PLEASE START US OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
My name is Eirik, and I've been making games for about 17 years now (God, time flies!). It started with GameMaker, it was all about D&D (Drag & Drop), and I didn't learn coding until I was around 14 by making Minecraft mods. From there I've only made smaller sized projects as a hobby, but game development has always been my passion, and I've always tried to pursue it. Early 2023 I decided to quit my full-time job to actively work on games.
TELL US ABOUT ENVELOPE.
Envelope is an upcoming horror title, and will be our first real commercial release. The game starts off like one might expect from these types of retro horror games. You start at a gas station, and you have to complete your night shift. In the middle of your tasks, you meet someone who gives you something that gives the game a very dark twist. This twist puts you in the next area of the game, which is a completely open area where you can go and do whatever you please. Here you meet characters that can help you along on your mission, or you can just search for useful items. This is where the immersive sim comes in. Which characters you help, how you help them, that's all up to you. You can even kill them if you feel like it.
A lot of the game is actually based on real life experiences of me and my game dev partner Numme. We both met while working at a grocery store, which is now seven years ago. This is why there's a focus on grocery stores in the game. It ties together how we met and became business partners. The characters in the game are also to a big degree inspired by strange people we have come across the last few years. I can't say for sure when we got this game idea, but we have talked about it for quite some time but never had the chance to work on it like we do now. Oh, and most of the environment is based on Norwegian nature.
HOW HAS THE DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY BEEN
For the most part the game dev journey has been great. I found some success in my marketing efforts, and this made me a bit more confident that we can make a successful title. It was also extremely helpful that Numme joined the project, as I was working solo for the first part of development. There have been times where I felt demotivated and was lacking the energy to work on the game every day, but some life changes gave me a great boost, and now I am completely focused on the game development, and excited to finally release a game.
WHICH GAME ENGINE DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I chose Unity as the engine because it's what I'm familiar with, and I have a lot of resources for it since I've been using the engine for a few years. The dream is to one day have our own engine, but this would slow down development a lot, so we're saving it for the future.
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?
Probably mental health. I've been struggling with sleep and chronic fatigue for as long as I can remember. Motivation has also been low, especially during the winter (was hit by seasonal depression). I've been managing pretty good these last few months though, and I've become addicted to working on the game. Let's hope the momentum can continue through the next winter :)
ADVICE FOR FELLOW DEVS?
Learn how to ignore haters. The more successful you get, the more people you will come across that might want to ruin your day. Just know that what you're doing is probably something those people would never even dare to attempt. You're building your own workplace, something that can potentially sustain you one day. That is awesome, and do not allow anyone to tear that down. The only opinion that matters is your own.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
- The path to living a better life begins here and now. Most people have a dream but don't actively work towards anything. Do one small thing every day that gets you a tiny step towards the life you want to live. Sounds cheesy but I don't care, it's still true.
Follow me/us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Phantom_TheGame
And don't forget to wishlist Envelope!
- Eirik
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2717480/Envelope/
❤️
