I’ve completed Slay the Princess. Good game. Great, even. There are a lot of angles through which it can be enjoyed or analysed.
It’s also a master-class in developing a commercially successful indie game…
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There are easily identifiable hooks. The title is a hook. I have to slay a princess? Why? Let me guess, she’s secretly a monster? Oop, already invested.
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The art style is distinctive and plays to the artist’s strengths. It also looks relatively quick to produce. For the amount of assets needed, any artist would have to take shortcuts, and “no inks, just pencils” is a great shortcut.
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The iterative nature of the game makes for a flexible scope. This game could be half as big or twice as big and still be compelling. No need for the devs to get locked in to a two year project.
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The looping narrative means that scenes can be reused. A player will replay chapter 1 five, ten, or more times.
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There are a lot of elements that foster community participation. The character focus encourages fan art. The “lore” and complex branching narrative encourage discussion.
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It’s streamable. The humour, horror elements, and fast narrative make for good reaction content.
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It’s horny in the right way.
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It has solid writing with focused themes. (Any visual novel developer will attest that good writing alone isn’t enough to make a commercial hit, but it would help secure the game’s good reputation in the long run.)
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It has a wonderful soundtrack. Each chapter has an accompanying piece of music, suiting the mood. (As above, this isn’t a good selling point in itself, but it definitely leaves a memorable impression on the player.)
Black Tabby Games deserve their success.
