Podoba Interactive has announced the release date for Back to Hearth, a game where players have to restore village houses with Ukrainian interiors. The game designer of the project admitted that he was considering working in construction after fans of cozy games criticized Back to Hearth on Reddit.
Podoba Interactive has announced the release date for Back to Hearth, a game where players have to restore village houses with Ukrainian interiors. The game designer of the project admitted that he was considering working in construction after fans of cozy games criticized Back to Hearth on Reddit.
Game Designer at Podoba Interactive Ivan Turmenko told the Gamedev DOU forum thatBack to Hearth was originally conceived as a cozy walking simulator where the player repairs and cleans houses, examines the household items of former residents, and learns their stories through personal belongings and cut scenes.
«As a result, we did everything as planned. Except for the characteristic 'cozy'», — Turmenko noted.
He said that even at Games Gathering Lviv 2024, some players did not perceive Back to Hearth as a cozy game and called it «sad or melancholic».
«Two months ago, the question of pricing arose. And I couldn’t think of anything better than to ask about it on Reddit. And not anywhere, but on the r/cozygames subreddit. Spoiler: after that, I was in a terrible mood for three days and thought about working on the construction site that I see from my window», — the developer admitted.
According to him, «casual gamers» criticized not only the visual style of the game, but also its duration — 60-70 minutes. Many players noted that they are used to paying about $10 for 10 hours of gameplay, so if the project is completed in an hour — it should cost only $1.
The game designer added that a significant number of potential players indicated a desired price in the range of $3 to $5. Taking into account Steam discounts, this range could vary from $1 to $4.
«So, after analyzing and discussing the input data with the team, we decided that the ideal full price for Back to Hearth would be $4 ($3.2 with a release discount). Accordingly, 139 UAH for Ukraine (111 UAH with a release discount)», — said Ivan Turmenko.
He also told how the developers chose the release date — September 25. The studio realized that with an «adequate pace of development» they would be able to release the game no earlier than September, and more realistically — in early October.
«Back to Hearth has an autumn atmosphere, this order of things suited us. But there is a nuance, namely the schedule of events on the Steam platform,» Turmenko noted.
The developer explained that a game has a better chance of a successful release if it comes out either before or after numerous sales and festivals on Steam — then it receives more attention.
