How Potionomics turned price-haggling into a card game
gamedeveloper.comThis interview is part of our Road to the IGF series. The IGF (Independent Games Festival) aims to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize independent game developers advancing the medium. Every year, Game Developer sits down with the finalists for the IGF ahead of GDC to explore the themes, design decisions, and tools behind each entry.
Potionomicsgets players to run a fantasy potion shop, setting up their sales with a haggling-based card game that has them talking up their concoctions.
Game Developer spoke with Aryo Jati Darmawan, co-founder of the studio behind the Excellence in Visual Art nominee, to discuss how chemistry and smoothie-making inspired the potion-brewing mechanic, how they made use of their characters to make the UI clearer (and more charming) in certain segments, and the thoughts that went into turning a sales conversation into a card game.
Who are you, and what was your role in developing Potionomics ?
I am Aryo Jati Darmawan, co-founder of Voracious Games and I contributed to the art and design in Potionomics.
What's your background in making games?
It has always been my dream to work on my own video games since I first played Super Mario RPG as a kid. I majored in game art in college and did an internship at Harebrained Schemes painting walls and shrubs for Shadowrun Returns. From there, I got really interested in visual effects and became a VFX artist in the game industry for a couple of years. Eventually, I found myself in between jobs and I decided that was the perfect time to pursue my dream of starting my own indie game studio.
How did you come up with the concept for Potionomics ?
A long time ago, I stumbled upon a Japanese indie game called Recettear
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