We enjoyed our time with the preview build of Hard Reset, the upcoming PC-only first-person shooter with seriously classical design. When we had the chance to put some questions to Klaudiusz Zych, the cofounder of (and a programmer at) Flying Wild Hog, we jumped at the chance. He shared his thoughts on quick-saves, game pricing, and in a few words explained why the game won't ship with any DRM.

Why doesn't the game support quick saves?

"The save system has a huge impact on gameplay, it changes the way people play the game. For example, if a game doesn't have checkpoints—this can be very frustrating when you forget to save often enough," Zych explained. "Quick saves on the other hand can ruin a game's difficulty and balance."

Zych pointed out that this makes the placement of the checkpoints very important, and he thinks the team nailed this aspect of the game.

A small team creating a game and aiming it exclusively at PCs? It seems like a risky move financially. Zych disagrees. "Consoles are past their peak of interest. In my opinion everyone is moving their focus to mobile devices: iOS and Android mobiles, to social games on Facebook and finally to digital distribution on PCs," he told Ars. "The number of copies sold for all the other systems is not as big as for consoles, but the royalties a developer gets from the deal are much, much higher."

There is also an interesting middle point in the industry that may be somewhat awkward, but Flying Wild Hog sees as an opportunity. "The game industry is very polarized nowadays," Zych explained. "Big studios with budgets of tens of millions of dollars for a single game dominate the console market and small indie studios dominate digital distribution on mobiles and PCs. And almost no one does middle budget games."

Hard Reset is hoping to buck that trend. The game is coming only to the PC, uses an engine that Flying Wild Hog created from scratch, and will be sold via digital distribution platforms for $29.99. The team is banking on the idea that gamers are in the mood for a game that's less expensive than a big-budget release, but more expensive than the smaller games that sell for $10 and under. After playing through a few hours of the game, I'm in: it's clear that you're going to be able to see where your extra money is going.

Besides, Flying Wild Hog is on your side. My last question concerned the boogeyman of DRM. "I'm a gamer as well as a developer," Zych said. "And I hate DRM. So no DRM."

Hard Reset is coming to the PC on September 13. We should have a full review in time for launch.