Beacon Pines Interview: Devs Discuss Kickstarter, Early Fantasy Prototype, And More
Beacon Pines is a new game from Hiding Spot Games, and it combines a cute, fable-like aesthetic with a creepy storyline that involves conspiracies, sci-fi elements, and more. This indie game took over four years to be finished, and the small team of three at Hiding Spot Games had to juggle the roles to optimize the development process and also streamline it. Much like other indie releases, Beacon Pines thrived thanks to a Kickstarter campaign that was completely funded quite early, providing the team with funding that allowed them to finish the game.
Oddly enough, despite the fact that Beacon Pines is now a full-fledged story-driven game where players can explore the various branching paths of the narrative, the early prototype consisted of a rhythm-based RPG battler. The idea ultimately didn't click with the developers, but some of the characters did stay, including Beacon Pines' protagonist, Luka, an anthropomorphic deer who ended up trading jeweled attires for a more modern outfit. Game Rant spoke to Hiding Spot Games' Matt Meyer and Ilse Harting, who talked about the challenges of a long development process, setting deadlines, and more. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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Q: What is the origin story behind Beacon Pines?
Meyer: It's a long, strange origin story. The original prototype for the game was a rhythm-based RPG battler sort of thing. We actually had a working prototype of it, it was pretty cool, it looked cool, and it also had Ilse's amazing art, but we never found it sounded like a great idea. Along the way, Ilse created these really cool characters, like Luka, the main character in Beacon Pines, who started off as
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