BlackStarGames | Boogeyman Dev Interview

That1GuyAgain:
How did you get into creating games.

BlackStarGames:
“I started playing around with RPG Maker XP back when it came out,
and have always had an interest in game development since then. I
left a full time job on fairly decent money to go to college /
university to learn game development (5 years later) and here I am
publishing my first game on Steam I studied a bit of everything,
animation, music, concept art, design, 3D art, programming, etc...

However, I choose the 3D Environment artist path at university in which my
degree is in

I worked for a time at R8 Studios after graduating, on their game on
Steam (still in alpha I believe) Formula Fusion a lot of my
environment work is in there, and the vehcile shield effects were my
work. I can't really discuss why I left as I signed an NDA. But they
dropped a large portion of their team, me included I had already got
a house etc and setteled down where I currently am, the only jobs I
could find were in London etc, pretty far away.”

That1GuyAgain:
So you made the choice to make your own game and go from there?

BlackStarGames:
“Yeah pretty much so I took the impossible route of been a solo
indie developer. It's going well so far, and it's pretty nice working
from home.”

That1GuyAgain:
They say under pressure we make our greatest hopes a reality.

BlackStarGames:
“Yeah, I was working 18 hours a day including weekends of quite
awhile to meet a Halloween deadline, for obvious reasons with the
genre of my game.”

That1GuyAgain:
Well I say it paid off, the game looks beautiful and has amassed
quite the cult following including some full plays on some of the
biggest YouTube channels.

BlackStarGames:
“It's done much better than I had hoped. I was hoping my first game
would keep my afloat to focus on a larger project.”

That1GuyAgain:
On that note, what inspired you to create a horror game?

BlackStarGames:
"RPG, FPS, adventure, and so on all require really large worlds and
levels usually. I felt a horror game within a single room to focus
all my efforts on was a nice first step. In truth I'm not much of a
fan of horror games. The last time I played one was on the
playstation 1 with the old resident evils. Creating one though is
obviously a lot differnt from playing one and I love horror movies

So I tried to make it feel more atmospheric and that 'tense' feeling you
get from watching horror films."

That1GuyAgain:
It worked for sure! The atmosphere of the game keeps you on your
toes, especially when the other objects in the room start making
noise. That was a great addition.

BlackStarGames:
"I'm currently working on 2.0, which includes the entire house to
explore. As staying in one room the entire game does get a little
dull / repetative"

That1GuyAgain:
I like that idea, adding interesting ideas to where you can be
spooked.

BlackStarGames:
"Yeah, I like exploring within games too, so it gives me chance to
hide a lot of the story around the house, along with the risk of
bumping into the Boogeyman lurking around."

That1GuyAgain:
Where did your inspiration for the art of "Boogeyman" come
from.

BlackStarGames:
"It's true I got the mechanic of defending enterances to the room from
FNAF4 everything else however was purely just my own way of doing things.

Including the art, I knew I wanted it to feel cartoony, but still very real, as
if looking through a child's eyes. Bright vibrant colours, lots of
variations to lighting and such."

That1GuyAgain:
So the actual Boogeyman character, was he something you dreamed up,
or was he your own personal "nightmare" as a child?

BlackStarGames:
“I heard people saying it looks similar to amoung the sleep and
such, which I'd never heard of until pointed out.

I had pretty bad nightmares as a kid, and I was terrified of the dark
so I tried replicating that base fear and tension with The
Boogeyman. I watched 'The Candy Man' when I was 7 and it terrified me for months.

I realized this game would attract a lot of young players, so I stayed
away from blood / intense gore and such. He's made sort of goofy
looking on purpose."

BlackStarGames:
Nightmare mode however.... will feature a very different rendition of the
Boogeyman”

That1GuyAgain:
I do like the way the game played out my children like horror games,
but I don't like them watching intense violence, so I like that they
can enjoy it to.

That1GuyAgain:
Oh I'm totally looking forward to a 'Nightmare Mode'

BlackStarGames:
“Yeah I'm sure there are people who were expecting a more 'true
horror' experience haha, but I feel it's a nice 'medium' for younger
and older players alike with the way the game is Nightmare mode is
for the more 'hardcore' horror fans.”

That1GuyAgain:
Can't wait to experience it!