A central theme in the game is about exploring the sins of the past, and exploring a town where you don’t know anyone, but where everyone thinks that they know you. You are, for better or for worse, a blood relative of the Scarlet s. You were raised by a now-dead single mother. Obviously, there are a few things we dictate about the player’s backstory. Tony: In terms of pronoun selection, one, it was pretty easy to code, and two, it is absolutely integral to the narrative of Scarlet Hollow that you experience it as (roughly) yourself. How important was the representation of diverse communities when creating the cast?

Characters of different races, body types and gender identities are all represented, and you can select your preferred pronouns at the beginning of the game. But, of course, folks can always play through again to see if there’s an ending they like better!īD: T he cast of Scarlet Hollow is very diverse. I also want to mention that we aren’t designing a “true” ending-we’re mak ing sure each ending will feel satisfying and conclusive, though I’m sure that will vary based on what sorts of endings people are expecting.

The pivotal choices at the end of each episode will play a part, as well as choices you make when interacting with other characters - when we say choices matter, we mean it! We’re tryin ’ to weave an elegant tapestry for each player’s decisions, and hopefully, they’ll be able to feel the impact of their role in the narrative rather than feel like someone who was just along for the ride. All of our technical resources are going into making sure the narrative actually branches.Ībby: Like Tony said, we’ve got a fun bouquet of endings planned, and whether you solve the mystery or not isn’t as important as the way you choose to engage with the mystery. There’s a reason that there’s no voice acting in the game, and there’s a reason that there aren’t any minigames or rgameplay outside of talking to people and making decisions. I know that those are big promises and that people have been let down by stuff like that before, but as someone who’s personally been let down by weak endings in choice-driven narratives, I care a lot about bringing things together in a meaningful way. In terms of how we’re looking at things right now, Episode 7 is probably going to feel like 2 or 3 separate games, with a multitude of endings in each of th e main story branches. You’ll be experiencing the same story, in a sense, but from wildly different perspectives depending on how you ’ve chosen to engage with the themes, narrative and characters. The Witcher 2’s second act is completely different depending on what major choice you pick at the end of Act 1, and that’s going to be how Episode 7 of Scarlet Hollow plays out. Tony : Oh, there are multiple endings alright, and in a much different way than people might be anticipating. Will Scarlet Hollow feature multiple endings, and if so, are they related to whether the characters are successful in solving the mystery? We talked about what it’s like crafting cryptids, speaking to animals, forming a game development studio during a pandemic, and more -check it out below, but beware of (very minor) spoilers!īloody Disgusting: One of the main features of Scarlet Hollow is “a heavily branching narrative where your choices matter.” The second episode has the characters trying to uncover the mystery surrounding the town and the mysterious Ditchlings. Scarlet Hollow is, frankly, one of the best horror games that I’ve played in recent memory, so I leapt at the opportunity to discuss its development with Abby Howard and Tony Howard -t he duo that are running the show. Its second of seven episodes was recently released and further stoked my fervor to figure out what the hell is going on with the town, and to start romancing its inhabitants! The decision-based visual novel has everything that I could want stitched into one game : horror, a mystery to be solved, romance, and even an opossum named Dustin that you can talk to. I was immediately hooked the moment I stepped into Black Tabby Games’ cryptid and sepia-filled world of Scarlet Hollow.

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