Kolkhoze Games is a collective effort at making video-games. We started recently with two people, and some wonderful people joined us to help on various aspect of the development.
We are currently working on our first release, The Invisible Hand.
The Invisible Hand is a game about traders, and their world. At first glance, it is only about numbers, but in the end, it is about much more.
In a world where computers can do most of the analytic work, you will live the life of a trader, and try to profit off the numbers spewed by the machine to get the best of what the world has to offer.
Whether you just follow the missions given by your supervisor or go rogue and put people to their knees for your own profit, it is up to you to make money for the well being of the company, and your own.
What is your first significant gaming experience?
It was Metal Gear Solid on Playstation. This is the game that made me realize that games had a unique mean to convey emotional messages, through their narratives and their mechanics.
What got you into programming games?
A combination of interest in programming and playing led me to learn programming by myself, making small video games, that started in command line. I have always had an interest for the narrative genre, and have been working on an PC engine to make games such as Phoenix Wright.
What development tools or coding did you use?
We are using Unity to make The Invisible Hand, and free software like GIMP for design.
What hurdles did you have making your current game?
Time! We’re both working full-time jobs and are already spending a lot a time coding.
After the completion of the game what game will you make?
Probably another game. I would like to keep on making games that parody real jobs and situations, because I think it can really be cathartic, and express a lot of things about the world.
What other games have you made you made?
None. We are just starting our collective, Kolkhoze Games, and The Invisible Hand is our first project. We had another title under development, Communist Vegetarian +, but it was cancelled out.
What is your favourite retro game?
The Metal Slug series, as a kid I was impressed by the graphics and spent a good amount of money in those arcade machines.
Do you still game on the current consoles if so whats your favourite game?
I really enjoyed The Stanley Parable and its ability to express a lot about games through very simple mechanics. It’s part of the inspiration for The Invisible Hand, as I want this game to express feelings and ideas through the market’s mechanics. Paper’s Please is also a great game in that area, and had a lot of believable details with very simple graphics.