How did you come to be making a game? What started you off?

It was the dream of my life! When I was a kid, I liked reading books, especially comic books with episodes since you can follow the characters and get engaged with their journey. Later I started to tell stories for my friends and family like dungeons and dragons, except that I totally invented the stories. It was so fun to see how people reacted, and telling the story was even more fun, building a new world from nothing! Then, when I was 10 years old (drum roll) a friend invited me to his house, where he was playing the legendary game “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis”. I was SO intrigued by the idea that you can control Indy on his adventure! Without thinking twice, I asked for the same game for my birthday. Unfortunately (or maybe not...) the store didn't sell it. So I bought Simon the Sorcerer 2, which I had heard good things about. I finished the game, which ended with a dramatic cliffhanger!!! I then waited for AdventureSoft to release the third which took them 6 years! For me it was like forever. In the meantime, I wrote many stories of how the game might continue. I was pretty disappointed when the third game finally came out. I thought my ideas were more interesting. So I promised that one day, I will tell my own story, and here I'm... 20 years later, working on a game... which is Plot of the Druid of course. :-)

What's the plot of “Plot of the Druid”?

The plot follows Jase, a young apprentice at the druid academy. Most druids try to bring harmony to nature, but Jase wants to create his own type of harmony by using his powers to get stinking rich. All he needs to do is graduate, but it won't be simple. To pass the final test, he'll need to prove his worth by shapeshifting, controlling nature, brewing a powerful potion, and even growing a white beard! He was also just banished from the academy, which will make passing the test even more difficult. Along the way, he'll encounter strange and endearing creatures like a princess with an irritable bladder, a werewolf with an eating disorder, and a wooden cabinet that had a little too much fun the night before.

Is anyone else helping you with the game?

It's almost a solo effort. I work a full time job, every day 18 hours a day! Doing the writing, design, directing, programming, leading the entire project and marketing, all comes from my own savings. However, I'm not totally alone on this project. There are also professional artists, voice actors, a musician and another writer who is helping me make the dream come true. They were all carefully selected and their working hours by demand.

Are you using an established game engine to implement the game in?

Yes, I worked with Visionaire Studio for a long time, but switched to Unity this year. It brings more features and flexibility.

Are most of the puzzles inventory based? Any timed puzzles?

The puzzles in the demo (which is coming very soon!) are inventory/dialogues based. But the full game will also include a few time based puzzles. 

Will there be multiple endings?

No, but I'm considering multiple paths like in Indiana Jones and fate of Atlantis.

Is there a manual save system?

Both automatic and manual save systems are supported. For the manual - the player can use a slot or shortkey for quick saving. 

What's been the biggest challenge so far of developing your game?

From the technical side, optimization. Since the game uses hand-painted animations which are not reusable or separated to layers (kind of like the Broken Sword games). It has a significant impact on the loading time and the memory the game requires to run. So that's the bottleneck right now. Apart from the development itself, there's also my super tight budget which makes my life even harder, especially for an ambitious game like this.

Has it been enjoyable developing your own game?

That's a tricky question for someone who has worked on this game for the last 5 years. I enjoy working on the creative parts, to see how something you imagine comes true, and sometimes I can't even believe I made such a thing. The technical side is less fun for me, even though I feel comfortable with it. I worked in hi-tech quite long as a computer engineer, and later (ironically) on Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis Special Edition (a fans project). Writing a game is giving your heart. To make it happen is a logical process though. Also, for someone with the vision my motivation is always on top. However in this project many people come and go because of the money or motivation. So I would say it's challenging to keep a stable team.

What else would you like to say to the people reading this interview?

A free demo will come the next month, and its features include :

1+ hour gameplay with lots of silly jokes

A small taste of magical shapeshifting

Many references to classic Adventure games

Two difficulty levels as in Monkey Island 2/3

Fully voiced with six languages supported!

Available on Windows, Mac and Linux   

You will able to download it from here: (and wishlist the full game if you want): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1108170/Plot_of_the_Druid/

Kickstarter will come a couple months later (Technically, I can't open it from Israel so I'm looking for a workaround.) The funding goal is very high (~50K USD) and it's super crucial for making the full game. 

So, if you read this interview and like what we are doing - please spread the word and support us!

Thank you!