The meaningful choices that made Stray Gods developer Summerfall Studios
Summerfall Studios' debut title Stray Gods is a roleplaying musical where choices matter. It's only been a few weeks since the game debuted, but since then, Summerfall has been inundated with praise for crafting a vibrant mythical adventure about hope, self-discovery, and forging your own path.
The success of Stray Gods, which was just crowned Game of the Year at the 2023 Australian Game Development Awards, wasn't a happy accident. As is the case with most things in life, we're sure lady luck played her part–but as Stray Gods itself hammers home: choices matter.
During a brave and incredibly candid closing keynote at GCAP 2023, four members of the Summerfall team recalled how the studio has evolved since its inception by choosing to be proactive in creating a positive culture while also learning from its mistakes to protect, empower, and support its employees.
Describing some of her experiences in the industry prior to joining Summerfall, Stray Gods lead story artist Sasha Mutch recalls how she was five years into her animation career and preparing to move to Canada to work on a "pretty B-grade animated feature" when she finally received the script. It was, in her words, the "second-most sexist and racist" script she'd ever read. The first, if you're wondering, blamed a woman for being sexually assaulted because she'd had a drink at a bar.
It was an experience that left Sasha "jaded as hell," and she eventually turned down the job in Canada, although she neglected to mention why to her would-be employers. "I totally should've said something more about the script, but that's what this talk is about," she explains. After that, Sasha turned to freelancing and worked on some neat projects, but she never really felt like she'd
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