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Release Date: Oct 29, 2020
Links:
Itch.io,
Newgrounds
I don't have a whole heck of a lot to say about Vehicle Simulator.
The inspiration for this game many people will find... Highly unusual.
I'm better known as a comedy writer first and foremost. But I have always enjoyed horror. Absolutely LOVE horror.
I used to enjoy oldschool creepypastas, loved reading SCPs, the whole nine yards.
A long time ago (and I have no idea when this was), I had watched a Yogscast video on a trucking game that was very creepy to me.
There's a ton of things in the game that are just so fucking off. So much so that when I watched the video I couldn't help but think "Is this intentionally horror"?
I had the idea of taking those elements in that game and making it into its own horror game.
One problem though.
I can't use Unity, Unreal Engine, or Godot.
All I knew was RPGMaker...
Fuck it. I guess that's what I'll use.
I can't tell you why but... I had decided I wanted to make a game in a single week.
And I had decided to take my idea for a Vehicle horror game and roll with that.
But instead of using an actual game engine... I just used RPGMaker.
Christ...
I. DON'T. KNOW.
I don't know what compelled me to work on a game in one week. I think I just wanted a challenge.
I don't know what compelled me to do that horror game idea instead of LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE.
I don't know why I had drawn the game in my hand-drawn style that I used in Pepper Adventure and my ASS webcomic.
I just don't know.
The game must've been a stream of consciousness thing. I completely and utterly winged the whole thing.
I can't offer much developer insight into this game. It was pumped out in a week and I moved onto the next project.
All I can say is that I was working on Pepper Adventure during this period (even then I don't remenber the exact timeline).
I think I just wanted to bust something out for Halloween. I liked the idea of releasing things only on Halloween. Feels aesthetic to me.
I remember wanting to add random German elements to the game. As a nod both to the video and the countless amounts of Simulator games from Germany.
At least... I think they're from Germany?
This game proves to me that if I wanted to, I can do literally anything in an extremely short amount of time.
I can't say I'm proud of much else in this game.
The art style is horrendous. Good in some areas but horrible everywhere else. Game just looks quite awful.
My friend composed a song (a decent one, mind you) which I took and mangled (with his permission of course) in order to create an eerie atmosphere.
It did not work, frankly.
The story... There kinda isn't one?
You're a guy. Who... Uh... Gets trained for a job... And then spooky game shit happens! OOoooo!
What about gameplay, huh?
Yeah the idea of being unintentionally caught in a loop where you have to "fix" things in order to progress into more chaotic loops seems... fine?
It can help build up tension and horror.
If there was any.
The game feels like a piss-poor description of a game in a creepypasta. But you can play it.
And it plays just as badly.
Like I said before, the fact this got made at all is much more of an achievement than the actual game itself.
I had some ambitious ideas. None of them executed well.
One day, I want to revisit the idea of a creepy vehicle simulator kind of game.
Preferably in an actual 3D game engine.
I would love to make horror games. Horror and comedy seem to be the two things I'm most interested in.
One day, I'll be able to make the true Vehicle Simulator.
The Vehicle Simulator that deserves to be made.