Black Shell Media has the distinct pleasure of interacting with a whole bunch of indie developers from around the globe, but there are a select few games that tickle our fancy—or in this case our mustaches—so much so that we just have to publish them. Rogue Stache is one such game, and it’s recently been released for early access on Steam! We got a chance to sit down with Justin Halek of Wubs Games, the mustache (and beard!) behind the game.


 

Black Shell Media: Where did the idea for Rogue Stache come from? How has it changed since its initial conception?

Justin Halek: I wanted to create a game that I would enjoy playing, something with explosions and manly mustaches! Over the course of development, the game has really grown in complexity. Some RPG elements have been added, we keep throwing in more diverse weapons, hats, mustaches, you name it.

Justin Halek, the proud host of a powerful mustache and beard.

BSM: Describe a quintessential moment in Rogue Stache that players can look forward to.

JH: Beating the final boss for the first time is pretty satisfying. It takes a lot of character progression—and skill progression—to be able to make it that far into the game!

Blood, gore, explosions, mustache rides. Rogue Stache promises all this and more.

BSM: What aspect of Rogue Stache are you most proud of?

JH: I love procedural content, and Rogue Stache is packed full of it. Everything from the custom procedural level generator to the procedurally generated hats and perks.

BSM: Any funny stories about the development process?

JH: Hiring the voice actor was pretty funny, actually. He was another pretty manly guy—you could tell because he had a glorious mustache—so he was all about it. Our original conversation was something like: “You’re making a mustache game? . . . I WANT IN!” 

BSM: What would you say to all the clean-shaven players out there?

JH: You can always judge a man’s character by the length of his facial hair.


 

From the clean-shaven to the fully-bearded, just remember it’s the mustache on the inside that counts.