PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
I go by IODINE. I’m a game developer from Ireland with a fascination of surreality and existentialism. I’m currently working on an RPG called “PILLORY”, which is simultaneously an attempt at some sort of self-discovery, and a love letter to the RPG Maker Horror genre of the early 2010’s that captured my imagination in a way that no other media did.
TELL US ABOUT PILLORY.
The idea for PILLORY came to me at a pretty low point. I was struggling with self-perception and felt like I didn't really know who I was. During a walk late into the evening, I got really into my own head about it and started to see some visual ideas in my head which would eventually become the game.
- The game is a 2D turn-based RPG in a stark, 1-bit artstyle. The combat system is based around keeping your mood neutral and doubting or following through with the ideas that come to mind. It's very much inspired by the things that troubled me when I got the idea at first.
- It takes place in an abandoned purgatory world, which has fallen into disrepair as the angels responsible for its upkeep find themselves… otherwise preoccupied.
- You play a character lost at the bottom of it.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
For the first year of development, I worked on it part-time while helping E McNeill ship his VR roguelite “IRONSTRIKE”.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I chose Godot 3, because I wanted to make my own custom splash screen for the engine to maintain a consistent art style. I would then go on to fall completely in love with how Godot works, and use it for all my games going forward.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
I think that the content phase is not to be trifled with at all. I spent a few months making an RPG framework and writing the battle system, and then was really surprised with just how time consuming and draining writing content for an RPG can be.
- Every scene needs art, sound, music, dialogue events, possibly animations, so on. And almost none of that content can then be re-used. It can be very time consuming, and I'm still not entirely sure how to manage burnout and writer’s block.
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
You are an artist. You are a culmination of a lifetime of experiences and emotions. You are the only person in the universe who can make art that is really “you”.
- Make what you believe in, what you want to tell the world.
- No one can do that but you.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
- No one is an island. If you have friends, talk to them. If there is help you need, consider accepting it.
- Game development can be difficult, gruelling and lonely. Humans are social creatures!
-IODINE
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2472530/PILLORY/
❤️
