[b][h2]One, Two, Three…[/h2][/b] Are your bags packed yet? Are you ready to track down Room 46? You play as Simon, who has inherited the right, title and deed to Mount Holly, a puzzling mansion on a sprawling estate. But the inheritance you have received comes with a catch… [previewyoutube=2cEKyYhC-Eg;full][/previewyoutube] The debut game of Tonda Ros, a visual artist and independent game developer based out of Hollywood. After a decade of working in the film industry and making stuff for other people, Tonda finally decided in 2016 to make something for himself. The following eight years can only be described as a labour of love. [i]“This was a project that I initially had expected to be finished in six months. But what’s a year or eight more among friends? I stopped keeping track a while ago.” [/i]- Tonda [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40356052/f21fd7726bdff65239a5208333295cfcd140baea.png[/img] We sat down with Tonda from Dogubomb to talk about how Blue Prince came to be. [h3][b]The Idea of Blue Prince[/b][/h3] [b]Q: When did you come up with the initial idea for Blue Prince?[/b] A: I had been tinkering for years with a few board game ideas and different design elements that eventually wound up together in the game, but the spring of 2016 was when all these disparate ideas came together under the umbrella of a video game concept. [b]Q: How did this concept come about?[/b] A: When I first started learning Unity, my only intention was to casually explore the technology and gauge how difficult it would be to make a game. On my second day in the program, I started working on a first-person test scene because without a character I didn’t need to figure out character animation to get my feet wet. I love first-person games and exploration so I started copy-pasting rooms and made a really big house with a lot of doors. Nothing is more fun to me than being in a room with multiple doors and having to pick one to investigate. That fundamental idea was the core concept I wanted to explore. Choosing between doors and choosing between rooms. I named that first test scene “House of One Hundred Doors”. That was Day Two. It would be another two years before that project was renamed to “Blue Prince”. [b]Q: Was it always the plan to make the game a mystery strategy game?[/b] A: I feel like if you let ten people play Blue Prince and then asked them what genre they’d classify the game, you’d get ten different answers. I didn’t try to fit this thing into a box and I’ve noticed players tend to focus on different aspects of the game that appeal to them, which in turn changes their perspective on the game's categorization. [b]Q: Was this game based on a love of other games like this?[/b] A: Actually, the game’s inspirational sources are mainly books and board games, but there’s no one wellspring that I heavily drew from. “Blue Prince” is more of a blended combination of a lot of things I love from a lot of different mediums. Speaking as a player, I’m not a big fan of derivative work in games. To me, there’s an extremely fine line between inspiration and imitation. I try my best to stay pretty far away from that line. But over eight years of development, I’m sure I skirted it a few times. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40356052/a43c8638e5e5bcd3ade50403e6f7812f1db0b37b.png[/img] [h3][b]Making Blue Prince[/b][/h3] [b]Q: When did development of the game officially start?[/b] A: At some point during the first three months that original test scene stopped being a test. It evolved and I didn’t have the heart to press B to stop it. Perhaps it was the day I created the first design document and laid out the drafting mechanic. Perhaps it was the day I first let a friend play a build and saw the look of disbelief on their face. Or maybe it was the day I quit “my job” to focus on the game full time. It was sometime in 2016. [b]Q: Was this with the same team as Dogubomb has now?[/b] A: I was working completely solo for the first two years. So no, the Blue Prince team was formed very slowly, piece by piece over the course of the project and the roster has changed many times over. [b]Q: What were the main challenges in making the game?[/b] A: By far, the biggest hurdle was maintaining mental stamina throughout such a long, long project. I worked about 80 hours a week on average, which I think is only sustainable if you really love what you are doing and don’t really know how much longer it’s going to take! Throughout development, I always believed the game was one year away from being complete. It’s easy to run in the desert when you see water. It doesn’t matter how dehydrated or tired you are. If you see water, you’re up and running. That’s what it was like. The game’s finish line was an ever-motivating, ever-moving goalpost that was always just out of reach, like a mirage on the desert horizon. [b]Q: What were some of your favourite parts of the development process?[/b] A: This one’s really easy to answer. Without a doubt my favorite thing in the process has been watching playtesters play the game. It's hard to imagine a game developer answering anything else honestly. The amount of joy I get from watching people play is ridiculous. I felt the same way at GDC watching people finally getting to experience the game.I think it helps that everyone’s playthrough is so unique. I’m constantly being surprised by things players are coming up with and the individual way they each approach the challenges of the game. It really never gets old. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40356052/221c177720e1b490c015883fcb51dbdb803ec851.png[/img] [b]Q: How are you feeling about the fact the game will launch soon?[/b] A: Thirsty! Wishlist Blue Prince now! Follow us on [url=https://twitter.com/dogubomb]Twitter[/url] Join us on [url=https://discord.gg/BluePrince]Discord [/url]