Iya! It’s ya boi Simon & White G - Kraków's kings of the game.
As a game approaches the release, it's a very exciting time. On one hand, I'm happy that we managed to push this project to the finish line, but on the other, I have a lot of concerns 😰 about how it will be received.
It brings back memories of how it all began...
Five Days with Daddy (2015) - initial concept from my mini pocket sketchbook
Around 2015, I started making the first sketches for a survival game in a small notebook. 📓 I considered making the project using modeling clay. The uniqueness of this idea was that in this game we weren't supposed to fight monsters coming at night, pull through the war or endure winter, but simply try to survive with our own parent. For many children, growing up in a dysfunctional homes is like navigating a daily mental minefield. I don't want to go into detail about why this story is important to me, but if you're interested, you can learn more from an interview with Brad Norton from Dexerto here.
In 2022, I briefly entertained the idea of creating the game for Oculus VR in shades of green. Back then, it was titled 7 Days with Daddy. You can see the concept art for this version below, along with a video of the prototype made with Łukasz Gratkowski ‘Nixon’ Kot.
Here's what it looked like during the early tests:
I should mention that since 2014, Artur and I have been running a two-person studio named Bulbware. Over the 10 years we worked together, we managed to accomplish many things we are proud of and earned the trust of Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg who, since the very beginning, offered us his help and friendship. However, at the beginning of 2024, we decided to part ways - so Artur kept the Bulbware and I ventured into the unknown.
As a newly minted solodev, I began working on my first project, which I wanted to release under my own name. I revisited my earlier ideas, but this time, I was inspired by my beloved game Bendy and the Ink Machine and the short animations of the 1920s. The combination of a sweet, cartoonish style with a traumatic story seen from a child's perspective seemed like a very good mix. The first draft in my sketchbook was this drawing:
In February of 2024, I began intensive work on the prototype with the help of junior coder MegaMarchewa. 🥕
At the time, I was reading a book by Wlad Marhulets (author of the game Darq), who spoke highly of his publisher.
I didn't wait long - on the next day, I sent an email and in March I managed to sign a contract! 🤝 Eventually I secured Feardemic as my partner - a dope publisher specializing in horror games. You can check out the first prototype video that I pitched behind the closed doors to three companies (namely Devolver Digital, Feardemic and one other):
I was incredibly happy that, despite the risk and uncertainty, someone trusted me and believed I could create something worthy of the company which published such hits as Darq, Nightmare Reaper, Garten of Banban and Papetura. It was time to roll up my sleeves and start to work hard! 🥵
Since then, I've spent many months drawing strange creatures and devices. When someone asked me "What do you do for work?" I proudly replied - "I’m inventing a monster which swims under a steamboat, that's a cross between a mouse and an eel, and also a mechanism for smelling socks… And what do you do for a living?".
And so we landed TODAY. The future is unclear, like a mirror smeared with moldy Gouda. 🧀 To avoid stressing too much about the release, long ago I made a certain assumption, which I wanted to share with you.
I hope that at least one person will play the game, with whom the story will resonate and prove important enough to give them hope for a better tomorrow, on the other side of the Rotten Cheese. This game is for you - my dear human with a heart full of holes like Swiss cheese. I'm giving you a hug 🤗 and handing you a gamepad, Steam Deck, Nintendo, Xbox, DualSense, or whatever apparatus you prefer…
If you want to see more behind the scenes cheesy art I prepared an artbook that will be available after the release! 🎨
Out with the hound, but still in the sound.
Much love from Kraków PL brothas and sistas - Simon & the one and only White G.