This solo developer spent 8 years making his game — BBC News

[0:00] I just know I pretty much woke up, you know, started working on the game and pretty much [0:05] would take like one or two breaks throughout the day and then worked until, you know, I [0:11] basically fell asleep, sometimes at the keyboard. [0:14] Yeah, it was, I would say I would not recommend it. [0:18] Tanda, thank you so much for speaking to us. [0:34] It's been just over a year since Blueprints came out. [0:38] What's that year been like for you? [0:40] It's been a little crazy. [0:44] I think I had always been told by other developers that be prepared to still work on your game [0:52] like for the next year, you know, sort of there's sort of like this aftermath echo where you're [0:59] still in that world, which I didn't expect to necessarily be doing things like going to [1:06] awards and stuff. [1:09] During that time, I kind of expected just to be, you know, fixing the game. [1:13] What was your process when you were going through kind of the iteration of the puzzles? [1:18] You know, did you have an idea and then you were thinking, how do I create a puzzle around [1:21] that? [1:22] Or how did the process work? [1:24] I think my process is kind of unusual in that I try to create as much as the world as possible. [1:29] And then instead of trying to like force in a puzzle, I kind of look like, what have I [1:34] already created that could work as a puzzle? [1:37] So I really like sort of like diegetic elements, like a breaker box, you know, and then you're [1:43] kind of thinking, how would this practically work? [1:46] And so the puzzles kind of emerge naturally once you've created the space and that. [1:53] But I definitely do not start by saying like, let me, how do I put this puzzle and create [1:58] a space around it? [1:59] I'm much more the type of, let me create the whole house and see what natural ideas emerge [2:05] from that space. [2:06] And this is the first game you've made. [2:08] You've said you were spending something like 80 hours a week for eight years. [2:13] I didn't really keep track. [2:15] And like, I just, I just know I pretty much woke up, you know, started working on the game [2:20] and pretty much would take like one or two breaks throughout the day. [2:24] And then, and then worked until I, you know, I basically fell asleep sometimes at the keyboard. [2:29] Yeah, it was, I would say I would not recommend it. [2:33] But what was it about the game that made you think, I've just got to keep at this. [2:38] You know, I, I need to. [2:39] I think it's my personality type because I think every project I've worked on. [2:42] Right. [2:43] Has it been the same thing? [2:44] It's been, it's been more or less. [2:45] Now, none of them have ever lasted more than a month. [2:47] Okay. [2:48] I think that's the big difference. [2:49] I think like the longest thing I had done prior to Blueprints was exactly three months. [2:54] And that was very similar, but I come from a filmmaking background. [2:58] And so I think that the workload kind of makes sense in film because you have to get [3:03] as much, you know, footage as you can each day, because, you know, you have only have [3:09] the actors for a certain amount of days. [3:11] So I think that that sort of intensity comes from there. [3:15] Now it works in a film because it's only six weeks. [3:18] Yeah. [3:19] You know, but yeah, eight years is probably a little long to sustain that intensity. [3:24] And was it just because you believed in the game so much or, you know, was there any, [3:28] a point where you... [3:29] Yeah. [3:30] I mean, that's fair enough. [3:31] It really was just like an absolute joy to work on it. [3:34] And oftentimes, you know, I would have conflicting, you know, social engagements and, you know, [3:41] I'd say four times out of five, I would pick the game. [3:43] Really? [3:44] Or overdoing those. [3:45] What did people say? [3:46] Like, oh, he's had Blueprints again. [3:47] Let's see. [3:48] Yeah. [3:49] It wasn't called Blueprints. [3:50] Obviously it was called Bequest, wasn't it? [3:51] It was only called Bequest for the first like eight months or so. [3:54] Okay. [3:55] And, I don't know, I think at some point they just realized I had fallen down a hole [4:01] and maybe I would emerge someday and maybe I wouldn't. [4:05] It's a mostly solo venture from you, so are there parts of the game that feel quite personal [4:11] to you? [4:12] Yeah. [4:13] I mean, the whole thing. [4:14] Yeah, of course. [4:15] Yeah. [4:16] I think it is a perfect representation of what I am and my taste in games. [4:21] Yeah. [4:22] I think that I tried to put everything into it that I love and, you know, it's a mix [4:29] of sort of like tabletop, board game design, very much influenced by that world and, you [4:37] know, sort of the first person traditional 3D point and click. [4:42] Was there any kind of worry that obviously it's something so personal to you that people [4:46] were going to buy into it, that people were going to get it? [4:49] I didn't really care if most people got it. [4:52] I thought that as long as it reached the people that were just like me, then I would be happy. [5:00] So it was really a question of like how to find those people or I guess how to let those [5:05] people find the game. [5:08] And as long as they found it, like, you know, I didn't need everyone to love it or everyone [5:12] to play it. [5:14] So that was a bit of a challenge. [5:15] Do you think we still have a little way to go to have people appreciate games as art? [5:20] I think, I mean, like maybe I'm living in a bubble, but I feel like, I feel like we are, [5:25] we are beyond there. [5:26] And if there's anyone that still has doubt, art's anything that moves you. [5:30] And, I mean, you can just look at the games of last year and there are so many experiences [5:37] that moved me. [5:40] And I think that there's games that even the most stone faced person would be moved by. [5:49] I mean, as a sort of solo developer, but also as a creative, can you see AI having a place [5:56] in that development process? [5:58] I mean, there might've been a world where that was possible, but the way it has kind [6:04] of unfolded, I don't see any real future for it at this stage. [6:10] I think that it's clearly anti-artist, or at least it's trending that way. [6:19] And so I can't see, I can't see supporting that and not also seeing the direct consequence [6:29] being the lack of artistic intent. [6:34] And so, yeah, personally, I don't, I think it, it is probably going to be the future regrettably, [6:43] but I think that I'm hoping enough people fight against the trend. [6:47] Fans of this game will want to know, would you ever consider doing a sort of Blueprints [6:51] 2, or do you think you're kind of... [6:53] I can confirm there will not be a Blueprints 2 or a direct follow-up to the game. [6:57] What about a Blueprints cinematic universe? [7:00] What do you think about that? [7:01] The world of Blueprints is rich enough that it probably could merit exploration in another [7:08] area. [7:09] And so I'm not opposed to doing that, but it will not be connected to the Mount Holly [7:14] manor or to the characters in the game. [7:17] And I believe, did someone sort of suggest potentially doing a film around it? [7:22] Yeah, I've been approached by several interested parties, some studios I really respect and [7:30] love their work. [7:31] It has been tempting, but I think I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go with my, my gut instinct [7:36] that is Blueprints is this game and this experience. [7:41] And I think it's, let's say I'm very content with, with having it always just be a self-contained [7:48] experience that's just this game.