June’s Featured Game: Midnight Train
DEVELOPER(S): Lydia
ENGINE: RPG Maker VX Ace
GENRE: Mystery, Adventure
WARNINGS: The game contains small jumpscares, blood, suicide, violence, murder, death, possible animal death and mutilation.
SUMMARY: Luna is a traveler that is looking for a certain place. Suddenly, while she’s travelling in a train, the people around her disappear and the train stops in a mysterious place. She finds there a pocket watch with some instructions; she needs to find the next train before time runs out or she will be trapped in that world forever.
Play chapters 1 & 2 here!
Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!
Introduce yourself!
Hi! I’m Lydia, nice to meet you all! I’m the main developer, artist, writer and programmer of Midnight Train. I’m also the developer of Aria’s Story. I’ve been creating games since 2015 and it has been a wonderful experience so far!
Some random facts about me: I love videogames (Pokémon, Animal Crossing and Splatoon are my favorites!), I’m from Spain, my favorite color is orange and I love sweets!
What is your project about? What inspired you to create this game initially?
*Lydia: The game follows the adventure of Luna Wyndell, a mute girl, and Neil Lawton, a detective apprentice. Luna and Neil were travelling in a train called Midnight Express, but a curse activated and they ended up in a weird building. They receive a pocket watch with a note, saying that they have three hours to find the next train. They will try to escape from that place before time runs out while they try to discover the truth about the Midnight Express!
Luna is a very brave girl who isn’t afraid to fight enemies and use violence when it’s needed. Neil panics easily and is very naive, but his deductions will be very useful throughout the game. They will help and protect each other during their adventure.
My inspiration was my desire to make a better and more original game! I feel like I learned a lot during the development of my first game and I thought it would be a shame not to use that knowledge to make a game I liked more!
How long have you worked on this project?
*Lydia: It’s been a year since I started it!
Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project?
*Lydia: Steampunk aesthetic is one of my mains inspirations! Dai Gyakuten Saiban is a game that inspired me in terms of aesthetic and designs. Also, games like Danganronpa and Ace Attorney inspired me a lot, since there are deductions scenes in Midnight Train.
My other inspirations are other RPG Maker games. I’m not inspired in a particular game, but they’re all inspirations in one way or another. This time I’m trying to mix elements from classic horror RPGs with other elements to make something more different and unique!
Two years ago, we interviewed you for your game Aria’s Story! How much has changed since your first GOTM feature?
*Lydia: Whoa! It’s been two years! I’m really happy I got the chance to be interviewed again, thank you for the opportunity!
Well, one of the main things is that Aria’s Story was released last year! All the criticism I received allowed me to improve as a developer. I definitely learned a lot. I’m also really glad people enjoyed Aria’s Story. Thanks to that, I decided to make a new game!
Also, since then, I graduated from university! Now I have a degree in business administration.
How different is your development process on this project compared to your previous project?
*Lydia: It’s definitely very different. My main goal is to make something different compared to Aria’s Story, so I’m doing things quite different.
Midnight Train is an episodic game, unlike Aria’s Story, so the structure is very different. I need to design carefully each chapter, because I won’t be able to change plot points introduced in early chapters once they’re released. Everything needs to be perfectly planned. Before starting working on the game, I planned everything relevant and important that would happen in the game, in order. Once I start working on each chapter, I plan each chapter with even more detail, following the guide. This makes it easier to balance cutscenes and gameplay, and the overall flow of the game. Aria’s Story didn’t follow this method and it wasn’t as detailed.
Instead of a big goal (the release of the whole game), I’ve set myself smaller goals (the release of each chapter). It definitely makes the development more fun this way! I’m allowed to share more things about the game and it’s more enjoyable for everyone.
Another important difference is that with Aria’s Story I was very inspired by games like Ib and The Witch’s House, and wanted to create something similar. I’m taking a different approach with Midnight Train, and making something more unique. I’m trying to introduce things that aren’t very common in these kind of games, and that allows me to be more creative with the development and the mechanics of the game!
Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them?
*Lydia: I think the biggest challenge was the beginning, before I created this blog! I knew I wanted to make a story about a cursed train, but I didn’t have good ideas for it. At the end, I managed to create a story I really like and enjoy!
Another challenge was Luna’s character! I wanted this project to be a long game, with a big story and many cutscenes. But I also wanted the game to have a silent main character, to make things different compared to Aria’s Story. I was afraid I couldn’t develop well the main character and that she would be forgettable in comparison to the other characters. The solution? Giving her a reason to be a silent main character and giving her a personality through her actions, not her words! At the end it worked really well, as I think she’s the most popular character right now!
Did any aspects of your project change over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept?
*Lydia: Not much has changed, since everything has been written and planned from the beginning! I remember that in an initial concept, Luna and Neil were rivals and didn’t get along with each other. But in the final version of the story, it ended being just the opposite!
What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone?
*Lydia: It was just me and MerúM, he’s my boyfriend and also the spriter of the game! He also made the character sprites of Aria’s Story. Later, Bruno Buglisi joined as a composer!
What is the best part of developing this game?
*Lydia: There are many things I love about developing this game!
I really like working on the minigames! They’re simple and easy, but they are fun to develop! I hate designing puzzles, so now I add more minigames instead. The game still has puzzles, just not as many as my previous game.
I also love writing the deductions scenes of each chapter, it’s such a fun part of the game! Making maps is another thing I enjoy, since I like the steampunk aesthetic of the game.
Another thing I really love is interacting with the community, I really enjoy reading their thoughts about the game! It makes me so happy that people are enjoying something I created!
What’s your personal favorite thing about the game? (The story, a specific scene, etc.)
*Lydia: Luna!!! She’s such a fun character to write and I always find new ways to surprise players thanks to her actions!
Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?)
*Lydia: Definitely Neil! I used to have low self-esteem like him in the past, and I’d probably very scared in such situation. But just like I did, I’m sure he will be able to become someone more confident in himself!
Do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is?
*Lydia: Right now, I don’t have plans to continue exploring the game’s universe after the release of all the chapters.
Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently?
*Lydia: There isn’t anything I regret with Midnight Train right now, but I wish I had the courage to create a Patreon/Ko-fi sooner! It definitely helped me a lot with the development. It allowed me to invest more time working on it and develop it faster!
What about when looking at Aria’s Story, is there anything that in hindsight you would like to change?
*Lydia: I guess I’d have liked to develop more the characters! But since it was a shorter game with many puzzles, it was more difficult to do that. Everything was resolved at the final moment, but I’d have liked to add more foreshadowing to the final twist, I feel it was kind of sudden. But I’m really proud of it, considering it was my first game!
Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game?
*Lydia: I was really afraid people wouldn’t enjoy the game because it doesn’t have horror in the gameplay (it has a pretty dark story, but the gameplay isn’t scary) and because I introduced different elements compared to my previous game (deductions, minigames, less puzzles and more cutscenes). I didn’t know if people would like it.
But Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 were a success so far and people seem to enjoy the game! Now my main concern would be to disappoint people with the other chapters!
With your current project, what do you look most forward to upon/after release?
*Lydia: I want to rest and have time to play other games!
Do you have any plans or ideas for a project that you’d like to work on after finishing your current project?
*Lydia: I’m also working on a new Aria’s Story update, which includes new content and new endings. Since I’ve been busy with Midnight Train, I didn’t have much time to work on it! I’ll focus on that once Midnight Train is finished!
Do you have any advice for upcoming devs?
*Lydia: You should have fun developing your game and don’t overwork yourself! You can take breaks and work on it again once you’re motivated, that’s okay! Keep a positive attitude and enjoy the experience! You can do it!!!
Question from last month’s featured dev @project-cadeau: How do you tend to handle mean comments or harsh criticism on your games?
*Lydia: I answer them as if they were normal comments! I’m always polite to everyone, even if they’re mean. If you answer them in a rude way, I think they will send you even more mean comments. I answer them nicely and forget about it, I honestly don’t think much about it.
About criticism, it really depends. If they only say bad things in the critique without telling you how they could be improved (Example: “I really hate your game!”), then it isn’t a good critique and I personally think it’s better to ignore it. Criticism is a good thing because it helps you to notice your flaws as a developer and improve them, but harsh comments and opinions aren’t going to help you in any way. Just ignore it, that person only wants to hurt you, not help you.
I personally got more mean comments before the release than after the release (I’m talking about Aria’s Story now). I kept doing my best, hoping that maybe they would change their opinion after playing it! I think people can’t judge a game without playing it.
We mods would like to thank Lydia for agreeing to our interview for the second time! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!
Remember to check out Midnight Train if you haven’t already! See you next month!
- Mods Gold & Platinum
