We recently had a chat with the mastermind behind “Tales from Candleforth.” In a casual conversation, we got the lowdown on this awesome 2D adventure! Be sure to read the interview to learn more about this amazing indie game!

Can you tell us about Tales from Candleforth?

Tales from Candleforth is a 2D point and click adventure that mixes escape room puzzles with a folk horror narrative and environment. In the game, you play as a sixteen years old girl, Sarah, whose grandmother just disappeared. Before she went away, Dorothy left a trail of bread crumbs behind for you to find her and finally be able to transfer a magic power that have been running in the family for generations. Therefore, Sarah embarks on a journey through discovery and rituals to find Dorothy and finally inherit the power.

What inspires your work?

For this title, my work has been highly inspired by animation, cinema, video games and music. I take a lot of inspiration from animation works like the films from Laika Films or shows like Over The Garden Wall influenced a lot of the art that we see on the game. In cinema I’ve looked a lot of films that study folk horror, immersing myself in the aesthetic and the narrative elements they use to define the genre. Video games are, of course, a great influence in what I do. I have played a lot of different games that helped me and the rest of the team make decisions on what direction we wanted Tales from Candleforth to go. Last, but not least, music is one of the cornerstones of the game and although we’ve taken inspirations from these cinema and animations soundtrack that we love so much, we have also taken some of the elements that take place in modern pop music production to add layers and depth to the soundtrack.

Goals for 2024?

My goal for the next year is to embark on a new journey (I may or may not have one foot in already) and start a new project, maybe bigger and different than this first one. As an artist I think we need to keep creating and learning or else we’ll get stuck, and I was afraid that Tales from Candleforth has been so demanding in terms of creativity that we have put everything we know into it, and not we need to recharge. Of course we’ll get back to Tales from Candleforth, because we still have so many tales to tell, and some of them are already planned, but I think making something different in between is something very positive for the whole team, so when we get back to it we’ll see Tales itself with a whole another perspective.

What is your biggest success story as a creator?

My biggest success is to reach people’s hearts. When I watch ‘Coraline’ or play ‘Little Nightmares’ my whole body shivers because I want to soak in them, I want to know more about them and in some kind of way, I feel this special feeling that they’re made for me, they speak to my soul. I’ve always dreamt with making something that would cause the same effect in other people. When I watch people play the game and get to talk to them afterwards to get feedback I see how people want to soak in the game and they say that it carries them away to somewhere else. Seeing that spark in someone’s eyes and how they are talking to you but keep looking back at the screen and smiling thinking about what they just saw, that’s an absolute treasure.

Advice to someone who wants to do what you do.

This may sound cheese but, keep trying. Life is shitty in so many ways, so, so, so many ways and so many things can go wrong, but if you’re a creative person, if you’re someone who wants to put good things out on the world, do it. Even if it’s one tiny thing, don’t worry, the next one will be a little bit better, and so on. The one thing that no one can take away from you is your creativity, so nurture it, watch, read, play and repeat, and you see how valuable that is. Surround yourself with people that knows more than you and have always your ears open for criticism so you can filter and take away valuable stuff that’ll make your work and skills grow twice as fast.

Where can folks support your work?

Right now we have Tales from Candleforth page up on Steam with a free demo and we’re releasing on Q1 2024, so if you play the demo and like it, you can add it to your wishlist. If you love our vibe and want to join us to stay up to date on what we’re plotting, you can follow us on X (former Twitter)@underthebedgms Thank you so much for the support.