At Gamescom Opening Night Live, veteran game designer Ron Gilbert—best known for The Secret of Monkey Island and Thimbleweed Park—unveiled his latest title: Death By Scrolling.
The game’s action-focused rogue-like design surprised fans who had been anticipating a top-down, Zelda-inspired RPG, as Gilbert had previously hinted on social media.
Death By Scrolling, now available on Steam, encapsulates an evolution that was dictated not only by creative direction but also by the economic landscape of indie game development.
In a recent interview with Ars Technica, Gilbert shed light on the pragmatic factors that led to the shift from his original vision.
"I simply didn’t have the financial resources or bandwidth to build a large-scale, open-world game," he explained.
According to Gilbert, the reality of constructing such an ambitious project meant either dedicating a decade of passion-driven labor or securing substantial funding to hire a development team—options that weren’t feasible at this stage. Gilbert attempted to bring publishers on board to help shoulder the funding.
However, the response was tepid.
"The offers being made by publishers weren’t compelling enough for me to justify moving forward with the original concept," he told Ars Technica.
While nostalgia-driven, pixel-art adventures reminiscent of older Zelda games attract niche audiences, they lack the financial appeal that publishers seek for an investment promising major returns. In light of the challenges and unsatisfactory funding options, Gilbert revisited an earlier prototype he had built in 2019, named Runner.
This fast-paced idea involved escaping an endlessly scrolling screen—a mechanic he felt would better suit both his resources and the current market’s appetite for accessible, replayable action titles.
By merging elements from Runner and incorporating assets from his previously shelved RPG, Gilbert crafted the foundation for Death By Scrolling. The result is a game where players race through purgatory, battling enemies and collecting items while trying to stay ahead of the Grim Reaper.
This streamlined focus not only sidestepped prohibitive costs but also delivered something exciting for both Gilbert and fans of his previous work. Death By Scrolling is now available on Steam, priced at £6.69.
Gilbert’s candid insights into game development underscore the often overlooked influence financial dynamics wield over creative direction in the indie sector.
Death By Scrolling stands as a testament to pragmatic adaptation within the modern gaming industry.
The game’s action-focused rogue-like design surprised fans who had been anticipating a top-down, Zelda-inspired RPG, as Gilbert had previously hinted on social media.
Death By Scrolling, now available on Steam, encapsulates an evolution that was dictated not only by creative direction but also by the economic landscape of indie game development.
In a recent interview with Ars Technica, Gilbert shed light on the pragmatic factors that led to the shift from his original vision.
"I simply didn’t have the financial resources or bandwidth to build a large-scale, open-world game," he explained.
According to Gilbert, the reality of constructing such an ambitious project meant either dedicating a decade of passion-driven labor or securing substantial funding to hire a development team—options that weren’t feasible at this stage. Gilbert attempted to bring publishers on board to help shoulder the funding.
However, the response was tepid.
"The offers being made by publishers weren’t compelling enough for me to justify moving forward with the original concept," he told Ars Technica.
While nostalgia-driven, pixel-art adventures reminiscent of older Zelda games attract niche audiences, they lack the financial appeal that publishers seek for an investment promising major returns. In light of the challenges and unsatisfactory funding options, Gilbert revisited an earlier prototype he had built in 2019, named Runner.
This fast-paced idea involved escaping an endlessly scrolling screen—a mechanic he felt would better suit both his resources and the current market’s appetite for accessible, replayable action titles.
By merging elements from Runner and incorporating assets from his previously shelved RPG, Gilbert crafted the foundation for Death By Scrolling. The result is a game where players race through purgatory, battling enemies and collecting items while trying to stay ahead of the Grim Reaper.
This streamlined focus not only sidestepped prohibitive costs but also delivered something exciting for both Gilbert and fans of his previous work. Death By Scrolling is now available on Steam, priced at £6.69.
Gilbert’s candid insights into game development underscore the often overlooked influence financial dynamics wield over creative direction in the indie sector.
Death By Scrolling stands as a testament to pragmatic adaptation within the modern gaming industry.
