Interview with Talha Kaya About Soul Searching

Who is behind this idea and how you got into game development?

Soul Searching is done completely by one person so the idea is mine. I started making games when I was bored and didn’t want to hang out outside when I was 12. I’m forever grateful to a program called Game Maker for allowing me to start playing around with game design at an early age.

Explain the game in one sentence.

Soul Searching is a narrative survival game about sailing away from your homeland.

What made you excited about this idea?

The idea offered a vast space where I could put in all kinds of personal ideas and stretch them until they don’t feel too personal. I am a melancholic person at times, so creating a melancholic atmosphere about being lonely in the middle of a sea was a good fit.

What was your biggest struggle while making this game?

Unorganized nature of the development. Since I have to support myself, indie game development stayed a part time thing and I just worked an hour here and another there in order to finish development. It took nearly three years. In this long time I suffered from loss of motivation, direction, and I got depressed.

How long it took you to build it? Do you think you could have finished it earlier, if so why?

It took nearly three years. I think it’d be a worse game if I finished it earlier.

What did you hope for after you’ve released the game and what actually happened?

I wanted to have a connection with people and prove that I can manage a big project like this. I also wanted to make money! I didn’t make too much money. But quite a few people connected with the game and that was nice.

What lessons you’ve learned for future projects from this game?

Just how hard making a good game by yourself is and how competitive the market is.

How many other finished projects do you have?

Soul Searching is my only paid game, but I have about 40 “projects” varying from small prototypes to bigger free games.

What’s the biggest advice you have for people who want to work in game development?

Don’t make games if making games is not the best thing you can do.

Lastly, how video games influenced your life? How your life has changed with them?

Video games made me fat.

Soul Searching for Windows, macOS and Linux

Kayabros: Twitter

Personal: Twitter

Originally published at Indie Zoom.