We had the pleasure of chatting with the creator of “The Memories That Shape Us”. An indie game all about memories and life lessons. This one is a very inspiring interview so be sure to check it out!
Be sure to check out the game on steam
“The Memories That Shape Us is a narrative video game that lasts about two hours. Find the Memory Capsules to uncover the story of a person’s life from childhood to adulthood, all the joys, all the struggles, and all the lessons. How much can one take before they’ve had enough?”
Tell us about your game?
The Memories That Shape Us is a casual, narrative driven game. Think The Beginner’s Guide and The First Tree. You explore houses and apartments through different years, 1998 – 2024, searching for memory capsules that reveal the memories of a life from childhood riding bikes, playing catch with dad, and playing video games to adulthood challenges of fatherhood, divorce and finding solace in a painful world. All of this with the goal to invoke an emotional experience that provides a sense of hope for the player in their own life.
What inspired you to create this game?
My own life. I have always wanted to start developing my own games as a solo developer and I was also going through a really challenging time in my life. I had already been through a lot from when my mom was sick with Valley Fever when I was a kid, to my dad being terminal for seven years with Multiple Systems Atrophy before passing in 2015, to divorce losing about everything I had, to learning to raise a daughter as a single dad, and then my mom being diagnosed with cancer. So, I thought why not tell my story to the world within a very simple game. It provided therapy for myself, rebuilding all the previous places I have lived and telling the stories of my life in each one of those homes or apartments. All that while learning the entire pipeline of creating a commercial video game.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a game dev?
Just start doing it. If you want to be a solo dev, you have to pick an extremely small scope game and turn it into a finished project. If you want to sell your games then I recommend also going through the process of publishing it for sale because there is so much more than just art and coding when it comes to developing a commercial game. If you want to specialize and work within a team then it is extremely important to find a small group of people that share an equal motivation and willingness to work. As you develop really pay attention to everything you have to do to finish and when you are done, make sure you go back and really analyze everything that went well and what could be improved upon. It is a constant learning process, but is just so much fun!
Goals for you game?
When I started my only goal was to publish, but as I got closer to launch I knew it had such a great message for people that I wanted more people to play it and share their experiences. I have to say though, I have already touched somebody emotionally, and that alone made the whole development process worth it, even if not another person plays it. The fact that I may have changed one life and given one person hope, I mean what else can I ask for? Truly amazing.
What message would you like players to take away from your game?
Never. Give. Up. Life can be so painfully brutal at times, but it is so important to keep pushing through knowing there are brighter days ahead. Everybody faces different struggles in their own lives and it is vital to understand that we don’t always know the battles someone is facing. We should always extend grace and kindness whenever we can to each other.
Biggest success story so far?
One of my first players left an amazing review that left me absolutely speechless. I will quote it here, “Im typing this review with tears in my eyes. Its crazy how I had a not so great and stressful day, dealing with all the usual life hurdles I have to go through, especially having a son diagnosed with type 3 ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Some days are tough, and today was one of them. As usual, I went to sit on my gaming laptop after putting my son to bed. This is my wind down time. I played this game, and it was absolutely wonderful. Its so cool how I sat at my laptop in tears, because I myself don’t know how I could go on living this way with such a huge weight on my shoulders. This game was my sign. Thank you, I needed this. With that said, this game is worth every penny.” The first time I read this I shed a few tears of my own. I did it. I gave someone exactly what they needed in their own difficult time. Right then and there I deemed this game a success.
Where can folks support you?
Most importantly, I encourage you to play The Memories That Shape Us all the way through and share the good message with others inviting them to play as well. Otherwise I am most active on X and YouTube @dirtyderkus. I appreciate any and all support even if it just means reading this article. Thank you to everybody.
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