Signal Boost: “3 Minutes to Midnight” by Scarecrow Studios A 2D Adventure style indie game with a dedicated team behind it

Have you ever played any of the Monkey Island games? Maybe you’ve missed those sorts of classic point and click adventure games, I know I have. Well, there’s a new adventure game called “3 Minutes to Midnight” that might scratch that itch. This indie game is being developed by Scarecrow Studio, a team that is destined to make this game the best it can possibly be. I was able to contact the head of Scarecrow Studio, Jan Serra, for a quick interview about the game and his experiences working on it.

Gumshoe: How did you get into video games?

Jan: I was working on engineering for like 15 years. Then I had a change of heart and wanted to do something more fun… and I started investigating how I could make a video game with a little budget. I always loved video games and mainly adventure games, so I wrote a story … created some cool characters and hired a team to bring it to life

Gumshoe: You are working on your first game, a point and click adventure titled “3 Minutes to Midnight”. So what made you want to make this game?

Jan: I really missed the old games like Monkey Island and Loom … there are many adventure games but they are not the same… so I wanted to give it a try and do something in that direction but with a more actual look.So the idea was to update the graphics and animations … but keep the humor and the style of puzzles. I really think that it’s something adventure gamers miss.

Gumshoe: Scarecrow Studio has a good sized team, what has it been like working with others on “3 Minutes to Midnight”?

Jan: I started this project alone for a few months writing the story and defining the characters. Then I hired a small team (without going into details, they were not big fans of the genre so the things didn’t work out). Then I was about to give up but decided to keep going, and hired a more professional team with more experience. I have to say working with this team is amazing, every single member of our Studio is a big professional and great human beings. It’s a pleasure to walk into the office every day. I’m really glad they decided to work on this project.

Gumshoe: What would you say are some challenges that come with developing a game like “3 Minutes to Midnight”?

Jan: We always have a hot potato, this week, for example, we were dealing with organizing the E3, a few weeks ago we had to cut some scenes and puzzles to keep the timing on point… Now we are working really hard on the demo, and it’s a big pressure because it’s a trial by fire… this will be a kink point for the project so we hope everything goes well.

Gumshoe: Lastly, have any advice for other indie devs?

Jan: I would recommend, before starting any project, to write everything down. The story, characters, screens, mechanics, software to make the game… Try to give it an estimate of time, that would give you a very good picture of the size of the project and will help you see if you can bring it to life or not. After that make a list of all the tasks you have in mind (even if it’s not all of them) and try to keep them on track. Stick to the plan, don’t make changes (unless they are easy) changes take time and can kill a project.

Well, I got to say, I am hyped for this game. Scarecrow Studio will even be at e3! How cool is that! I hope that the development goes smoothly and I wish the team the best of luck. If you want to follow the development or just want to know more about Scarecrow Studio, I recommend following their Twitter, Facebook, and joining their Discord. They even have a great website that is full of information about their game and team. With that said, I am Gumshoe, and thanks for reading.

Scarecrow Studio Twitter: https://twitter.com/scaringcrows

Scarecrow Studio Website: scarecrow-studio.com

Scarecrow Studio Discord: https://discord.gg/kXg9fx7

Scarecrow Studio Facebook: https://facebook.com/scarecrowgamestudio/