Hey everyone. This is a blog post I wanted to get up a couple days ago but never really got to it. Anyway, its not really an important blog post or anything like that. Its more of a post where I kind of just ramble on and talk about my afterthoughts for Potato Thriller, my most recent game.
As many of you know, I released "Potato Thriller" three days ago. April 1st, 2016 to be exact. Potato Thriller is an indie horror game that obviously does not take itself too seriously nor is it really even intended to be taken seriously at all. However, it is something that I am actually very proud of.
I have been posting about this game for while now here on the blog for the past couple months. Keeping updates about development and how things are going and so on. Originally this game was just going to be a simple short one level game that was a silly take on the "Silent Hills P.T." demo. It was just some random quick game I wanted to throw together in a couple days. However, as I continued to develop the game and created more and more content it eventually expanded into this huge game project that took its own direction.
It became something that was more than just a parody of the Silent Hills P.T. demo. While some elements have been inspired from the Silent Hills P.T. demo such as the looping hallway and a very similar level design (the looping hallway level), the game itself - "Potato Thriller" is actually nothing like P.T. at all. It became my own original unique game which features a cast of colorful characters and a strange but somewhat interesting and sort of complicated story-line that I made up as I created the game. Gameplay mechanics changed up throughout the game. Level design became unique and different and started providing a challenge, different enemies were introduced and actually had an established A.I. to kill the player, more characters were created and tied into the story and the game actually ended up turning into a full game that had actual gameplay. It became a game that is not just another indie horror game where you walk around and wait for a jump-scare. Its not just a jump-scare game. Its a game where you could actually get killed in many different ways. A game where you could progress further into the story to learn more about what exactly is going on.
Aside from that, Potato Thriller also turned into a game full of mystery. There is a bunch of hidden content in the game that might not even really have anything to do with the game itself. Some people might find some secrets as they play. Some secrets are harder to find than others and some secrets might never be found in the game at all. Aside from the story-line in the game, I wanted to add these hidden elements into the game. I wanted to create an experience that would make the player feel strange. Like get a "what? is this suppose to be happening?" or "is this actually part of the game?" type of response. The games story-line is one element of the game while at the same time, these secret mysterious elements hidden around may contribute to something greater then what the actual game is. Maybe the game is hiding something else? Maybe there is more to it. Will it ever be discovered? Who knows?
Anyway, I am not really typing this post up to brag about my new game and show off. Nothing like that at all. I know my own game has its flaws. Its not perfect and not the greatest indie game out there. As a matter of fact, my game doesn't even really have the most positive feedback. A lot of people bashed the game and said that it is garbage, low quality, poorly made, etc and that is completely fine. In games, especially indie games, there is always going to be some form of negativity. Its just natural. I don't really blame those people for thinking this way either. Making this game, I kind of expected responses like this. I knew it wasn't going to really going to become this big thing. I knew that not many people would really be interested in it. Potato Thriller, is definitely not a game for everyone. Again, its not really a game that is meant to be taken seriously or take itself seriously.
When I was making this game, I wasn't aiming to be the best. I wasn't planning on creating an amazing epic game that was going to be "the next big thing in indie games". I wasn't saying to myself, "okay, I have an idea for such a cool indie game, I need to start working on it, post it to kickstarter, get funding for it, THE PEOPLE NEED THIS! etc" (off-topic, but I honestly hate kickstarter and would never ever ask for funding to create a game on any funding site.) It's not a game that had stuff like documentation, planned game design, pre-made concept art or any early concept work at all. Its nothing at all. It was a game created with no background intentions at all. Its one of those games that was created without a purpose. A game that isn't really trying to be anything. Its a game that I just really enjoyed putting together. Honestly, nothing was planned for this game and I just made it up randomly as I went. Its a game full of ideas. It was just a game project that I would open and close from time to time. Whenever I randomly thought of an idea, I would just throw that in the game. However, with that said, there is an established story-line in the game that explains everything. A beginning, middle and ending.
With all that said, Potato Thriller is definitely a game project I am very proud of. This is the biggest game I have ever made. I created so much content for the game and just really happy with the overall results even if its not the most appealing indie game ever, I actually did put in a lot of work and effort into creating this strange title. Even though its a really weird game I stuck to it and finished creating it. I really enjoyed making it and had fun. Again, this post isn't to brag about my game, but its more of a reminder for myself to see the milestones and accomplishments that I was able to achieve while making this game. 6 years ago, it was my dream to create video games. I knew nothing at all about making video games and I thought I would probably never learn how to create video games. Over the years I created many video games. Each game I improved more and more over the last. I was constantly learning more and more about game development. And looking back at older projects and seeing content that you created yourself is a really awesome feeling. I don't necessary make the best/good games, but I try. Making games is something that I truly love doing :)
Thanks for reading.
Potato Thriller is currently available on itch.io
