Today, I have the pleasure of presenting an interview with CEO and Main Director of BLANBEE, developer behind Galvatein: Adventurer’s Guild. This is one such game represented by Gravity, who was present at PAX East 2026.
Galvatein: Adventurer’s Guild is a medieval fantasy sim that relies on a visual novel art style and where your decisions matter! As a guild receptionist, you are charged with discussing quests with a slew of adventurers. Let’s dive into the world behind Galvatein: Adventurer’s Guild with interview with Hyo-Hyeon Kim! At the end, a trailer is also provided for your viewing pleasure. Lastly, don’t forget to wish list it on Steam!
Q: Thank you for your time! How long have you been developing Galvatein: Adventurer’s Guild?
Kim: The actual development period has been about a year, but we’ve been working toward this project for about three years now.
To give a bit more context, I first began planning the project in early 2024 and later brought together the people who would become the team. However, as is often the case with indie game development, it wasn’t easy for us to create an environment where we could fully focus on development right from the start.
There were times when we couldn’t dedicate as much time to development as we wanted, since we also had to make a living. It was only from last year that we were able to establish a more stable workflow and focus more seriously on development.
Q: Where did the inspiration for this guild simulator come from?
Kim: It started from a very small question. In many games, “quests” are often used as a kind of guide for the player, but not many games really focus on the quests themselves, right? We thought there must be quite a process behind the creation of a single quest. For example, there would be a reason why a request is made in the first place, as well as a process where the client registers that request with the guild—almost like opening a bank account in the modern world.
To turn this small idea into something more concrete, we went through a lot of trial and error. We created and scrapped multiple prototypes with different genres and gameplay styles. At one point, the protagonist was an agent solving unresolved quests, and at another point, they became a kind of “quest courier” who delivered requests.
It took quite a long time for the game to take its current form. We spent a lot of time restructuring the details and testing what actually felt fun. During that process, we referenced not only games, but also films, animation, comics, and novels, analyzing dozens—if not hundreds—of different works. Among them, the titles that had the biggest influence on us were Papers, Please and the Japanese manga Delicious in Dungeon.
Q: Oh! I love Papers Please, and I will have to check out that manga. Now, what aspects of Galvatein: Adventurer’s Guild makes it stand out from other sims?
Kim: The first thing I would mention is its perspective. A simulation game where you play as a guild receptionist reviewing quests is not exactly a common premise. Another key element is the interaction with adventurers. The basic gameplay structure follows a document-review mechanic similar to Papers, Please, but in Galvatein, conversations with adventurers are one of the game’s major charms.
The adventurers do not just talk about their quests. They also open up about personal worries or small, everyday concerns. Some might complain that their loot smells terrible, while others may talk about wanting to win someone’s heart. These kinds of small conversations help create a stronger emotional connection between the receptionist and the adventurers, while also allowing players to experience the everyday life of a fantasy world up close.
One more distinctive feature is monster-based cooking using the loot adventurers bring back. Adventurers submit certain parts of monsters as proof that they defeated them—in other words, “monster loot.” But it feels like a waste to simply throw those away, doesn’t it? Anything edible can be used for cooking, while the rest can be fed to Caul, the magical cooking pot. Of course, since these are not ordinary ingredients, there are plenty of things players need to be careful about when cooking with them.
There are days when you feel down for no particular reason. Days when you just feel a little gloomy. At times like that, eating your favorite dessert or dish can make you feel a bit better. Adventurers are the same. If you serve them the right dish and keep the conversation positive, you may be able to see a happier side of their story. Of course, the opposite can happen as well.
In that sense, Galvatein takes familiar elements that many players already know and presents them from a fresh perspective. Through that approach, the game offers an immersive look into the peaceful everyday life of a classic fantasy world.
Q: That all sounds very interesting. Given the visual novel format– is there a narrative focus to the sim? Will there be branching stories depending on your choices?
In short, yes. In the game, this era is referred to as an “age of peace.” However, that only means it is peaceful compared to the past. Monsters still exist in this world. Even a seemingly weak slime could easily turn a person into a pulp if it attacked in a group. The adventurers you meet are people who stand on the edge of life and death like that.
Among all the professions they could have chosen, choosing one so close to death is not easy. I cannot say this applies to every single adventurer, but most of them carry their own wounds and sense of emptiness. To overcome those things—or to achieve a certain goal—they each hold on to some kind of dream through the profession of being an adventurer.
But more often than not, dreams are something people end up giving up on rather than achieving. Just as even those of you living wonderful lives may have a wish you have quietly folded away, the adventurers who visit the guild are the same.
Your choices may not bring about a change big enough to transform the entire world. However, they can be enough to change the life of one person standing at a crossroads. Sometimes, even the smallest bit of hope can change someone’s future. It might come from a single word you say, or from one delicious meal you serve.
Q: I know some people are wondering this: are there friendship and/or romance options?
Kim: This is something we are still thinking about a lot. We really enjoy communicating with players, so we often take part in game-related exhibitions. Whenever we do, this is one of the questions we are asked most often.
In many visual novels that focus on romance, players usually build affection through elements such as choices or gifts, which then lead to character routes, multiple endings, and so on.
However, Galvatein already has many systems that are closely connected to one another: loot, cooking, reputation, and changes in each adventurer’s story based on the player’s choices. Because of that, it is not easy to add a romance or affection system on top of all these interconnected elements. Even if we were able to solve that design challenge, it would still require a considerable amount of additional work, including art, cut scenes, music, events, scenario writing, and localization.
So for now, we are focusing on making the main game itself as polished as possible. We believe the first priority is for the game to be genuinely fun and immersive on its own.
That said, one thing I do want to make clear is that our team would also love to include features related to affection someday.
Q: It makes sense to focus on the main game to ensure its quality. As we are winding down on this interview, I want to ask what are you most proud of with the creation of this game?
It is when we receive interest and love from players. This may sound a little forced, but it is honestly true.
From the perspective of running a company, things like winning awards at game competitions, achieving business results, receiving meeting proposals, or signing contracts can feel more immediately tangible. But I think the moments that make us feel “proud” belong to a slightly different area.
People who make games are people who create fun. And among the many kinds of fun a game can offer, we are especially focused on the value that stories can provide. We put a great deal of effort and thought into that. For us, the greatest reward is not just numbers, but the sincere reactions we receive from players.
A small comment on social media saying, “I’m looking forward to this.” A gameplay video that someone uploads one day. The moments when we meet players at exhibitions and talk with them in person. Every time something like that happens, I think to myself, “I’m really glad I decided to make games.”
I think anyone who makes games would probably understand that feeling.
Q: One last question if you don’t mind. There is an AI disclaimer on Steam. I have it pasted below. Any other comments or information to add to better inform the public? Sometimes AI can be a touchy subject.
“We leverage AI technology in certain tasks to achieve higher-quality results. AI is used primarily for handling repetitive tasks or as a tool for quality enhancement, while the core content and final outputs are crafted by skilled professionals.”
Kim: We use AI in various areas to make development more efficient. Let me explain how.
First is translation. This is something we have also clearly stated in the demo version uploaded to Steam. The reason we release demos is to receive feedback during development. However, as a small team, translating every version into multiple global languages is a significant practical burden, especially because Galvatein is a text-heavy game. That said, one thing we can say for certain is that the full release will be translated through a professional agency or specialists.
The second area is art production. This is similar to the translation issue in that it also comes down to cost. Anyone who has played our game will know that there is a huge amount of character variation. Even in the demo, which only covers up to Chapter 2, many adventurers already appear. From Chapter 3 onward, the amount of variation increases so much that the number of adventurers shown so far will seem modest by comparison. There will be new adventurers, new characters, and existing characters appearing in different forms as well. This is a bit of a spoiler, but there is even a cat-themed Olivia. [SK Comment: Instant 10 out of 10 game!]
Some people might think we could simply reuse art assets and be done with it, but we care a lot about detail and quality. Even if an image is only used once, we still want to show the image that fits that particular moment best. Because of that, we had to think carefully about where to focus our resources and how to work more efficiently.
For these reasons, we actively use AI during the ideation stage, such as when we are drafting character concepts or brainstorming variations. However, please do not worry—the final results are created directly by our team’s very hardworking artist.
The same is not entirely true for backgrounds, however. Later chapters will also include several cut scenes, but we simply do not have enough capacity to fully address those areas yet. Some players may have felt that the quality of the background art in the demo was lacking. However, once the main content is complete, we plan to take enough time for polishing and improve those elements as well.
To summarize, we mainly use AI in the planning and ideation stages, as well as for tasks where it can help reduce costs. The core final assets, however, are created by our team directly.
Thank you so much Hyo-Hyeon for speaking with me today, and thank you to the Gravity team for coordinating the interview. I learned so much about Galvatein: Adventurer’s Guild and how its creative ambition primes it to stand out from the crowd. Currently, the release date is still TBD, but if this game piques your interest, please consider wish listing it on Steam!
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Featured Image Source: BLANBEE
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