Halifax Indie Developer’s Passion Project Getting ‘Game Of The Year’ Buzz
HALIFAX–If you are tuned into the world of gaming, you’ve likely heard some amazing reviews of a game called Tunic–an adventure game filled with puzzles, exploration, and enemies.
WIRED recently published an article arguing that Tunic deserved “Game of the Year” buzz.
The game has been a nostalgia trip for many millennials who grew up in the late 80s and into the 90s, when some of the most popular video games revolved around secrets and puzzles. Many 90s children stayed up all night with friends working together to solve a frustrating gaming mystery in an immersive world.
Tunic, the potential game of the year featuring an adventurous fox, was created llargely by a lone developer, right here in Halifax.
Andrew Shouldice worked in the Halifax gaming industry for years, until he decided to quit his job and strike out on his own. Using the money he saved up, he calculated he could self-fund the game for just a year.
Taking such a risk, while it worked out for Shouldice, isn’t something he recommends to others.
“It’s a very romantic notion, not necessarily recommended,” he told Huddle.
Over the past seven years he got help from other developers in the indie gaming scene. He also hired specialists to help with the game’s soundtrack and design. But, given how complex and hard it is to make a modern-day video game, it was quite the skeleton crew.
“You can’t get too much smaller,” he said. “Although there are people out there, literally, making video games by themselves.”
But there was another area of expertise that Shouldice needed help with: getting his game to market. Early in the development process, he brought aboard the game publisher Finji–a firm that happened to have a good working relationship with the folks at Microsoft (the makers of Xbox).
So, last month, Tunic was launched on the Xbox. Shouldice recalls the tense moments when he was getting ready for the review embargo to lift, waiting for the experts to give their opinions.
Shouldice’s partner served as the firewall between him and the reviewers, ready to filter out any crushing words that might come to light. It turned out the safety net wasn’t necessary.
“The moment we pushed the button to say, ‘go live,’ that’s when the review embargo lifted,” recalled Shouldice. “I was not expecting her to start rattling off numbers like 98/100 or 10/10.”
“It was an emotional moment to realize that people really liked it. It’s just been a steady hum of interest since then.”
In a video game market that often seems filled with guns and epic wars, Shouldice found a niche that needed filling with Tunic. The game’s success proved that there are still people who want to get lost in a game. These dedicated gamers are even willing to feel frustrated when trying to solve its riddles.
“It is a passion project. This is something that’s meant to speak to people who relish those old experiences of setting out into the wild unknown,” said Shouldice.
“There’s a temptation to think that video games are first-person shooters and battle royales, but there’s a huge number of people who love the idea of being able to explore and solve riddles about the very nature of the world.”
Shouldice has many influences that went into making Tunic. When it came to the combat system, the developer says the popular “Souls” series was an inspiration. But the influence that most commentators have noticed is Nintendo’s iconic Legend Of Zelda games.
Shouldice recalled the experience everyone had when they shoved in an NES cartridge of the early Zelda games, decades ago.
“The game starts, you’re plopped into a world where you can go North, East, or West, or go into a cave over there. Suddenly, you’re being presented with all these opportunities.”
Shouldice isn’t sure what his next project will be. Right now he is focusing on game patches for Tunic and, of course, relishing in the game’s success. But he says he loves creating things so he is certain another idea will come along.
But he also wants to give his head a much-deserved rest.
“It’s been a long seven years and I feel I have some life to catch up on,” he said.
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].