What kind of game is Cheropie?

Cheropie is a 4-D Action-Adventure game at it's core, but includes elements from various genres such as; racing games, RPGs and platformers.

I didn't want to limit myself to the conventions of genres or precedent.

My main goal was simply to make a game that was different to anything else, interesting, and fun to play.

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Isn't the scale of your project a little ambitious for a one person dev team?

Yes. I don't see that as a problem however.

You only have to program the mechanics once, and then you've got them forever.

The way I see it, if I invest my time now in developing an ambitious project, then in the future it will take me far less time to develop games, because I'll have my previous work to build off of.

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Why not hire somebody to help you?

I want to keep the project on a one-person scale.

I have all the skill-sets I need to complete it and do not need to hire anybody to help me.

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What is the timetable for the development of Cheropie?

I plan to release a free demo for Cheropie very soon, within weeks.

The full game itself I plan to complete over the next 3 years.

Most of the fundamental work for the project has already been started (if not completed) over the 5 year period I've been developing the game, so 3 years is a reasonable time-frame for finishing.

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What software was used in the development of Cheropie?

Blender (3-D Modelling)

Unreal Engine 4 (Game Engine)

FL Studio (Music)

Gimp (Texture Work)

Toon Boom Studio (2-D Animation)

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What platforms do you intend to distribute on?

My current plan is to release the Cheropie demo on PC, on the Epic Store and maybe Steam.

The final product I hope to distribute on as many platforms as possible including PC, Xbox and PS4.

There is a possibility of me not being able to release my game on Nintendo Switch due to the version of the engine my project uses not supporting it as far as I'm aware.

I'm unable to use later engine versions with Cheropie because of the way I implement a specific core mechanic which works fine in earlier engine versions but not in later ones.

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Why release a free demo for your game?

It's a strategy where I take a hit in the short-term to boost my exposure in the long-term.

I am not a very well known developer. I've never officially released any games, so currently I lack a reputation.

By releasing a free demo, I hope to build a reputation for myself in the Indie Dev community and make a good first impression.

I've designed the demo specifically with fandom and theorists in mind.

The demo is full of mystery box and world building elements alluding to the final game's story-lines.

My hope is that these hooks will catch people's attention and generate discussions and theory videos around the project, further increasing exposure.

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What is the target audience for Cheropie?

I have a unusual plan for Cheropie based on a precedent that exists in the music industry, but not the games industry as far as I'm aware.

In the music industry, songs will often have two separate versions released: A radio version (intended for a more general audience), and an explicit version (intended for a more mature audience).

I would like to take this music industry precedent and apply it to Cheropie releasing two seperate versions of the same game, one targeted at a general audience (Cheropie: Family), and one targeted at a more mature audience (Cheropie: Explicit).

That way I'll be able to target two audiences with the same game, potentially doubling my profits and expanding the game's overall reach.

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How did this project begin?

Cheropie started as a college project in 2014, in the second year of my VFX & Animation course at Amersham & Wycombe college.

When I finished my course, I decided to take my game prototype and try and make a career out of it.

Here we are five years later.