Nowadays it seems like anyone who wanted to could make a game, with the widely accessible tools and equipment at user's fingertips. However, those who start out on that journey will soon learn that it's not as fun and carefree as one might think. The world of game developers, and especially indie devs, is one of prioritizing and problem-solving in a way that gets a finished product out that players can truly enjoy. In a recent interview with Game Rant, KeyWe developers from Stonewheat & Sons discussed the highs and lows they experienced while making the game. As seamless as KeyWe may look, it took a lot of prototypes and playtime to get it to this point.
It's not all bad though, as Joel Davis and Grant Gessel discuss how they were able to relate to their own inspirations in a way that might have been diluted, had they worked as part of a bigger team. These developers have around eight or nine years each of experience in the gaming industry, and they were also able to do things better as they develop their own processes for the future of their company. It took a while to get there too, but Stonewheat & Sons are clearly happy with the journey that brought them a genuinely unique experience to bring to players.
All the Work, All the Responsibility
What many probably don't consider about making a game is all of the things that aren't actually involved in development. There is marketing, budgeting, and problem-solving, on top of all the design and production these developers have to worry about. As a team of only three, Stonewheat & Sons have that much more for each member of the team to do. While it's clear that there have been tough moments for the team, they've found ways to come through each issue stronger, and with a process to deal with it if that issue arises again.
"The Stonewheat approach is to process-ize everything and document everything so we know from conflict resolutions to design to our concept art, 'What is the process?'"
Stonewheat & Sons' approach to each new problem is to develop a process and document it so that it is prepared down the line. Joel discussed how he wasn't a fan of how the last company he and Grant worked for lacked the ability to document things well, and so nothing ever got done well. By choosing carefully what to spend their time on, as well as documenting the process as it happens, Stonewheat has been able to properly develop KeyWe into the chaotic puzzle platformer it's become. Even to the point that players can hop into a demo of the game on Steam right now, prior to release.
Completely Worth It for KeyWe
While creating a game from scratch can be a struggle, it can also be extremely rewarding to see a project realized in that players are actively investing time into something that the developer made. For Stonewheat & Sons, it definitely feels like a labor of love, with the scales balancing depending on the day. That being said, there is also the feeling from Stonewheat that it is really passionate about KeyWe in a way that shows in their game.
"It was definitely a struggle at the beginning, there was so much to do. But we start."
While it can feel like it might be a struggle that goes nowhere, all the best ideas have to start somewhere. For Stonewheat & Sons, that was back at the Global Game Jam 2018, where it first prototyped its Kiwi typing game in under 48 hours. Now, three and a half years later, the team behind that initial prototype is bringing KeyWe to fans in its fully realized game.
KeyWe is set to release on August 31, 2021, for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.