LESS THAN 1 WEEK TO GO UNTIL THE NEXT GAMAYO
A supernatural, side-scrolling, CRPG is set to be shown at the GaMaYo next Thursday (23rd) at Tileyard North, Wakefield. As always it’s our job to investigate all the great content that awaits us as well as deducing just who exactly are the cunning team who has brought this game to us.
This time round we are talking about…
Witchmarsh
This is being developed by Inglenook Games and we spoke to Luciano Sgarbi so he could fill us in on what to expect.
What would be your description of Witchmarsh?
Luciano – “Witchmarsh is a platform-CRPG set in 1920s Massachusetts. Players create and manage a team of investigators in a story-driven supernatural mystery.”
How did development start? (Were there any key inspirations or ideas that drove you?
Luciano – “Development began 9 years ago, which is still hard to get my head around. I grew up in Wakefield along with my fellow developer, Joe, and we ended up going to University to study 3D Animation together. After Uni we were working on very different projects, when I suggested making a videogame. Joe’s pixel art for the proposed project went viral on Tumblr, and it just went from there.”
Tell us about the team working on the game? (Where are you from? How did you get started?)
Luciano – “The game is made by two developers, myself and Joe. We’re also joined by a few helpers and mentors, and Francisco Cerda, who composes the game’s music remotely. Our friend Rob from South Africa has also been a huge help getting some of the early systems in place. Both myself and Joe got started in game development through modding, 3D artwork (which was our day-job before this), and tinkering in RPG Maker.”
As a team what kind of experiences do you hope to bring players?
Luciano – “Witchmarsh looks, on the surface, like a platformer with RPG parts tagged on, but it’s actually a fully-fledged cRPG like Baldur’s Gate or Neverwinter Nights, only seen from a side-view perspective. If the game is a success we hope to set up a studio here in Wakefield where we create high-quality and colourful RPG adventures.”
In 10 words or less, highlight the appeal of Witchmarsh?
Luciano – “It’s 1920s, pixel-art, jazz-age soundtrack, and there are talking skeletons.”
How are you planning to release Witchmarsh?
Luciano – “Witchmarsh will release in two parts, the first will be appearing on Steam as a ‘coming soon’ title, hopefully around the time GaMaYo takes place on the 23rd November. We’re calling this first installment ‘Witchmarsh: Tea Party of the Damned’ and we see it as being an important stepping stone on the road to delivering the full game. Players will create a team of detectives, and lead them on a short adventure which takes place before the events of Witchmarsh. It will be around 6-8 hours in length, and will launch on Steam Early Access sometime in 2024.”
