Saint Kotar is a dark psychological adventure set in rural Croatia. It recounts a frightening tale of two godly men on the brink of insanity as they search or a missing woman in an ancient town plagued by occult rituals of devil worship and witchcraft.
Red Martyr Entertainment is a studio of 3 core members, located in a small coastal town of Pula in south Istria (Croation). Earlier in 2020 they ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for Saint Kotar, which aims to see the game released on Steam, Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch in Q3 2021. The prologue, titled "Saint Kotar: The Yellow Mask", is available now on Itch.io and Steam.
Q: What is something that makes your game unique? We believe it's the level of production quality and the story of Saint Kotar. Not too many point & click adventure games tend to be horror, and even less likely to deal with devil worship and witchcraft subjects. When you combine this with the level of production we've put into this project, then you get a really unique game in the genre. By no means we think it's the best of the best or that we are superior to others, we just think it's different, unique.
Q: How do you deal with negative feedback about your game? We released the prologue of Saint Kotar on the same day of its Kickstarter campaign launch. We had some great reviews and more often than not people like the game. But there are also negative feedback, which is normal. You can't please everyone, but there are also things that should have been done better. We read all our players' feedback and take them not only into consideration, but also act on them. So once we started working on the rest of the full game, after the end of the Kickstarter campaign, we have also started doing improvements and major overhauls to the technical side to make the full game the best possible one. Feedback, especially the negative one, is also crucial for us to grow as a developer.
Q: How many times have you reworked the art of the game? Just once, but the leap from the previous one was huge. We transitioned from a cartoonish art style to a semi-realistic one, from warmer colors to colder ones. We believe it was the right decision as the new art style reflects perfectly the world and the story of the game – colder, darker, desolated. Perfect for a psychological, mystery horror game set in the mountains.
Q: What are some of the fondest gaming moments from your childhood? Where did this all start for you? It all started out the day my parents bought me a Commodore 64. That was the day when I decided to become a game developer! I was only 8 years old at the time, so it was just a dream. Now I'm living the dream and I couldn't be happier. I really can't see myself doing something else. Except maybe in the film industry. My fondest moment from my childhood – playing Baldur's Gate and Fallout 1 & 2. Those days were beautiful, peaceful, and full of imagination.
Q: What advice would you share with other prospective indie developers looking to start their journey? To do their homework before making any move. I just jumped into the abyss of game development and have spent lots of money, time, and energy on mistakes only because I wasn't prepared well enough. Also, start with smaller projects, get some revenue coming your way, and then gradually increase the scope of your projects. Be smart, but above all be persistent because that's the key. Without persistence, you won't last for too long in the industry.
FOLLOW ALONG
Wishlist IWOCon 2020 here.