Incredible Indies: BAFTA nominated studio Other Tales shares on the development of its latest game Miniatures

The games industry has many big-name studios with eager eyes on them, all waiting to see what their next big hit could be. But giant studios aren't necessarily the home to what could be your next favourite game.

There are thousands of independent game studios and solo developers, all hard at work crafting new game experiences with often unique ways of looking at games. In this series we aim to highlight those very games and the developers behind them. 

In this interview, we caught up with Other Tales’ co-founder Tanja Tankred to discuss the indie studio's journey since its release of Tick Tock: A Tale for Two and its newest game release, Miniatures. We touch on some of the challenges of independent game development, some of the highlights and what Other Tales may be taking on next.

PocketGamer.biz: Let’s start by talking about your latest game, Miniatures. Where did the original concept for the game come from? 

Tanja Tankred: Miniatures was born during lockdown when we spent a lot of our time watching animated shorts, ordering graphic novels, and reading picture books online.

We were quite fascinated by the visual universes and short, impactful stories of these mediums, and we wanted to capture that visual picture book quality in a game. 

Initially, Miniatures was supposed to be just one short game, but as we created more prototypes, we started to see a pattern and a certain mood we were all drawn to. So, it didn’t take long before the one-game concept became a whole game collection. 

The title is a collection of shorter interactive stories. What made the team want to explore separate stories rather than one longer one?

Working with multiple stories gave us an opportunity to experiment with the game format itself, allowing us to explore a certain theme and mood from different angles.

We also really liked the idea of a game that could provide the same experience as a short story collection, where you have short but powerful stories that usually revolve around one moment or topic.

Somehow, we were not so interested in a big epic tale, but we were more interested in these smaller moments of everyday life when you were a kid in a sometimes incomprehensible world. 

What can you tell us about the development process? How many people do you have working on the team involved with Miniatures, and what has development been like? Have there been any challenges?

Miniatures started out as a play project with just three people, but as the project grew in size, so did the team. Around four people worked full-time on the project towards the end and five freelancers. 

One big challenge was creating all the art in multiple styles. The artist Balázs Rónyai has done an incredible job creating a hand-drawn universe that fits each story perfectly. However, it was definitely a challenge to create styles that would stand out individually while working together as a whole. 

The game was released on November 14th. What has the players' reception been like so far? 

The reception was truly heartwarming; people really resonated with the game, and we loved it when players told us that even though the game was short, it would stay with them for a long time. 

It’s also been wonderful to see players analyse each game and relate their personal experiences from childhood. While making the game, we worked a lot on withholding information and being subtle in the way the stories are told. This was to create room for player interpretation. So it’s been really great to see it happening! 

Is there something you are most proud of regarding the game?

We are just really proud to have made the game. It’s a bit of a risky project with four different stories, visual styles, soundscapes and gameplay. We had to constantly reinvent and start from scratch whenever we started a new game in the collection. However, it kept the process interesting and fun all the way!

Speaking of achievements, Other Tales is no stranger to them! Your last game, Tick Tock: A Tale for Two, was nominated for many awards, including a BAFTA. How do major milestones like this feel for the team, and how do you reflect on the studio's journey so far?

It makes us incredibly proud to be nominated and win awards at festivals and it is a great “boost” for us as a team. It always feels wonderful to be recognised for the work that we are doing! 

Maybe one of the biggest transformations is that Other Tales is now a studio that has released two games instead of one, and we are still here. I think making multiple games has made us more certain of our direction, and we know more about what games we will continue to make. 

What about the challenges or positives of being an independent studio? Is there anything you have had to be more mindful of?

I think our eternal battle has something to do with scoping and time. It’s very hard to cut, to stop improving and actually decide that now the game is done.  It’s time to press that release button. 

Do you feel it's been tougher for indies to get recognised over the past few years? How would you like to see the indie scene develop over the coming years? And what about Other Tales? Where would you like to see the studio in the years to come?

I think it is always hard to be an indie. There is a lot of work going into making a studio, creating the games, and promoting it. Some of the processes get easier the longer you stay in the field, but I don’t think it will ever be easy. 

For the industry, I really hope that we can all continue to create these smaller experimental experiences and that they will continue to be viable. 

In Other Tales, we will continue down the path of experimental storytelling and continue to stay small; we don’t have a dream of becoming a bigger studio. We want to stay small and flexible. 

Do you have any advice for other independent developers, be it solo or a small team?

I find it really hard to give advice to others, but perhaps figuring out what is really important to you. Do you want to make something thought-provoking, playful, serious, experimental, known, mechanics heavy, gameplay focused and so on.

What makes you excited? Game development is a long process, so you might as well enjoy it for the years to come! 

In Other Tales, we generally like to explore the boundaries of storytelling and be a little bit in the unknown. The projects should not be too safe, that keeps the development exciting for the long haul for us.

Finally, is there anything else we should be on the lookout for from you or anything else you want to share?

So far, all the lamplight has gone to Miniatures. We will keep talking about it, go to festivals, and do minor updates. After that, we will slowly begin working on something new! Possibly another two-player, we will see.