game for players over time. One of the great ideas that came up late was an amazing engineer, David Block, ‘Could one of our NPCs have a disability?’. “It was such a great idea, I mean, we have constantly into our game, and have tried our best to have players see folks like themselves in the world as well. I then spun up a small group of folks to consider having our Master Carpenter Aspen, given his cool skillset, move around in a mobility chair of his own design and making. “Kim Parker made an incredible concept for it, rigs, models, and designs were all adjusted, and in a very short time, we had Aspen cooler than ever in the game. We all loved it and Aspen instantly became one of our favourite NPCs. We did a sensitivity test to make sure we were doing something that the community could feel good about, and are so glad we did it. It was hard, and came in later in development, but the team wanted it badly enough that they just went the extra mile to get it in.”
BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER Fae Farm has now made it out into stores, and Epp maintains a healthy attitude to game development, showing no desire to change anything about the process that got the team and its game to this point. “Well, all of us wish we’d be able to go back and undo mistakes we make along the way, but honestly, if we did that we’d not have learned the great lessons those missteps can give us,” muses Epp. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built, and sure things like ‘I wish we had caught that bug before we shipped’ are in my mind, we did our best, and learned great lessons on the way too, so don’t dwell on “what could have been” too terribly much to be honest.” “I get asked for advice for people starting out a lot and
“You get better at making games by making games, and you should do it with other people. Whether it’s a simple board game prototype, or a game jam, or a student project,
it. Just know that you’ll make mistakes, and have bumps along the way, and that that is okay.” The reaction to Fae Farm has been largely positive, and it has by this point managed to carve out a following and a space for itself in its niche. For Epp, however, the highlights of getting the game out there have been all about other people.
“When I saw a father reading the text to their young child who was playing Fae Farm at PAX West at a demo station, it was just pure magic to see,” reminisces Epp. “It was bringing people together. It was welcoming and accessible to a wide range of people, and I just knew, anyone that picked up the game would have a good time, and feel psychologically safe doing it, and be able to see themselves in what they were playing. That’s something I always want to be able to do going forward in all the games I make. “We’re really heartened by the reaction to Fae Farm thus far,” Epp continues. “We’ve released a number of quality of life updates since launch as well, that address some of the feedback we’ve received from fans, and we have plenty more things planned to expand the world. We’re currently working on DLC we released in December, and we think players are going to really enjoy what we have in store for them.”
December/January 2024 MCV/DEVELOP | 53
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