

Sloth Gloss Games’ Andrew Gaubatz, an independent developer whose portfolio includes the likes of Star Wars: Uprising and Torchlight III, is tightening the bolts on an all-new rhythm-centric “Pokemon-like” game. Aptly titled Steel Century Groove, the upcoming title will reportedly feature epic mech dance battles and a coming-of-age tale that will take players across numerous villages and arenas.

In an effort to learn more about Sloth Gloss Games’ Steel Century Groove, I recently caught up with Andrew, who was kind enough to fill me in on all of the latest developments.

Thanks for sitting down and speaking with us today. Before we break into the latest details on your upcoming mech-based RPG, would you mind introducing yourself to our readers and telling us a bit about Sloth Gloss Games?

Andrew: For sure! I started in the gaming industry as an engineer, where I worked for about 10 years on Action-RPGs like Torchlight III and Star Wars: Uprising. In 2021, I left my job to work full time on Steel Century Groove, which I’m developing mostly solo (everything but the music!)

Of course, there’s a lot that we would like to discuss with you here—the premise, for one. Would you mind painting us a picture of Steel Century Groove? What sort of game is it, and what inspired you to create it?

Andrew: Steel Century Groove is a rhythm game where you pilot giant mechs in dance battles. It pulls a lot of different genres together into one, but the inspiration actually came from social media. I would always see these janky videos of Pokémon dancing to pop music and any time they came up I’d have to watch all the way to the end. I originally wanted to make a monster collection dance game, but I quickly became captivated by the idea of doing mechs instead. There’s something so interesting to me about the question of why a society that built these giant machines for war would now only be using them only for dance battles.

But the game itself still has a lot of Pokémon DNA. You start in your tiny hometown, pick a starter mech from the local professor, and set out on a coming of age journey across the country, trying to beat the top pilot in each town, then ultimately win the big city dance championship.

So, what’s the story here? What brought these “colossal mech warriors” to the forefront of the dance movement?

Andrew: It’s been thousands of years since these mechs were first built and society has totally reoriented itself around this dance sport. For the player character and everyone around them, that’s just normal.

But obviously… it’s not normal at all. And as you get deeper into the game you’ll dig up more information about the history of the world, what these mechs were originally built for, how they changed, and you’ll have to confront whether the past can really stay buried.

You’ve mentioned that each mech will have its own set of “abilities, mechanics, and resources.” Would you mind telling us a bit more about these?

Andrew: In my career, I’ve had the privilege of working with other devs who made some of the best games in the Action-RPG genre: Diablo II, Torchlight, etc. So I wanted to take the things I learned from them and apply it to this completely different type of game.

Each mech is unique, the way a class would be in an ARPG. They start simple, with basic builder/spender energy mechanics, but then get more and more interesting. There’s one where you have to summon and combine drones that grant you different benefits, and another where you’re playing a mini two-card deck builder within the rhythm game. The late game mechs get pretty wild with a lot of really fun rotations and synergies between your different moves.

Please could you walk us through the process of a typical dance battle? How does it begin, and what are the steps one must take to accomplish their objectives?

Andrew: Just like a Pokémon game, it starts when you run into another pilot on a road. As the dance battle gets going, you’re given a series of notes that you need to hit with the correct timing. Which move you use on each note is totally up to you, and is determined by which button you press on your gamepad or keyboard. 

Your goal is to fill up your Acclaim meter before the opponent does. So, for example, the Voltace, one of the starter mechs, has a move that spends Energy to grant you Acclaim, another move that grants you Energy, a move that grants you a burst of Acclaim on a cooldown, and so on.

We would appreciate a few quick tips on how to tackle these mech battles. Care to share some words of advice for those who might be interested in picking up a copy of Steel Century Groove?

Andrew: Steel Century Groove isn’t as mechanically demanding as other rhythm games, but it makes up for it by requiring you to really think rather than just pressing a pre-determined button. There’s a tiny break between each section of notes. Use this time to plan.

You can see what moves the opponent is going to do next in the UI, and the notes are numbered, so an advanced player will always be thinking about what moves they’re going to use to both counter their opponent and to optimally execute their own rotation. “I’m going to use this move on 3, this one on 7, etc.”

What is the next step for Steel Century Groove, if you don’t mind me asking? Are we nearing that all-important launch date, or are we still a fair ways from seeing these mech breakers in action?

Andrew: Something free and playable will be coming out in the next few months. Sort of a demo, but perhaps not in the way you’d traditionally expect it!

Care to share any last-minute thoughts or comments before we go ahead and wrap things up over here?

Andrew: This game is really unusual. It combines a lot of genres that don’t typically overlap, which is something a smart businessperson in this industry would tell you to absolutely never do. But that’s my favorite thing to do, so I’m making it anyway. That means it’s going to be an uphill battle to market this game. If hearing about it has you at all interested, it’ll make a huge difference if you head over to Steam and give it a wishlist!

Thanks for your time, Andrew!

You can find more information on Sloth Gloss Games’ Steel Century Groove by visiting the official website here. You can also add the game to your wishlist on Steam for additional coverage here.