To make horror games of my own, I have to expand my horizons as possible with horror games that already exist. The more I can really get into the nitty-gritty of other works that inspire me, the more I can gain knowledge and learn where my next steps might be.

Recently, I think I've stumbled into the perfect candidate to aim for with my next few games: the point-and-click horror puzzle game series Forgotten Hill, made by the Italian duo @FM-Studio, who got their start here on NG! Forgotten Hill mixes head-scratching escape room gameplay with old-school horror settings and sometimes a little bit of gratuitous darkness, all seasoned with hints at interesting lore, to uncover piece by piece as you figure out what exactly is up with this town.

As far as I understand from the About page on the FM Studio site, the answers I got were from Francesco, who does the main development of the games themselves, though credit must also be given to Manuela, who is in charge of API integration and the business end. They were even kind enough to give me some images from the dev process that I could put up here with the interview!

As before, this will eventually be made into a YouTube video, alongside the interviews I did with Mike Klubnika and Yatoimtop! (I am a really bad procrastinator when it comes to writing these video scripts. :') )

Minor spoilers ahead for the Forgotten Hill series! If you'd like to play the games first, they can be found on the official website, where most of them can be played in-browser!

Inspirations/Process

What got you into game development in the first place? What about the art, storytelling, etc angles of it?

Video games have always fascinated me, ever since I saw the first pixel move on an old TV. Right away, I started imagining all the things I could create. It took quite some time before I could fully dedicate myself to making games. Luckily, the artistic and narrative aspects are always evolving and the more I work on games, the more I learn and become comfortable with the styles that best suit me and the game I'm working on. There’s a lot of experimentation, and many mistakes are made along the way.

What came first, the story/setting idea or the idea to make (horror) puzzle games?

The setting and the desire to make horror games definitely came first. The puzzles came later.

What is your favorite horror media?

Definitely books. Many of my inspirations come from great horror novels - especially Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Edgar Allan Poe. No other medium impresses or influences me as much as books do.

How do you plan out the flow of puzzles from one to the next? What do the earliest versions of the games look like?

A game actually starts on a flowchart (see picture as an example), and the first things added are rooms, the ones that are initially necessary for the story. The progression of the puzzles is designed within this diagram, keeping in mind that the puzzles (or what they reveal) must, in some way, "push the story forward." The first playable version of the game is essentially just empty rooms that I move between to test the flowchart.

(Editor's note: This is a cool flowchart, though I didn't get any clarification about what these shapes mean. Good to know, though, I might start up some Google Drawings to plot out the games I've got planned.)

How do you plan out the lore hints in the games? Do you keep a master document of everything there is to know about the Forgotten Hill universe?

Lore hints are implemented during the creation of the initial flowchart. This often happens to highlight or deepen the backstory of minor characters who deserve a bit more attention. And unfortunately no, there isn't a master document that contains everything, except in our heads. In fact, when working on a new game, besides relying on memory, we often need to watch videos or replay old games to ensure that everything fits correctly. We really should write that document!

How did you develop the art style of the games? It looks like it takes a lot of work to make these hand-drawn sprites. I’m impressed. Do you have concept art?

The graphical style of the Forgotten Hill games, as it is now, was developed for two reasons. First one is that I wanted a style that was different from other games, something recognizable. There are so many point-and-click games, and some are really good. So, besides working hard to make a good game overall, I also wanted to create a distinct visual style. The second reason is that this is simply what I am able to do. I experimented with various styles that I really like, from illustrative styles to watercolor effects, but the results weren’t good enough to be used. Find attached 2 pictures of paper concept art and how they became in game.

Has anything interesting been scrapped from any of the games?

Yes, many things get removed or never make it into the final game, often due to time constraints.

Parts of the story, puzzles, or even interesting gameplay mechanics sometimes have to be left out.

However, nothing that gets scrapped is gone for good, many ideas often return in different forms in

other games.

How was your experience creating a game for the PICO-8? What was interesting about the

limitations you had to work with?

Working with PICO-8 was amazing. Having development constraints almost turns the process into a puzzle itself, as you need to solve certain problems to move forward (which is exactly what happens). Moreover, it taught me a lot about programming, since my programming skills are still pretty basic, and managing a game within those limitations is a great exercise.

Success

What was your initial reaction when your games started to gain traction?

At first, when we got the first positive comments about our games, we thought, "Wow, could it be that we can really make video games?" It’s really satisfying, and still a bit hard to believe, to see that what we’ve created in video games is seen and appreciated by so many people. It gives the motivation to keep going and to work hard to improve every time.

Do you have any larger goals you want to aim for with this franchise? How many games will there be in the Forgotten Hill universe?

How many games there will be? Who knows? The Forgotten Hill universe has expanded quite a lot since its beginning, and there are many characters whose stories and motivations we’d love to explore further. Right now, the biggest goal is getting to the conclusion of the main story. We are already working on it, but it takes a lot of time. There’s so much to show in order to properly wrap up Mr. Larson’s story.

Here’s your chance to promote your other stuff! What’s your favorite game you’ve made out of the various little unrelated titles you’ve created?

At the moment, our favorite is definitely Detective Lawrence. It’s a small game (but still a little horror-themed) that was really fun to make and should be released soon (hopefully!). We wanted to make a pixel art game for a long time.

(Editor's note: I happened to catch a couple playtest phases of the game! It's fun enough that I played through it a few times - even sorta speedran it! It also has a slightly different gameplay style from the others, and I think I should probably keep it in mind when I'm working on my own stuff.)

Misc/Silly Questions

What advice would you give to someone struggling to play through the games (i.e. me)?

The best advice is to not get stubborn on a single puzzle. Often there are multiple tihngs/puzzles that can be done at the same time, to avoid the game to be too linear. When you see a puzzle, ask yourself: Do I have the clues to solve it? If yes, solve it. If not, move on, you’ll come back to it later. Also, sometimes, simply taking a break can help, and you might realize that the clue to what seemed like an impossible puzzle has been right under your nose the whole time.

What happened to the father and the dog? Why is the father a werewolf, and how the heck did the dog become a giant spider? (Context - Forgotten Hill: Fall)

The father became a "wolf" after a surgery procedure by the Colonel. In the first chapter of First Steps you can find a note in the house mentioning an appointment at the surgery clinic. And the dog... well, maybe he has always been a spider.

(Editor's note: "First Steps" is the compilation of the first three Forgotten Hill games: Fall, Puppeteer and Surgery. I played through these games individually instead of buying the compilation, so I wonder if I missed the appointment note when I was playing through Fall, or if it was just added when the compilation was made. I do tend to be oblivious.)

I can imagine you’re good at escape rooms if you design games like this. Have you been to any? Which have been your favorite experiences?

Surprisingly, we’ve never been to an escape room. Always wanted to do that experience but never got the chance, also not very sure we would be good at escaping. Designing traps doesn’t mean you are good at getting out of one!

As a novice game dev always looking for the next branch to reach to, part of the reason I’m conducting this interview is because I now want to make some point and click horror puzzles of my own. What advice would you give to someone thinking of making similar games in the future?

Don’t put the safe key inside the safe.

When designing a game, especially if it’s a long one, you might unknowingly create dead ends. If you discover these dead ends too late during development, you might have to redo entire sections of the game, which can be a huge waste of time.

Another tip is to carefully balance puzzle difficulty (which is not easy). It’s also good to alternate puzzle difficulties, after having solved a tough puzzle, it’s nice to have a smaller, simpler one as a kind relax time. This also makes the experience feel more fluid.

Also, try not to place a clue too far away from its puzzle. If the player gets distracted along the way, they might shift their focus elsewhere instead of staying engaged with that particular puzzle. (So many times we made this mistake!)

What exactly is Pico from “Rise of Pico”/how did you design it? Frankly, I didn't expect it to look the way it did when I played the remaster. It looks a little goofy with its mouth closed and I immediately loved it.

RATTUS PICONICUS: Commonly called "Pico", these rodents belong to the very rare family of oviparous

mammals and have recently been domesticated. Although rather aggressive in nature, a specimen born in

captivity can be effectively trained by exploiting its highly sensitive sense of smell.

Pico first appeared in Forgotten Hill Mementoes, inspired by a nutria. It’s been originally added because we needed a small animal to feed in order to get a key. Since then, whenever a little creature was needed, Pico is always there to help.

So there you have it! The devs were really nice and enthusiastic about the interview, and I really appreciate the extra pics for insight into their processes! Can't thank you guys enough!

People of Newgrounds, I cannot stress enough the love for point-and-click horror that Forgotten Hill has ignited in me. If you're like me and you love dark stories and puzzles that make you rage a little bit sometimes, please go show the devs your love and support and play the Forgotten Hill series. As stated before, most of the games can be played on the website, but compilation titles (with extra content!) are available for purchase on Steam, the App Store, Google Play, and other stores as listed on the site!

Have a good night, everyone!

-Theta